SOLUTIONS / 02For rights, royalty and publishing teams

Investigate the facts
behind royalty gaps.

A discrepancy is not yet a claim. BlackBox Royalty Investigator gives authorised investigators a controlled environment for forensic matching, recorded provenance, review activity and a full chain of custody. The investigator reaches the conclusion. The appropriate rights, legal or recovery team decides and performs the downstream action.

CWR
- Official record · receipt and custody recorded
Source preserved. Processing documented. Human review recorded. Every material hand-off retained in a complete chain of custody.
- The four safeguards

From official record to defensible evidence.

Source · investigation · review · custody
01

Official source intake

An engagement begins with an official CWR record issued by a PRO or CMO and supplied through an agreed custody route. Music Intel records who supplied it and when it was received. BlackBox Royalty Investigator preserves the record as received; it does not create, infer or substitute the source CWR.

- Official CWR · receipt recorded · source preserved
02

Structured forensic investigation

The platform builds a documented investigation record around the question in scope. Evidence remains linked to its source, processing history and review activity so the work can be examined rather than merely asserted.

- Source-bound record · complete provenance · reproducible review
03

Investigator-led findings

An authorised investigator examines possible matches, records review activity and reaches the conclusion. BlackBox Royalty Investigator preserves that work; it does not make the professional judgement or decide the downstream action.

- Investigator judgement · recorded actions · responsibility retained
04

Defensible output with full custody

Where the investigation begins with an official CWR record issued by a PRO or CMO and its receipt is recorded in the chain of custody, the resulting record is designed to support tribunal-grade scrutiny. Source quality, methodology, processing, investigator judgement and findings remain open to appropriate challenge. Acceptance, recovery and legal outcome are never guaranteed.

- Full chain of custody · designed for documented scrutiny
- Engagement model

One investigation. A complete custody record.

The engagement begins with the catalogue, the investigation question and the official records available. We scope the processing requirement, secure evidence workspace and hosting, and investigator access without publishing protected internal methods or decision thresholds.

BlackBox Royalty Investigator creates and preserves the forensic record. The client and its appointed professional advisers decide how any supported finding is used.

Explore the BlackBox forensic evidence model See how a scoped proof of capability works
- Pricing

Catalogue-scoped. No recovery percentage.

There is no public numeric price card. The proposal reflects catalogue scope, processing requirement, secure evidence workspace and hosting, and the investigator access required.

We do not take a percentage of recovery and we do not guarantee that a finding will be accepted, paid or produce a particular legal or commercial outcome.

Open a BlackBox Royalty Investigator enquiry
Published context

Go deeper into the registration and matching problem.

Use this Field Note as technical and editorial context for the registration problem. It is not proof that a specific catalogue has a recoverable claim or that BlackBox has produced a customer outcome.

Explore all Field Notes
- The questions rights and royalty teams ask

FAQ.

Five answers
Who is the authorised investigator?+

The engagement names the person or team permitted by the commissioning rights holder or instructed adviser to examine the source records and record review decisions. The scope also identifies who approves the finding and who controls any later claim, recovery or legal action. BlackBox Royalty Investigator preserves those actions and boundaries; it does not silently substitute an automated conclusion.

How is this different from a standard royalty audit?+

A conventional audit often tests transactions, calculations and statements already available to the auditor. BlackBox Royalty Investigator is a forensic investigation platform that preserves source material, processing history, review activity and findings in a complete chain of custody. The work can complement an audit, administration or legal team without pretending to replace any of them.

Where does the official CWR record come from?+

The engagement starts with an official CWR record issued by a PRO or CMO and supplied through an agreed custody route. Music Intel records its receipt and BlackBox Royalty Investigator preserves it as received. It does not manufacture, infer or substitute the official source record.

How much of the methodology is public?+

The methodology is documented, version controlled and reviewable under NDA. The public page describes the outcome. The operating logic, scoring rules, evidence architecture and processing model are confidential.

What does tribunal-grade mean here?+

It means the investigation record is designed to support scrutiny through documented provenance and a full chain of custody. The condition matters: the investigation must begin with an official CWR record issued by a PRO or CMO and its receipt must be recorded. Source quality, methodology, processing, investigator judgement and findings may still be questioned. No forum, recovery or outcome is guaranteed.

How is an investigation priced?+

There is no public numeric price card. The engagement is scoped to the catalogue, the investigation question, the processing requirement, the secure evidence workspace and hosting, and the investigator access required. BlackBox Royalty Investigator is not priced as a percentage of recovery.

Establish the facts. Preserve how you proved them.

Tell us the catalogue scope, the investigation question and which official records are available. We will define the work, the evidence standard and the custody requirements.