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25 Founding Artist positions

Your recordings should not
disappear onto a hard drive.

SetLight is selecting 25 Founding Artists to turn real music recordings into finished promotional content — and to help prove what the product can actually do.

You bring music you already made. SetLight finds each song inside it, cuts the moments worth watching, and prepares content for each platform. You stay in control of what gets published.

Apply to become a Founding Artist
Takes about 5–8 minutes. No payment card. Applying does not guarantee selection.
25
Founding Artist positions in this cohort
90
Active days free — the clock starts when you log in, not when you are accepted
50% off
Continuing Founding Artist price afterward, while you stay subscribed
$0
Charged during the pilot. No card collected, no automatic billing

One recording. Everything you need to share it.

01

Upload your recording

Add a recording with one song or many — from a performance, rehearsal or session.

02

SetLight finds each song

SetLight detects where each song begins and ends, then separates the recording into individual songs.

03

It builds a publishing pack

For each song, SetLight creates brand-specific thumbnails, titles, hashtags, keywords and platform-ready clips.

04

You review it

Review the publishing pack and schedule when to publish.

The exchange

This is not a giveaway and it is not an open beta. Both sides put something in.

What you receive

  • 90 active days freeFull access to the current SetLight Artist product.
  • Your free days start when you log in — not before.Nothing counts until you can actually get in and work.
  • 50% off afterward, permanentlyThe Founding Artist rate is half the standard Artist price, and it holds for as long as your subscription stays continuous.
  • Direct influence on the productYour feedback will shape the product.

What SetLight requires

  • Real product useAt least three meaningful music recordings during the pilot.
  • Real footage you controlYou need the rights to upload and process what you submit.
  • Honest structured feedbackShort checkpoints tied to actual moments — not essays or meetings.
  • Permission to measure resultsSetLight records how the product behaved on your uploads.
  • A short video interviewOne recorded conversation about your experience, before your finished pack is released.

Who should apply

This fits you if

  • You are an independent musician — solo, duo, band, producer-performer or a small self-managed act.
  • You make music you want people to hear online.
  • You are the one responsible for some or all of your own promotion.
  • You have music footage now, or you will have some soon — gigs, rehearsals, home sessions, studio takes, acoustic takes, video shoots.
  • Most of what you record never makes it out into the world.
  • You are willing to use an unfinished product and provide feedback.
  • You are comfortable appearing on camera — your likeness and performance footage are part of this programme.

Honest disqualifiers

  • You are under 18.
  • You do not control the footage you would submit, or cannot confirm you have authority to upload it.
  • You want free editing but do not want to give feedback or be measured.
  • You are not comfortable appearing on camera, or with SetLight using qualifying footage and verified results in its own promotion.
A small audience does not disqualify you. Follower count is a minor factor and it does not decide selection — fit, consistency and willingness to participate matter more.

How promotional proof works

Proof is the reason this cohort exists, so it is spelled out rather than buried in terms.

SetLight may create promotional materials using:

  • selected footage from performances you upload;
  • real SetLight screens showing your work moving through the product;
  • the finished outputs SetLight generated for you;
  • verified statistics from your account — recording length, songs detected, assets prepared, what you approved;
  • your artist identity, only as far as your own permissions allow;
  • feedback you give during the pilot.
Appearing on camera is part of this programme. Your likeness and footage of you performing are required for a Founding Artist position and cannot be declined — a cohort built to show what the product does for real artists cannot work without them. If that is not something you want, this particular programme is not the right fit, and that is a completely reasonable position to take.
What is yours to choose, and declining it does not affect your acceptance: your artist name, your logo, your social handles, and whether you get marketing email. You also choose how you are credited — by name, generally ("an independent artist"), or anonymously. Your feedback may be quoted. We won't change what you meant, we'll note that you received free founding-artist access. You choose how you're credited — including anonymously.
This permission does not rescind. It is granted once, when you accept your position, and it does not come back. Leaving the pilot does not revoke it. SetLight is giving substantial free access and a permanent preferred price specifically in exchange for being able to show what the product did for real artists, so this is stated plainly rather than buried. Marketing email is different — you can turn that off whenever you like.
SetLight will not invent outcomes and will not portray you dishonestly. It may state only what its own records support. When your material is used publicly, SetLight will say that you received free access and preferred pricing.
What a true SetLight claim looks like From one 84-minute performance, SetLight identified 14 candidate songs and prepared 31 promotional assets. The artist approved 12 songs and exported 18 assets.
What SetLight will never claim "SetLight gives every artist weeks of viral content."

The offer, and what happens after 90 days

During the pilot

90 active days of the current SetLight Artist product, free. No payment card is collected at any point in the application or the pilot. You cannot be charged by accident because there is nothing on file to charge.

After the pilot

You may continue at 50% off the standard SetLight Artist price, for as long as your subscription stays continuous. Continuing requires you to knowingly add a payment method and accept the plan. If you do nothing, nothing happens — finishing the pilot without subscribing is a perfectly normal outcome.

The Founding Artist Pilot is separate from SetLight's general "First Set Free" public offer. If you are not selected here, the ordinary public offer may still be available to you later.

Questions

 

Do I need a large following?

No. Audience size is a minor consideration and it does not decide selection. A working musician with 200 engaged listeners and a folder of unused footage is a better fit than a large account that will not test anything.

What kind of footage do I need?

Authentic music footage that you control: live gigs, rehearsals, home sessions, studio takes, acoustic performances, music-video material. It needs enough audio and visual quality for a fair test, but it does not need to be professionally shot. Longer recordings are genuinely fine — SetLight is built to find the songs inside them.

Do I have to post the content SetLight creates?

No. You decide what, if anything, you publish. Using the product and reviewing the results is the commitment; publishing is your call.

Will SetLight publish anything without my approval?

SetLight does not publish to your channels without your approval. For SetLight's own promotional material, you grant permission up front for the categories described above, within your identity limits — and every piece still requires SetLight's founder to approve it before it goes anywhere public.

What information may SetLight use publicly?

Selected performance footage, SetLight screens, the outputs it generated, verified statistics from your account, and your artist identity within the limits you set. Never private or sensitive information. Never invented numbers. Never a quote edited to change what you meant.

Can I leave the pilot?

Yes, at any time, and there is nothing to cancel because there is no payment method on file. One thing to be clear about: the promotional permission you grant when you accept a position does not come back if you leave. What you granted stays granted. Marketing email is separate and you can turn that off whenever you like.

When does the 90-day period begin?

When you create your password and first log in — not when you are accepted.

Will I be charged automatically?

No. No card is collected during the application or the pilot, and there is no automatic conversion. Continuing after the pilot requires you to add a payment method yourself and accept the plan.

What happens after the pilot?

You are offered the Founding Artist rate — 50% off the standard Artist price — which holds while your subscription stays continuous. You are free to decline and simply stop.

What if SetLight does not work correctly on my footage?

Then you have done exactly what this cohort is for. Report it. Finding the failures before public launch is the entire point of selecting 25 artists instead of opening the doors.

Apply to become a Founding Artist

About 5–8 minutes. No payment card. You will see exactly what you are agreeing to before you submit — and applying does not guarantee selection.

Start your application