# 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. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.songs-tools.com/wrapped-songs/what-is-a-song.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.