# What is a Song

A **song** within SONGS is the foundation of our system. It is a **digital encapsulation of a track**, containing all the necessary metadata for **distribution, ownership management, and revenue sharing**. When you upload a song, you are **preparing it for distribution** across major streaming and download platforms while also **structuring it for transparent and automated royalty distribution.**

Each **song** includes essential metadata to ensure proper categorization and accessibility on digital music services. Additionally, upon uploading a song, the artist receives  **10,000** [**SongShares**](https://docs.songs-tools.com/songshares) **(§)**, which represent **shares in the future earnings generated by that track**. These SongShares are based on a opinionated version ERC-1155 standard and can be transferred or sold at the artist’s discretion.

Currently, **uploading songs to SONGS is free**, and this will remain the case **throughout summer 2025**. However, in the future, we will introduce a **one-time payment per song** to help sustain the infrastructure and ensure the longevity of the protocol

Below, we explain in detail the required fields to upload and configure a song on SONGS.