Every dollar.
Every split.
Every assumption. Public.
This is the page you bookmark when someone doubts a claim about Unis. Every number we publish anywhere on this site is derived from what's below. Every assumption is documented. Every commitment comes with a date.
Watch where it lands.
You can't argue with open math.
Drop a dollar into any source.
Watch exactly where it lands.
Every split shown below is encoded in the Unis platform. The animation is illustrative; the math is exact.
Banner/interstitial ads served via Google AdSense during browsing.
The full table.
No footnotes hiding fees.
Every revenue source × every payee. Cross-referenced to the page where the split is originally introduced. This is the table journalists can cite and lawyers can audit.
| Payee | Display ad of $1.00 | Audio adSoon of $1.00 | Paid subscription of $5.99 | Direct sale of $1.99 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Artist Performing songwriter's cut | — | 50.82% $0.51 | 50% $3.00 | 85% $1.69 |
Supported artist User's chosen artist · 15% of display ads | 15% $0.15 | — | — | — |
Referrer · L1 User's direct referrer | 10% $0.10 | 8.47% $0.085 | — | — |
Referrer · L2 Referrer's referrer | 5% $0.050 | 4.24% $0.042 | — | — |
Referrer · L3 Third-degree referrer | 2% $0.020 | 1.69% $0.017 | — | — |
MLC Compulsory mechanical royalties | — | 15.30% $0.15 | — | — |
Unis Platform operating share | 68% $0.68 | 19.48% $0.19 | 50% $3.00 | 15% $0.30 |
Every number.
Every source.
If a number appears anywhere on the Unis marketing site, it traces back to one of the entries below. Each line lists the value, the methodology behind it, the citable source, the date we last reviewed it, and whether we expect to revise it with real platform data.
Conservative launch estimate based on industry-average display ad fill rates and eCPM data for music/entertainment apps serving a US audience in 2025–2026. Intentionally set below the $0.80–$2.50 range observed across comparable apps to avoid over-promising during pre-launch.
Industry benchmarks (IAB, SpotX ad performance reports 2025); methodology to be replaced with actual Unis platform data once statistically significant user base is reached.
Conservative launch estimate based on industry-average display ad fill rates and eCPM data for music/entertainment apps serving a US audience in 2025–2026. Intentionally set below the $0.80–$2.50 range observed across comparable apps to avoid over-promising during pre-launch.
Industry benchmarks (IAB, SpotX ad performance reports 2025); methodology to be replaced with actual Unis platform data once statistically significant user base is reached.
Mechanical royalty paid to the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) on any audio stream where a musical composition is publicly performed. Deducted from gross audio ad revenue before the net splits to artist, Unis, and referral chain. Display ads are not subject to mechanical royalties because no musical work is performed.
Copyright Royalty Board Phonorecords IV, effective rates for streaming services; climbs to 15.35% in 2027.
Mechanical royalty paid to the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) on any audio stream where a musical composition is publicly performed. Deducted from gross audio ad revenue before the net splits to artist, Unis, and referral chain. Display ads are not subject to mechanical royalties because no musical work is performed.
Copyright Royalty Board Phonorecords IV, effective rates for streaming services; climbs to 15.35% in 2027.
Set below Spotify Premium's $11.99 individual tier by design, to reduce friction for first-time paid-tier adoption among existing Unis users. 50% of every subscription routes directly to the user's supported artist; the remaining 50% funds platform operations.
Internal pricing decision. Subject to revision based on churn, conversion, and geographic purchasing-power data post-launch.
Set below Spotify Premium's $11.99 individual tier by design, to reduce friction for first-time paid-tier adoption among existing Unis users. 50% of every subscription routes directly to the user's supported artist; the remaining 50% funds platform operations.
Internal pricing decision. Subject to revision based on churn, conversion, and geographic purchasing-power data post-launch.
Minimum price an artist can set for a direct track sale on Unis. Artists may set higher prices at their discretion. 85% of the sale price goes to the artist; 15% covers Stripe processing fees (~3%) and platform operations.
Internal pricing decision. Set above iTunes' historical $0.99 floor to meaningfully exceed breakeven on processing fees.
Minimum price an artist can set for a direct track sale on Unis. Artists may set higher prices at their discretion. 85% of the sale price goes to the artist; 15% covers Stripe processing fees (~3%) and platform operations.
Internal pricing decision. Set above iTunes' historical $0.99 floor to meaningfully exceed breakeven on processing fees.
Stripe Connect payout fees effectively eat small transfers. Below $50, platform fees would reduce artist take-home by a material percentage. Above $50, fees are negligible. Earnings below the threshold never expire — they roll over month-to-month until reached. Direct sales bypass this threshold and pay out in 2 business days.
Stripe Connect fee schedule for ACH deposits in the United States.
Stripe Connect payout fees effectively eat small transfers. Below $50, platform fees would reduce artist take-home by a material percentage. Above $50, fees are negligible. Earnings below the threshold never expire — they roll over month-to-month until reached. Direct sales bypass this threshold and pay out in 2 business days.
Stripe Connect fee schedule for ACH deposits in the United States.
