Built for Record Labels, Distributors, & DSPs
HPS-1.0 establishes an institutional bridge between master rights holders, distributor delivery feeds, and global streaming platforms.
Preserving Copyright Validity & Master Value
Establishes indisputable chain-of-title under US Copyright Office (USCO) human authorship standards. Protects catalog equity by providing cryptographic proof of human composition and performance, insulating artists and labels against false AI takedowns and streaming fraud flags.
Zero-Overhead Ingest & Streaming Fraud Defense
Replaces unverified upload checkboxes with tamper-evident raw audio essence hashes (`raw_audio_essence`). Maps 1-to-1 into existing DDEX ERN 4.3 XML delivery batches without requiring custom ingestion pipeline rebuilds.
Statutory Compliance & Clean Credit Display
Fulfills EU AI Act Article 50 disclosure mandates through structured metadata, insulating platforms from multi-million euro statutory exposure. Displays verified production credits in a clean drawer format without cluttering listener playback UI.
Binary Checkboxes Collapse Multi-Million Dollar Catalogs into a Single Bit.
A flat "Was AI used?" checkbox creates two critical operational and legal failure modes across the music industry today:
A songwriter tracks acoustic drums, bass, and live vocals in an A-list studio, then runs an AI assistive mastering limiter. The master receives the exact same binary "AI" flag as an autonomous 10-second prompt generator, risking DSP penalty algorithms and editorial playlist exclusion.
Penalizes Standard Studio WorkflowsA producer spends 60 hours arranging, stem-separating, tracking live analog synths, and performing live vocals around a generative seed. Under a binary system, they are forced to either conceal their workflow or forfeit legal copyright protection under USCO human authorship rulings.
Jeopardizes Master Copyright ValidityIsolates AI to the specific production stage where it occurred (e.g. dynamic mastering assist), legally safeguarding human composition and performance copyright.
Protects Human AuthorshipEmpowers hybrid producers and labels to document stem transformations and live instrumentation with auditable integrity from DAW to DSP.
Enables Hybrid Catalog LegitimacyThe Five Axes of Music Production
Every work is scored across five core production stages as H (Human), A (AI), or H+A (Hybrid / Co-Creative):
5-Axis Attestation Console & Multi-Format Exporter
Toggle values across the five production axes or select an industry preset to preview canonical JSON manifests, DDEX ERN 4.3 XML snippets, and C2PA assertions.
Reference Sandbox vs. Operational DAW Engine
The console below is an isolated reference model demonstrating 5-axis process scoring and manifest generation. The standalone DAW Attestation Engine automates this workflow directly on production files:
hps1 RIFF chunk)Three Tiers. The Hybrid Gradient is the Point.
The production spectrum moves from unassisted acoustic execution to autonomous synthetic generation. Tier X classifies the entire operational reality of modern studio workflows.
Tier H - Human
Origination and performance are both human. Minimum 4 of 5 axes human. AI, if present, is restricted to post utility or corrective plugins.
Tier X - Hybrid
Primary human creative authorship on origination or performance with AI contribution on complementary axes.
Tier A - AI
Origination and performance are both AI-generated. Human input limited to text prompting and selection without structural rework.
Zero-Overhead Ingestion & Catalog Protection for Digital Distributors
Major digital distributors (FUGA, Believe, DistroKid, TuneCore) can implement HPS across three friction-free tiers without rebuilding existing ingestion backends or disrupting artist delivery schedules.
Direct DDEX ERN 4.3 XML Mapping
Replace flat binary checkboxes with 5-axis process attribution. Maps directly to existing DDEX ERN 4.3 ArtificialIntelligenceDetails blocks without altering downstream delivery engines.
Cryptographic Essence Attestation
Mastering studios generate Ed25519-signed hps_manifest.json manifests via the open HPS CLI or DAW plugins. Ingestion endpoints automatically verify raw audio essence against SHA-256 signatures.
Automated DSP Pass-Through
Signed attestation manifests pass securely through DDEX feeds to DSPs, triggering verified [HPS-X1] or [HPS-H] designations across global streaming partners.
Raw PCM Essence Hashing (raw_audio_essence)
HPS computes SHA-256 hashes exclusively over decoded, uncompressed PCM audio sample buffers, bypassing container wrappers and ID3 tags. Modifying tags, converting codecs (WAV to FLAC), or updating ISRC codes leaves the attestation hash completely intact. Altering musical audio content invalidates the hash instantaneously.
algorithm: SHA-256(raw_pcm_audio_stream)
Container header immutable · Codec agnostic · Tamper-evident
Verification REST Endpoint
POST https://api.trustnodelogic.com/v1/verify
Distributor ingestion services submit audio buffers or signed JSON manifests. Returns deterministic validation status, essence verification, and cryptographic signature validity.
200 OK · { "verified": true, "tier": "X1", "sig_valid": true }
Sub-50ms deterministic attestation
Standardized Platform Badging & Credits Drawer Architecture
HPS defines an unobtrusive, progressive disclosure standard for DSP user interfaces (Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, Amazon Music), preserving clean album art while providing full regulatory transparency:
Standardized Tier Badges
Tapping any badge or expanding the native track credits reveals the comprehensive 5-axis process attestation without cluttering primary playback viewports or compromising cover artwork.
EU AI Act Article 50 & Global Rights Compliance Matrix
Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 enforces strict transparency obligations on generative audio systems, with statutory penalties reaching up to €35M or 7% of global annual turnover. HPS-1.0 provides the machine-readable evidentiary standard required to maintain compliance and defend USCO human authorship.
Provider Marking
Deployer Disclosure
Creative Assistance
Copyright Eligibility
Partner on the HPS-1.0 Standard Specification
Justin Ray engineered the Hybrid Production Standard to establish deterministic provenance across label catalogs, digital distributors, and streaming platforms ahead of August 2026 enforcement deadlines. Evaluate the specification or pilot Phase 1 with zero infrastructure refactoring.