About

    We're building the creator-first backend for music.

    CreateBase exists to fix broken royalty systems and give artists ownership without lawyers, spreadsheets, or delay. Founded in 2022, we bring together legal, music, and engineering expertise to make sure every story turns into splits that pay.

    Our story

    CreateBase is led by artists, lawyers, and engineers who have lived the pain of broken registrations. We're building the rights backend artists deserve.

    Arsh Shah

    CEO

    Arsh Shah

    CreateBase
    Harvard
    Stanford
    Oxford
    Y Combinator
    JD, Sydney Law School
    LLM, Northeastern Law (Dean's Scholar, dropout)
    Harvard Business School
    Stanford CodeX Center
    MIT, Oxford, Cambridge (research/affiliations)
    Legal technologist turned music rights builder.
    Previously: artist manager, BigLaw, government, tech.
    Based in California.

    Hi, I'm Arsh!

    I didn't set out to build a music rights company. I set out to fix broken systems — and none are more broken, or more important to creators, than the one that decides who gets paid and when.

    I started my career in law. Worked in BigLaw, government, and tech across the U.S. and abroad. Before all that, I managed artists and saw firsthand how royalties vanished, songs went unregistered, and creators got ghosted by the very system meant to pay them.

    That's when it clicked: the problem isn't legal. It's structural. It's metadata — the missing link between music and money. And if artists don't have a seat at that table, they don't just miss out: they disappear.

    So we found some incredible people, and together, we built CreateBase. Not another dashboard. Not another rights portal. We're building the backend of the music industry, and making it creator-first.

    Here's what we want:

    • → End black box royalties for good.
    • → Make metadata registration as simple as uploading to Spotify.
    • → Give artists ownership without lawyers, spreadsheets, or delay.
    • → Turn stories into splits and ensure every creator gets credited and paid.

    You can reach me directly at arsh@createbase.com. I read every email.

    Team

    Built by world-class engineers, music executives, and AI pioneers.

    Arsh Shah
    Arsh Shah
    CEO
    IP lawyer, legal technologist, and ex-artist manager with 10+ years across music, law, and AI. HBS, Computable Contracts at Stanford CodeX, Media Law at Cambridge, Computational Law at MIT. Ex–Sidley Austin. Led AI ethics at Australia's Department of the Prime Minister & Cabinet.
    Ada Zhao
    Ada Zhao
    Finance/Operations
    25+ years in finance, investments, and software. Deep experience in banking, asset management, IPOs, and M&A. Managed multi-million dollar budgets and cross-functional teams in both public and private companies.
    Jesse Buddington
    Jesse Buddington
    Product
    15+ years at the intersection of machine learning and music, with deep subject expertise in copyright law and music data. Co-founder of Loudr (acquired by Spotify), where he designed and built global rights management and licensing systems.
    Jason Jordan
    Jason Jordan
    Business Development
    30+ years in A&R, labels, publishing, and distribution. Co-founder of earthprogram, early Synchtank investor, ex-Managing Director at ONErpm North America.
    Badia Daamash
    Badia Daamash
    Engineering
    14+ years building and leading engineering teams, developing large-scale systems, and delivering robust software. Former Senior Engineering Manager at Art19 (Amazon Music) and Bees by AB InBev, with deep expertise in platform and API design. He is currently leading a team of 4 ML engineers and data engineers.
    Mauricio Rivera
    Mauricio Rivera
    Regional Manager, Latin America
    20+ years in the entertainment industry as a Polyglot Artist, Musical Producer, and IP lawyer. Touring operations for Romeo Santos, Daddy Yankee, Natti Natasha, Ozuna, and others, specialized in international marketing and promotional campaigns across Spain, Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Argentina, Chile. Board member of SAYCO and SGAE, expertise in copyright, rights management, and Latin, European and American music Market Management.
    Cooper Barnes
    Cooper Barnes
    Client Liaison & Metadata Delivery Manager
    10+ years at Sony Music Entertainment working as a Copyright Analyst, handling rights management, licensing and label operations for Legacy Records including high-profile artists including Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, and Paul Simon. Oversaw clearance process for physical and digital releases for Legacy Records and Premium Content. Extensive experience in publishing rights management, metadata and royalty payments.

    Join our team

    Help us build the future of music rights.

    Why work at CreateBase?

    • Equity in a fast-growing music tech company
    • Work directly with founders and industry veterans
    • Remote-first culture with quarterly team gatherings
    • Make a real impact on the music industry

    Open positions

    We're hiring! Explore current roles and learn how you can help us build the future of music rights.

    View open roles
    Stay Connected

    Every artist has a story. We turn yours into royalties.

    Insights, guides, and updates from CreateBase on music rights, royalties, and metadata.

    Get in touch

    Questions about CreateBase? Want to learn more? We'd love to hear from you.