Who Owns the Songs I Make?

Who owns the song I compose?

You do. Our Terms grant us only a platform license to host, serve, and display your songs so the product can function — we do not claim any ownership of the lyrics, melody, chords, audio, or metadata you create or upload. You can take your songs anywhere, put them in any DAW, cover them, modify them, publish them, or delete them.

Can I commercially release a song I made on the platform?

Yes, assuming you made it. You own the song you wrote — the lyrics you typed or imported, the chord progression you approved, the structure you locked in. You can release it on Spotify, Apple Music, Bandcamp, your own site, a sync library, or anywhere else.

The AI-generated audio (vocals, instruments, production) is more nuanced — see "Is the audio copyrightable?" below.

Is the audio copyrightable?

Human-creative audio, yes. Pure machine-generated audio, probably not in the US.

The US Copyright Office's current position (as of early 2026) is that purely AI-generated works are not copyrightable, but works with substantial human authorship are. BananaRat Studio is explicitly built as a collaborative tool — you write the lyrics, you choose the genre and mood, you approve the structure, you request specific changes, you pick the final take. That's real creative decision-making, and it's the basis on which a registerable claim sits.

What you can safely register as the author of:

• The lyrics you wrote (or edited meaningfully).
• The composition (melody + chords + structure) you approved — typically deposited as an MP3 or lead sheet.
• The arrangement as instantiated in the chord progression and section map.

What is harder to register in the US without expert advice:

• The raw neural audio rendering as a standalone sound recording, if you contributed nothing more than a prompt.

We are not your lawyer. If you're releasing commercially at scale, talk to a music attorney who follows this area. Expect this space to keep evolving.

Do I need to credit BananaRat Studio?

No. We do not require attribution. If you want to credit the tool anyway, "Composed with BananaRat Studio" is fine — but it's not a condition of use.

Can you train AI models on my songs?

No. See the Privacy Policy §2 "We Do Not Train On Your Data" clause. Short version: we don't, Anthropic doesn't (API zero-retention), and the ACE-Step audio model is a static checkpoint we host on-premises. This applies to every tier including Open Beta.

What if I collaborate with another person via the platform?

The platform currently treats each account as a single author. If you write with a collaborator, the split between you is yours to agree on — the platform doesn't infer splits. We provide a split-sheet export as a starting point for PRO registration; it's a template, not a legal document.

How do I register with a PRO (ASCAP, BMI, PRS, SOCAN, GEMA)?

Most PROs accept AI-assisted songs in 2026. They'll sometimes ask clarifying questions. They care about three things:

• Who wrote it? You. You're the author.
• Is it substantially original? The lyrics you wrote are. The melody you locked in is.
• Disclose AI involvement? Some PROs ask, some don't. When asked, be honest — "lyrics by [you], composition and arrangement co-created with BananaRat Studio AI" covers it. No PRO has published a blanket ban on AI-assisted work as of 2026.

See the PRO registration guide for specifics on the five largest societies. We'll update it as policies move — this space is shifting fast.

What if I imported a lyric or MIDI file — do I still own the output?

You own whatever parts you brought in (if you had the right to use them — don't import content you don't have rights to). The platform adds composition, arrangement, and audio rendering on top of your import. The composite work is yours; just don't import what you don't own rights to.

Why does importing ask me to confirm I have rights to the content?

Because we can't detect every kind of third-party material technically, and the legal posture of the platform depends on you making the rights claim yourself.

When you upload a lyrics file, MIDI, or tab file, you see a three-step declaration: confirming you wrote the content, that it's a licensed cover, that it's public domain, or that you have a license for it.

"I wrote this, own it, or have permission to use it — and I accept responsibility for this claim."

What that actually does:

• Shifts liability. If someone later claims the content was theirs and you didn't have rights, the attestation is documented evidence that you represented ownership at upload time. The platform is a passive tool; the rights claim is yours.
• Creates a timestamped witness event. The attestation is logged into the composition's Authorship Evidence chain, cryptographically signed, and available for export if a PRO or court ever asks.
• Adds to your authorship score. A legitimate import with attestation counts as a Selection-weighted event on top of the Modification-weighted import event itself. Small but real score bump.

If you didn't write the content and don't have rights to it, don't check the box, don't upload the file. We'd rather you skip the import than have a copyright dispute later.

For the full policy on copyright takedowns, see /pages/dmca. For the Terms of Service clause that the checkbox incorporates, see /pages/terms.

Can I sell the stems or MIDI to a music library?

Yes, subject to the same caveats above. Sync libraries increasingly ask whether content is AI-assisted — disclose truthfully. Many libraries accept AI-assisted work; a minority of libraries reject it. Check the library's current submission guidelines before signing.

What happens to my songs if BananaRat Studio shuts down?

Your songs are yours and you can export them at any time. If the platform ever winds down:

1. We commit to a 60-day notice window before any shutdown.
2. Export tools (MIDI, MusicXML, MP3, stems, AAF) will remain available during the wind-down.
3. We will publish a bulk-export script for anyone who wants their full library at once.

This is a commitment, not a hope. It's in our Terms of Service.

Does being in Open Beta change my ownership rights?

No. You get the same ownership you would have at GA — we do not take training rights, commercial rights, or any other rights as a condition of Beta participation. The only Beta-specific term is the stated-limitations disclosure (EU disclosure shipping June, dev cert until GA, etc. — all in your welcome email).

Not covered here

For refunds, cancellation, or account deletion — see the Terms of Service. For data retention or access requests — see the Privacy Policy. For AuthorMark / content credentials specifically — see the AuthorMark FAQ.

This is not legal advice

Everything here reflects our current best understanding of US + EU + UK + CA copyright and PRO practice as of April 2026. If you're making career-scale decisions, get a music attorney. We are not one.