The bet
From grey area to market.
People remix songs all the time, but there was no simple way to license one. Without a license, a remix can’t be released to streaming or earn anything, and the original artist never sees a cent from it. So most remixes stayed unofficial.
vers1ons set out to turn that grey area into a market. Artists set their own terms and sell remix licenses directly, and every version stays tied to the rights it came from. I joined early as an engineer and became the product lead, working across product, design and engineering on every part below.
Sequencing
The license had to come first. The money came after.
Nothing else works until the license is real, so we started there, with the license as data the whole platform reads. Buying it came next, then paying every contributor their share, then releasing remixes to stores with the license checked along the way.
The design system came as the app grew, and moving every screen onto it took real work. That’s the one thing I’d do differently. From zero, I’d build the design system on day one.
Where it is
Live, with labels on board and remixes in stores.
Artists and buyers use vers1ons in production. Labels list and license through it, licensed remixes are delivered to streaming stores, and the company is raising and growing. Each part below is one piece of how it got here.
