Overview and FAQ
A short set of common questions, followed by a full walkthrough of how Vantil works.
Common questions
What is Vantil?
The music workspace beyond the audio. Keep files, people, payments, splits, conversations, and decisions with the song, so when the music is ready, the rest is too.
Does it replace my DAW?
No. Your DAW gets your sound ready. Vantil gets you release-ready.
Where do my files live? Does Vantil store my music?
Files stay in your Google Drive or Dropbox. Vantil references them, streams them for playback, and keeps their context with the song. It does not store your audio. Downloads return the original file.
Does Vantil move money or take a cut?
No. Payments happen through the services you already use: Venmo, Zelle, PayPal, wire, cash. Vantil records what the payment was for, who it went to, and whether it was acknowledged. It is not a payment processor.
Can everyone on a song see everything?
No. Visibility is set per item. Payment amounts are private to the people involved. Files and messages can be limited to specific people. Private items are marked.
Do I keep the rights to my music?
Yes. You keep all rights to your music, recordings, files, lyrics and compositions. Vantil claims no ownership of them. See the Terms of Service.
Does Vantil use my music or data to train AI?
No. Vantil doesn’t use your data to train AI models, doesn’t send your files to any AI service, and doesn’t sell your data. See the Privacy Policy.
How is my account protected?
You sign in with Google, so Vantil never sees your password. The tokens that connect your Google Drive or Dropbox are encrypted before they’re stored. Access to song data is checked against your permissions.
Can I leave and take my work with me?
Yes. Your original files stay in your Google Drive or Dropbox the whole time. Song owners can export a song’s record from the song page. You can delete your account at any time from Settings, which erases your owned songs, collaborators, payment and split records, and comments from Vantil. Records already acknowledged by someone else remain for the other parties, with your name, email and account link removed. See the Privacy Policy for details.
Is an acknowledgment a contract?
No. An acknowledgment records that a person has seen their share and agrees to it, and keeps that record with the song. It doesn’t replace a contract, and Vantil doesn’t collect or administer royalties.
Is it a distributor?
No. Distribution delivers finished music to platforms. Vantil holds the work before, during, and around a release.
Is it rights or publishing administration software?
No. Those tools administer finished catalog. Vantil holds songs while they are being made.
How is it different from Notion, Slack, Dropbox, or a spreadsheet?
Those tools are general-purpose and don’t track how their contents relate to a song. A spreadsheet doesn’t know a payment was an advance for a specific track; a file folder doesn’t know a file is the stems for it. Vantil organizes that information around the song.
What does it cost?
Vantil offers a free plan and paid subscription plans. Pricing scales with the number of active songs: the songs you own that aren’t archived. Current plans:
| Plan | Price | Active songs |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/month | Up to 3 |
| Creator | $19/month | Up to 20 |
| Operator | $49/month | Up to 100 |
| Team | $129/month | Up to 300 |
Pricing is subject to change. We may modify plan pricing, features, or limits at any time. Paid subscriptions are billed through Stripe; full billing, renewal, and refund terms are in the Terms of Service.
Do collaborators have to sign up?
Collaborators join when invited and can work on the songs they’re invited to at no cost. Messages can also reach people outside the workspace. To acknowledge a split, they don’t. Vantil can email them a link to review their exact share and acknowledge it or request a correction, without making an account.
Who is it for?
Anyone making a song for release, on their own or with collaborators.
How Vantil works
The song. Each song is a record in Vantil. Songs can be grouped into albums, but each song remains its own record. A finished song can be archived: it leaves the active list, and nothing is deleted.
Files. Vantil connects to files in Google Drive or Dropbox. It references where they live, streams them for playback, and keeps their context with the song. It does not store audio. Each file shows who added it, its version, and whether it is the current version. One current version can be marked per song. Downloads return the original file.
Collaborators and roles. You invite people into a song. Each collaborator has a role (producer, writer, engineer, or artist) and an access level that controls what they can see and do. Collaborators work on the songs they’re invited to at no cost.
File visibility. When you add a file to a song, you can make it visible to everyone on that song or only to specific collaborators. That audience stays fixed for that file. Album membership separately grants listening to the album’s current tracks; it does not reveal restricted files or allow their originals to be downloaded.
The song thread. Each song has a thread. Comments, file activity, payments, splits, and other updates are kept with the song rather than spread across texts, email, and separate apps.
Payments. Vantil records payments and does not move money. You log who was paid, how much, and for which song. The recipient acknowledges the payment, and once acknowledged the record is locked. The payment itself happens through the services you already use. Collaborators can also send invoices through Vantil, a payment request sent by email with links to your payment services. An invoice is a message, not a charge. Only the named recipient can acknowledge a payment, and only when they are a collaborator on the song with a linked Vantil account. The person who logged the payment cannot acknowledge it for them.
Splits. Splits record proposed shares in the recording and composition, along with each recipient’s response. Vantil keeps two pools: the master (the recording) and the publishing (the song). You propose a split to each collaborator, and they acknowledge their share. Once acknowledged, a line is locked. A pool can be finalized only when it totals exactly 100%. To change a locked split, the original line is voided and a new one is proposed, so the history stays intact.
Registration. You can record an ISRC, country of production, whether registration details have been completed, and optional context about the PRO, publishing administration, mechanical-rights services, or SoundExchange registrations used. These stay with the song’s record for review or handoff.
Sharing. A share link lets someone listen to a song and see its credits without seeing private information. Splits, payments, files, registration details, and collaborator information stay hidden. Albums can also be shared. For publishers, labels, or other stakeholders, Vantil can create a separate package link that includes splits, registration details, credits, and files.
Listening. Vantil plays the current version of each song. In an album, the listening view plays songs in order using each song’s current version. Playback runs in the browser. If a high-resolution file cannot play directly (certain WAV, AIFF, or FLAC files), Vantil creates a browser-friendly preview, including on phones. If a file cannot play in the browser, the original can be downloaded.
Schedule and calendar. You can add schedule blocks to a song. If you connect Google Calendar, those blocks sync to your calendar.
Notifications. Vantil notifies you when something happens on a song you’re part of: a file is added, a comment is posted, a payment is logged, a split is proposed, or an invite is sent. Notifications appear in the app and can be sent by email. For each song, you can set all notifications, in-app only, or muted.
Core workflow
- Create a song.
- Invite the people working on it.
- Add files from Drive or Dropbox.
- Mark the current version.
- Use the thread to keep feedback and activity with the song.
- Set who can see each file.
- Propose splits for the master and publishing.
- Log payments as they happen.
- Record registration details.
- Share a listening link, or send a package link to a publisher or label.
- Archive the song when it’s done.