Straight answers for artists booking rooms, Studios running the day, and Engineers arriving with the room, time, prep, payment status, and delivery path already attached.
What artists need to know before they choose a studio, pay a deposit, and walk into the session.
Artists can browse studios, compare rates, choose a room, and build the session first. Checkout asks them to sign in or create an artist account so payment, files, and booking history stay attached to the right person.
Artists can see the room, rate, available times, deposit rules, payment options, studio details, and the session terms before checkout. The goal is to remove the “what room, what time, how much?” thread before it starts.
Artists can choose a deposit or pay in full when the studio allows it. Card checkout saves the payment method securely so the remaining balance can be captured after the session or settled through an approved cash path.
Yes, when the room calendar allows it. An artist can request more time during the session, or an engineer can help start that request, but the extension is not added until the artist confirms and pays for the extra time.
Delivered files stay attached to the session in the artist library. Mixes, stems, notes, downloads, and booking history remain organized instead of disappearing into texts, email threads, or random links.
How studios use Session Route to protect calendars, deposits, rooms, engineers, and delivery.
Studios can collect a deposit when the artist books, use holds, full payment, or cash settlement depending on the session rules, and track the balance without chasing screenshots.
Yes. Studios can show rooms with their own rates and availability, manage engineer assignments, and add paid services like gear, mastering, podcast recording, or session extras.
Yes. Studios control rates, deposit requirements, cancellation rules, room availability, engineer assignments, and whether a session is deposit-based, paid in full, or resolved with an approved cash settlement path.
It can work beside an existing website or become the booking layer behind it. Studios can use Session Route to take bookings, collect deposits, route payouts, manage rooms, and keep files tied to every session.
Studios can keep retainer balances, block rates, extras, invoices, and overdue amounts organized around the session instead of rebuilding the money trail from spreadsheets and messages.
How engineers get attached to studios, walk in prepared, and keep payout and delivery context close.
Engineers can request to join studios that are accepting new engineers, or a studio can invite them directly. Once approved, the engineer can be assigned to that studio’s sessions with the room, time, artist notes, files, and settlement context already attached.
Yes. Engineers can be connected to multiple studios, keep session context organized, and avoid rebuilding their schedule from scattered messages.
Engineers can see the room, date, time, service, rate context, artist notes, references, prep files, and delivery thread before setup. The handoff starts cleaner because the brief is already attached.
Yes. Engineers can progress the session through the live timeline and request more time when the room allows it. Any paid extension still requires the artist to confirm and pay before the session is extended.
The money rules behind deposits, holds, cash settlement, payout context, and paid-in-full bookings.
Studios choose the payment setup that fits the session. A booking can collect a deposit up front, authorize the remaining balance before start time, settle the balance in cash, or collect full payment at checkout.
For deposit-based bookings, yes. The deposit is collected when the artist books so the room is not held on memory, trust, or a loose promise in a message thread.
Cash settlement is for the remaining balance, not the initial deposit. It usually comes up during or near the session, and it lets the studio or engineer resolve the second half outside automatic capture when that is the right real-world path.
Yes. If the session is set up for automatic balance capture, Session Route can keep the remaining balance on track after the session window or grace period, depending on the studio’s rules.
Session Route does not treat the booking or remaining balance as paid. The payment state stays unresolved, the artist is asked to update the payment method, and the Studio can see that the session needs payment attention instead of receiving a false confirmation.
Session Route keeps payout context tied to the session so the studio and engineer can stay aligned. Studio payouts and engineer settlement rules can be handled around the actual booking instead of as a separate conversation afterward.
What happens after the room is booked, while the session is live, and when files are ready.
The session timeline shows where the booking stands from deposit paid and booking confirmed through session live, balance resolved, payout sent, and files delivered.
Yes. The live session view is designed to show artists where the session stands and how much time remains, so extending or wrapping the session is not left to guesswork.
The session can move into completion, balance resolution, payout context, and file delivery. The goal is to keep the ending from becoming a separate trail of texts, links, and payment reminders.
Yes. Engineers or studios can attach files to the session so artists can return to the same place for mixes, stems, notes, downloads, and rebooking.
No. Session files, preparation, and conversations stay inside the authorized booking or workspace. An owner can deliberately create a supported private share or use a separate publishing flow, but Session Route does not turn private session work into a public social feed.
Yes. Reviews, promos, client history, and rebooking paths can stay close to the session instead of becoming another lost thread after the final bounce.
Who can join for free, how Studio Memberships work, and what the separate artist Membership includes.
Artists browse and book free. Studios can launch and run the complete studio operation free, including creating and managing Studio Memberships. Engineers can join free.
No. Artists can browse rooms, book sessions, play and download delivered music, organize projects, and collaborate for free. Optional Session Route Membership includes Vault and expanded private music storage.
No. Studio Memberships are recurring plans a studio creates for its clients using hours, sessions, or credits. Studios can create and operate them for free; normal payment-processing fees still apply when a client pays.
No. Studio Memberships are client plans created and managed by an individual Studio. The optional artist Session Route Membership is a separate account subscription that adds Vault and expanded private music storage. Buying or creating one does not silently enroll someone in the other.