Clear work. Clear owners.
Agree on the scope, price and delivery expectations. Establish who is accountable and what evidence they provide.
Prepared for Dennis & Aaron / November 2026
Pick the lanes.Own them.Build valuable IP.
Bring artist marketing, fan relationships and commerce into one accountable operation.
Engagement: join Victory+ as the third core member. Clarify the vendor work and spending, choose the first priority, and agree on the arrangement.
Rick Welch / Digitally Savvy
Discussion proposal · Subject to written agreement
01 / THE BIG SCREEN
02 / THE LIVING ROOMTHE ARTIST / EVERYWHEREBuilding an authentic following.
Spotify
Amazon Music
SoundCloud
Shopify
YouTube
03 / IN THEIR HANDSSpotifyAmazon MusicSoundCloudShopifyYouTubeWhat's next
November 5 discussion proposalSigned NDA + signed engagement before further work or callsCompare unpaid & paid proposals →
01 / The business today
Label &
artist management.
Today, Victory+ is a label & artist management business working with vendors.
Start with that business: the artists’ priorities, current vendor commitments, and the money going in and out.
02 / What it needs now
Keep vendors accountable.
Spend wisely.
Clear scopes, costs and delivery. Know what each vendor is responsible for, what was bought and what was delivered before deciding where the next dollar goes.
Hide the three priorities
Know where the money goes.
Compare plans and invoices with delivery and results. Decide what to keep, change, negotiate or stop.
Connect the moving parts.
Coordinate tools, accounts, reporting and vendor handoffs, with clear access and ownership.
03 / What we can build
A music &
culture brand.
The direction is broader than label & artist management. Bring the artist relationships, merch, marketing and commerce into a coherent business with its own IP.
Merch. Marketing.
Connected operations.
Use the current business to identify useful capabilities and repeatable revenue opportunities. Agree on what is worth testing first.
Build, partner or buy.
Compare revenue, margin, cost, capacity and differentiation. Take on functions when the economics justify it; use vendors where they add value.
These are areas for discussion. We’ll shape the priorities and roadmap together around your input, the budget and what we learn.
04 / The proposed arrangement
SAMPLEFor discussion and your input.
Three leads.
One agreed plan.
A proposed division of responsibilities to refine together. Titles are TBD; the final allocation of work remains open.
AARONMerch economics.
Run point on product, production and fulfillment economics, pricing and contribution margin.
DENNISArtist deals.
Run point on artist relationships, deals and release priorities.
RICKTechnology & vendors.
Architect how the technology fits together. Coordinate vendors and hold them accountable for cost, delivery, reporting and access.
Agree on the direction together.
Set priorities, budgets and the overall direction collectively. Refine responsibilities and bring in specialists against an agreed scope and budget.
Two proposed paths / Unpaid or paid
Unpaid or paid.
Agree on the terms.
Two proposed structures for joining Victory+ as the third core member. Both include profit or revenue sharing, with the calculation, percentages and milestones to be established together in writing. Neither is an accepted deal.
Unpaid: no retainer; 5% grant + 5% vesting. Plan for 5 hours/week, with a maximum of 10 by prior written agreement.
Paid: $2,000/month + 5% equity; time commitment, scope, equity form and vesting terms are to be agreed on in writing.
UNPAID / DISCUSSION PROPOSALNo retainer.
No retainer.
Equity + sharing.
Proposed participation without a cash retainer, with a defined time commitment and separately documented equity and sharing terms.
5% equity grant
Grant documentation and terms to be agreed on in writing.
+ 5% vesting equityVesting schedule, duration, start date and any cliff are to be agreed on in writing.
5 hours/week planning target.
Up to 10 hours/week only by prior written agreement.
Milestones: to be identified and agreed on in writing.
Profit or revenue sharing: included in the proposal, especially for this no-retainer path. Scope, basis, percentage and payout timing are to be agreed on in writing.
PAID / DISCUSSION PROPOSALRetainer + equity
Retainer + equity
+ sharing.
A proposed monthly cash retainer, with the final time commitment and scope to be agreed on in writing.
$2,000 / month
Time commitment & scope:
To be agreed on in writing.
Grant or vesting form, schedule, start date and any cliff are to be agreed on in writing.
Milestones: to be identified and agreed on in writing.
