FAQ
Questions people ask before they start.
Plain answers about Sessions, collaboration, rights, and money.
Basics
- What is a Session?
- A Session is one song's workspace on In Progress — the official cut, every version people submit, and the history of how the record was made. One song, one Session.
- How is this different from sending stems in a folder?
- Every take and version lives in the Session where everyone can hear it against the song. You accept what belongs in the official cut; nothing overwrites your original until you say so. Credit follows the work.
- Who controls the song?
- The artist who opened the Session. Collaborators propose versions; the artist accepts or passes. When the record is marked final, that released cut is frozen with credits intact.
- What is a final release?
- Marking a Session final closes the creative chapter: the official cut at that moment becomes the released record. You can sell it on In Progress, keep streaming previews public, or distribute elsewhere — your choice.
- Can I hear songs before they are finished?
- Yes. Public Sessions are meant to be listened to while they are still in progress. Browse Explore or Sessions to press play on work that is still being made.
- Do I need a DAW?
- No. Start with whatever you have — a rough take, a voice memo, a folder of stems, or a project from your DAW — and the Session keeps it. Logic, GarageBand, Ableton, Pro Tools, Studio One, Bitwig, Cubase and FL Studio all have a way in, on a phone as well as a computer; see the walkthrough for what each one should hand over. When you are ready to work back in your DAW, In Progress Bridge helps you move stems in and out without losing the Session history.
- Is In Progress free?
- Browsing and collaborating on public Sessions is free. Artists can sell final releases directly on the platform; a small fee applies to track sales. Optional Pro features exist for creators who want more.
Rights and copyright
- What is the rights checkbox when I upload audio?
- Every audio upload asks you to confirm you have the rights to use that audio in the Session. The acknowledgement is stored on the server when your file uploads — it's how we keep the platform honest about whose music is whose.
- Why did I see “possible match found” after uploading?
- Uploads are checked in the background against a music recognition service. If your file matches a commercially released recording, you'll see a banner asking you to confirm your rights. The check never blocks your upload. Choose This is my music or I have permission to use it if the rights are yours, or I uploaded the wrong file if it was a mistake.
- Why did my Session suddenly become private?
- If a public Session's audio matches a commercial recording, the Session is automatically switched to private until you confirm your rights. After you confirm, you can make it public again from Session settings.
- Why can't I sell my track yet?
- If any audio in your Session ever matched a commercially released recording, selling requires a one-time manual review. The publish flow shows a sale approval panel where you submit a short message and licensing documents; once approved, the sale can go live. Sessions without match history don't go through this step.
- What happens when content is reported?
- Every report opens a moderation case reviewed by a human — nothing is auto-deleted. Depending on the outcome, content can stay active, be limited from public discovery, or be removed. Details in the Community Guidelines; formal copyright notices go through the Copyright & DMCA page.
Working with other people
- How do I ask someone to play on my song?
- Send them a request. You pick which of your Sessions it is about, what you're asking for, and whether it's paid or a free collaboration. It arrives in a conversation with them, and both of you can see it in Requests until it's answered.
- What's the difference between a request and a conversation?
- A conversation is just a conversation — two people talking. A request is the offer itself: the work, the songs, the money, the deadline. It travels inside a conversation so there's a record of what was said around it, but it has its own page so you can see everything outstanding without reading back through threads.
- Can I change the terms instead of just yes or no?
- Yes — suggest changes and the offer travels back the other way with your terms on it. Whoever didn't write the latest version is the one being asked, so a request can go back and forth as many times as it needs to. Only the version on the table can be accepted.
- What does an open request mean?
- A request addressed to one person is private. An open request is public and shareable — anyone can hear the song and put themselves forward, and you pick who gets it. Open requests can only be attached to public Sessions, because the whole point is that strangers can listen first.
- What does a paid collaboration cost?
- The collaborator receives 100% of the amount you agreed. On top of that, the person paying is charged a 8% service fee, with a $1.50 minimum — so a small collaboration carries a proportionally larger fee, and you see the exact total before you send the request and again before you pay. In Progress covers the card processing costs out of that fee rather than taking them out of the collaborator's side.
- When does the money actually move?
- As soon as you both agree. The payer is taken straight to checkout, and the money is held — not paid out — until the work is in the song. That's what makes it safe to start: the collaborator can see the money is there, and the payer isn't paying for something they haven't heard yet.
- Why do I have to set up payouts before accepting?
- Because otherwise there's no way for the money to reach you. If you're the one being paid, connecting Stripe is part of saying yes, so “agreed” always means the deal can actually be funded. If you're the one paying, nothing changes.
- Can I agree a share of what the song earns?
- You can agree a percentage as part of a request, and it's a share of what the song sells for on In Progress — not publishing, and not streaming royalties, which you arrange between yourselves off the platform. Agreeing it in a request isn't the same as having it: the split itself is authored in the rights editor, where every participant accepts their own share.
- What if a request covers more than one song?
- The request says whether any one of them counts as done or all of them do — it's part of the terms, not something decided afterwards. Accepting all of them accepts all of them, and you choose which one to open first.
Buying, selling, and Pro
- What do I get when I buy a track?
- Full streaming and download access to the released record, from the Session page and your Library. Once purchased, the Session shows You own this. Sale-only releases play a timed preview until you buy.
- What are the fees when I sell?
- Track sales carry a 10% platform fee; fan contributions carry a 5% fee. The rest is split according to the master split every participant accepted. Payouts go through Stripe, so sellers complete a one-time Stripe onboarding first.
- What is In Progress Pro?
- A $5/month subscription for creators who need more room: unlimited private Sessions (free accounts get 3), 100 GB of storage (up from 15 GB), a Pro badge, and featured discovery eligibility. See /pro. Making music here stays free.