Every song in the song library is credited to an artist. Music identity tells The Band Plan which of those artists is your band. Songs credited to your band then count as your originals, and everything else counts as a cover.
Why it matters
Once your band is linked to its artist:
- Your band's home page sorts its repertoire into Band songs, Member songs and Covers tabs.
- Manage songs can filter to Band-as-artist, Member artists or Covers.
- The setlist editor can show only songs Written by this band, or only songs Not by this band.
- Covers we play on your public page and in your press pack leaves out your own songs.
Without a link, every song counts as a cover. The Band-as-artist filter then lists all your songs instead, with a note that links to Music identity.
Link your band to its artist
- Click Edit band profile under the band name, then open the Music identity tab. You can also click Music identity in the Current repertoire section of your band's home page.
- Under Search artists to link, type at least 2 letters of the name and click Search.
- Click Link next to the right artist.
The artist appears under Linked artists. Click Unlink to remove it. By default, Principal, Core and Manager members can change these links.
You can link up to 3 artists, for name variants or an old name, like "Krewe De Groove" and "Krewe de Groove Band". To link a different artist once you've reached 3, unlink one first. If the band really records under a separate name, it may make more sense as its own band.
Renaming your band or an artist doesn't break the links.
If your artist isn't found
Search only finds artists already in the song library. An artist is added to the library when someone adds a song by them. To add your band as an artist, add one of your originals and type your band's name as the artist. Then search again and link it.
Linked automatically
When you create a band, The Band Plan looks for an artist with exactly the same name, ignoring capitals and extra spaces. If it finds exactly one, it links it for you. If there's more than one match, or none, nothing is linked, and you can link the right one here.
Member songs
Songs credited to a band member's own artist, such as a solo project, show under Member songs. They don't count as covers either. Each member links their own artist from their profile. See Musician identity.
A song credited to the band counts as a band song, even if a member is also credited.
Songs credited to the wrong artist
If one of your originals counts as a cover, check the artist on the song. It may be spelled differently from the artist you linked. Either fix the song's artist (see Editing library songs) or link that spelling as a second artist.