Profit or revenue sharing: included in the proposal. Scope, basis, percentage and payout timing are to be agreed on in writing.
COMMON TO BOTH PATHS / SUBJECT TO WRITTEN AGREEMENT
Define the arrangement in writing.
Profit or revenue sharing: establish the covered business or work, calculation basis, percentage, applicable costs, reporting and payout timing alongside the milestones. These terms remain open in both paths; no sharing rate is assumed.
Equity & role: confirm the legal entity, percentage basis, dilution treatment, grant / vesting documents, schedule, start date, any cliff and titles. Responsibilities remain collaborative and open to refinement. Milestones must be identified and agreed on; the roadmap is not an automatic equity trigger.
Next step: a signed mutual NDA and a selected path let us settle the remaining written details and prepare the engagement agreement.
Before any further work or calls: the mutual NDA and engagement agreement must be signed by both parties.
I’m comfortable participating personally, or through my LLC/shop 'Digitally Savvy'. The contracting route matters less to me than getting the role, responsibilities and economics right.
Specialist resources are separate.
The proposed hours cover Rick’s agreed role and scope. Digitally Savvy specialists, paid media, software, production and additional builds require separate scoping, budget and written approval. They are not included automatically in either path.
Your feedback
What would
you change?
This is a starting point. Your input on the business, priorities and arrangement is what turns it into an agreed plan.
Have we got it right?
Does this describe Victory+ today and where you want it to go? What needs correcting or adding?
Where do we start?
Which vendor, spending or operating issue comes first? How should we divide the work?
Which path fits?
Choose the unpaid or paid proposal, refine responsibilities and settle milestones, equity and profit or revenue sharing in writing.
A signed mutual NDA and a selected path let us settle the remaining written details. Both parties must sign the engagement agreement before any further work or calls. Please send feedback by email so we can finalize the arrangement.
Discuss the proposal ↗Supporting background / Rick & dS
Complementary experience
(my background)
My background is in media, adtech & martech: revenue strategy, partnerships, vendor evaluations and technology decisions. I’d bring that experience, my network and the dS team where useful.
Practical AI visibility work and multi-step workflows can support defined research, briefs and reporting.
OPTIONAL DETAILWorkstreams, roadmap & landscapeExisting ideas and interactive references to inform the discussion
Supporting reference / Possible workstreams
Options to
scope together.
These are examples to react to. We’ll choose the first priority, deliverables and time allocation together.
One artist. One offer.
A margin worth growing.
Select a product or drop with workable production, fulfillment and return economics. Confirm who contracts with suppliers, owns inventory and delivers the store, creative and customer experience.
- First output
- An offer, contribution-margin view, accountable owners and a bounded acquisition test.
- Success measure
- Sales after refunds, contribution after acquisition cost, opted-in contacts and repeat purchases.
What did the campaign
actually buy?
Put vendor commitments beside actual delivery, fees and platform evidence. Reconcile what was bought and what happened before expanding a campaign or changing suppliers.
- First output
- Vendor commitments beside invoices, actual media spend, creative, placements and native platform evidence.
- Success measure
- A clear keep / change / negotiate / stop decision, with estimates and attribution limits identified.
Know what ran.
Know what comes next.
Connect briefs, campaign IDs, budgets, delivery and outcomes across vendors. Build useful handoffs from brief to execution to review, and establish account access and export rights.
- Weekly
- Activity, spend, delivered work, audience actions, open issues and the next decision.
- Monthly
- Invoices versus platform spend, distributor revenue and store contribution. Never add reach figures and call the total unique people.
The scope, owners and time allocation will be agreed on together. The initial engagement is not a commitment to deliver three full programs at once.
REFERENCEThe artist-to-fan landscapeInteractive maps, vendor context & source PDFs
Reference / The artist-to-fan landscape
See the whole route.
Then choose the right pieces.
Artists on the left. Listeners, viewers and fans on the right. The companies in between do different jobs; the map makes those roles visible to let Victory+ choose where it will operate.
Public roster lens: Cleek / house and tech-house. Confirm the full roster before choosing partners. Selected examples are not endorsements or evidence of a Victory+ relationship.