Direct track sales bypass the $50 accrual threshold. Stripe initiates a deposit to the artist's linked bank account within 2 business days of the purchase clearing (subject to standard fraud and chargeback verification). This is materially faster than industry distribution platforms, which typically aggregate direct sales into monthly or quarterly payouts.
Stripe Connect settlement schedule, US domestic ACH.
Direct track sales bypass the $50 accrual threshold. Stripe initiates a deposit to the artist's linked bank account within 2 business days of the purchase clearing (subject to standard fraud and chargeback verification). This is materially faster than industry distribution platforms, which typically aggregate direct sales into monthly or quarterly payouts.
Stripe Connect settlement schedule, US domestic ACH.
Every Unis user is referred by exactly one other Unis user. When an ad (display or audio) is served to a user, 10% of that ad's revenue routes to the user's direct referrer (Level 1), 5% routes to that referrer's referrer (Level 2), and 2% routes to the third-generation referrer (Level 3). Levels 4+ do not earn from the referral chain; that fraction remains with Unis. If a referrer at any level does not exist (e.g., the user is an early adopter with no upstream chain), that fraction also reverts to Unis rather than being re-distributed.
Platform architecture. Immutable on the current revenue model.
Every Unis user is referred by exactly one other Unis user. When an ad (display or audio) is served to a user, 10% of that ad's revenue routes to the user's direct referrer (Level 1), 5% routes to that referrer's referrer (Level 2), and 2% routes to the third-generation referrer (Level 3). Levels 4+ do not earn from the referral chain; that fraction remains with Unis. If a referrer at any level does not exist (e.g., the user is an early adopter with no upstream chain), that fraction also reverts to Unis rather than being re-distributed.
Platform architecture. Immutable on the current revenue model.
Any user — including artists — can vote in the jurisdiction they joined with. Winners at each tier are decided primarily by vote count within the tier. If two artists are tied on votes, the tiebreaker is total plays and likes from users in that tier. If still tied, the final tiebreaker is seniority on Unis. This means a user who never casts an explicit vote still influences the chart through their listening behavior — passive engagement counts.
Platform architecture.
Any user — including artists — can vote in the jurisdiction they joined with. Winners at each tier are decided primarily by vote count within the tier. If two artists are tied on votes, the tiebreaker is total plays and likes from users in that tier. If still tied, the final tiebreaker is seniority on Unis. This means a user who never casts an explicit vote still influences the chart through their listening behavior — passive engagement counts.
Platform architecture.
Last full ledger review: April 2026. We revise this table whenever a platform rate changes, an industry benchmark shifts meaningfully, or real Unis data replaces an estimate. All prior versions of this ledger remain accessible by going to the “Math” page of the Internet Archive.
What we'll publish. When we'll publish it.
Spotify publishes aggregate Loud & Clear data once a year. We're committing to quarterly, per-jurisdiction, broken out by revenue source. Some commitments activate today. Some activate when audio ads launch and we can track those streams.
Active commitments. Published from our first full quarter post-launch.
Awards given at each tier
QuarterlyPer-tier count of Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, and Annual awards issued across every live jurisdiction — broken out by sub-neighborhood, neighborhood, city, metro, state, and sitewide. Public, permanent, historical record.
Activates when Unis finalizes an audio ad partnership and begins serving pre-roll ads.
MLC royalties paid on behalf of artists
QuarterlyTotal compulsory mechanical royalties Unis has paid to the Mechanical Licensing Collective on behalf of the artists on the platform. This cost is borne entirely by Unis — artists never see a deduction for publishing administration.
Actual average ad revenue per active user
QuarterlyThe real figure replacing our $0.70 launch assumption, broken out by jurisdiction once we have statistically significant user counts in each. Methodology + raw denominators published alongside.
Total paid to artists, by stream
QuarterlyDollar amounts paid to artists broken out by revenue source: display ad supporter share, audio ad streaming share, paid tier subscriptions, direct sales, and referrals. The Loud & Clear equivalent — but broken out rather than pooled.
Paid tier conversion rate
QuarterlyThe fraction of active users who upgrade to ad-free. Published per jurisdiction so artists can benchmark their expected paid-supporter income against real platform averages.
Average referral chain depth and per-level earnings
QuarterlyObserved depth distribution of the referral tree (how many users have L1 chains, L2 chains, L3 chains), plus average monthly earnings by level. Helps users calibrate realistic referral-income expectations.
Active users, active artists, live jurisdictions
QuarterlyHeadline growth numbers: monthly active users, artists with at least one uploaded work, and count of live jurisdictions at each tier. Published without editorial framing — just the raw numbers.
Spotify publishes once a year. Unis commits to four.
iPhone. Android. Web. All live.
Unis ships natively on iOS and Android, plus a full-featured web app. Every feature documented on this site — voting, supporting, referrals, paid tier, direct sales — is available on all three from day one.
Bookmark this page.
The math won't change. The data will.
The splits are immutable — they're written into the platform code. The assumptions will be replaced with real platform data once we have statistically significant counts to report on. Every update gets a dated review note. Nothing gets quietly changed.