Where Rise & Artist Influence fit
Artist Influence combines managed campaigns with proprietary workflow / reporting. Rise packages managed media and discovery services. Compare the actual channel mix, supply, fees and delivery. Shared channels do not, by themselves, establish duplicate spend. Neither a dashboard nor the word “platform” establishes an independent advertising DSP.
What independent verification can - and cannot - establish
Clicks, streams, unique listeners and contactable fans are different events. Deduplicate only where identifiers, consent and available exports support it. Streaming integrity and advertising verification require different evidence. Distinguish opaque reporting, waste, suspicious patterns and substantiated fraud.
The existing proposal flags paid stream / playlist guarantees for written clarification against platform rules before endorsement or expansion. This is a diligence issue, not a finding that a vendor used bots.
The roadmap
A sequence to
agree on together.
Start with current vendor and spending decisions. Use the evidence to decide what is worth testing or building next.
These are proposed discussion outputs, to prioritize and scope together. Milestones remain TBD and are not binding delivery promises or automatic equity triggers.
01 Agree on the operating brief +
Sign the mutual NDA and select a path. Confirm the legal entity, responsibilities, time allocation, milestones and sharing terms in the engagement agreement, signed by both parties before any further work or calls.
02 Map the money & the vendors +
Review artist and merch economics, vendor contracts, fees, delivery evidence and data access. Output: a baseline, a landscape / SWOT review and a short keep, change, negotiate or stop list.
03 Run one focused pilot +
Choose a merch, marketing or workflow problem with an owner, budget and success measure. Output: a bounded test, a usable operating view and a documented next decision.
04 Choose the capabilities worth owning +
Compare build, partner and buy options using the pilot evidence. Output: a capability and IP brief, with costs, ownership, differentiation and the functions we should leave to specialists.
Validate a separate concept inside Victory+ before considering licensing or a spinout. Victory+ equity does not automatically settle ownership of a separate concept.
How retained partners fit into the model
Specialists deliver the contracted campaigns and provide evidence. Hands-on buying and daily operations need explicit ownership, capacity and budget; music-specific mechanics still deserve specialist knowledge.
The buying model can evolve. Compare specialist vendors, white-label services and direct buying on cost, access, quality and control. Disclose sourcing fees or markups. Clarify who contracts, funds media, invoices and owns the artist relationship.
THE ASSET WE WANT TO BUILD
Relationships. Cash flow.
A growing data asset.
Bring artist, campaign, commerce and financial records into a shared operating view, with agreed access, consent and ownership. Strong relationships, recurring cash flow and useful data can build lasting value.
Agree on access, consent and ownership before building. The priorities and investment in each capability need a collective decision.
How we choose what to own
Control what matters. Prove the economics.
Choose what to build, partner on or buy based on cost, repeatability, account access, operating capacity and what makes Victory+ distinctive. Build a coherent concept with its own IP, with ownership agreed on before development.
Source proposal, context & inputs
Commercial proposals updated November 5, 2026, from Rick’s instructions. The unpaid hours are a proposed planning target and cap, not an accepted commitment. The background includes commercial media, adtech and martech work, partnerships, vendor evaluation, AI visibility and workflow orchestration. The October 20 working proposal and call notes and existing October 21 landscape remain context; the two economic paths on this page supersede the older proposed economics. No commercial agreement has been reached.
Inputs needed: current vendor plans and invoices, authorized portal access or exports, native ad / artist reports, merch economics, release priorities and delivery owners. Supplier relationships and capacities need confirmation; they are not presented as Victory-owned assets.
Company logos identify their owners. Co-branding presents a proposed collaboration. The landscape’s companion guide contains its company sources and research limits. The existing unsigned mNDA and its signature / download behavior are preserved.
BEFORE DEEPER DISCOVERYA mutual NDA.
A mutual NDA.
Equal protection.
Protect both sides' nonpublic information while we explore the engagement. No exclusivity, non-compete or commercial commitment.
Mutual confidentialityPurpose-limited use3-year protection per disclosureBoth parties sign
Read the full agreement
Review. Sign. Keep a copy.
Confirm the exact legal name of each contracting party. If Victory+ is not incorporated, use the individual's full legal name.
Your typed signature is added to a downloadable PDF containing the complete agreement. Email that copy to Rick for countersignature. The effective date is the date of the last party's signature.
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