AURA — User Guide

A&R Utility & Revenue Assistant

How to run your label from one dashboard.

Table of Contents

1. Getting Started
2. How AURA Is Built
3. The Dashboard
4. Managing Your Artist Roster
5. Release Pipeline
6. Rights & Contracts
7. Demo Inbox
8. Promo Campaigns
9. Calendar & Tasks
10. Revenue Tracking
11. AI Assistant
12. Content Engine
13. Settings
14. Security & Access
15. Quick Reference

1. Getting Started

Signing In

1. Navigate to https://auralabels.app
2. Enter your username and password
3. Complete the Turnstile verification (invisible — you won't see it unless something looks unusual)
4. You'll land on the Dashboard

Your session lasts 7 days. After that, you'll be redirected to sign in again.

The Interface

AURA has three main regions:

• Left Sidebar — Navigation between all surfaces. Active item is highlighted in orange with a small dot indicator.
• Top Header — Page title, notification bell, AI toggle (on desktop), and your user menu (avatar + username).
• Main Content — The active surface. Every page has a dark background with zinc-toned cards.

The aesthetic is intentionally dark and minimal — designed for long studio sessions without eye strain.

Navigation Surfaces

2. How AURA Is Built

System Architecture

AURA has two parts that work together:

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                   Your Browser                        │
│                                                      │
│   ┌──────────┐  ──── JWT token ────►  ┌──────────┐  │
│   │ Frontend │                         │   API    │  │
│   │ (React)  │ ◄──── JSON data ──────  │ (Worker) │  │
│   └──────────┘                         └────┬─────┘  │
│                                             │        │
│                                      ┌──────┴──────┐ │
│                                      │   Database   │ │
│                                      │  (Postgres)  │ │
│                                      └─────────────┘ │
│                                                      │
│   What you see           What stores your data       │
│   (auralabels.app)       (Neon cloud database)       │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

• Frontend — The React app running in your browser. Every page, form, chart, and card you interact with is rendered here.
• API — The Cloudflare Worker that handles all requests. It checks your login, reads and writes your data, generates AI content, and manages file uploads.
• Database — Neon Postgres, a cloud database that stores your artists, releases, contracts, demos, tasks, revenue, and settings. All your label data lives here.

Route Map

Each sidebar surface talks to dedicated API endpoints:

  Sidebar Surface             API Endpoints Used
 ──────────────────       ──────────────────────────
  Dashboard               /api/revenue
                          /api/demos
                          /api/campaigns
                          /api/tasks
                          /api/notifications
                          /api/ai-actions
                          /api/activities

  Artists                 /api/artists

  Releases                /api/releases

  Contracts               /api/contracts
                          /api/files (uploads)

  Demo Inbox              /api/demos
                          /api/webhook/:uuid (public intake)

  Promo Campaigns         /api/campaigns

  Calendar                /api/tasks

  Revenue                 /api/revenue

  AI Assistant            /api/ai/generate

  Content Engine          /api/ai/generate

  Settings                /api/admin (team access)

AI Pipeline

When you generate content with the AI Assistant or Content Engine, AURA chains three AI engines:

Your Prompt
    │
    ▼
┌──────────────┐
│ 1. Claude    │  ← Anthropic (primary, shows cyan badge)
│   Sonnet 4   │
└──────┬───────┘
       │ fails or not configured?
       ▼
┌──────────────┐
│ 2. GPT-4o    │  ← OpenAI (fallback, shows emerald badge)
└──────┬───────┘
       │ fails or not configured?
       ▼
┌──────────────┐
│ 3. Template  │  ← Built-in templates (shows zinc badge)
│   Fallback   │     Always available, no key needed
└──────┬───────┘
       │
       ▼
   Your Result

This means AURA works even without any AI keys — the template fallback produces platform-aware copy with correct character limits for every channel.

File Storage

Files you upload (artwork, contracts, demo audio) are stored in Cloudflare R2, a secure cloud storage service. They're served through the same auralabels.app domain via /api/files/:key.

Security

AURA protects your data with five security layers:

3. The Dashboard

The Dashboard is your operational cockpit. It shows everything that needs your attention today.

What You See

• Today's Priorities — Tasks due today, ranked by priority (critical → high → medium → low)
• Revenue Overview — Total revenue, monthly trend, pending payouts
• Active Campaigns — Promo campaigns currently running
• Demo Inbox Summary — How many demos are awaiting review
• Deadlines Needing Attention — Releases and contracts with approaching dates
• AI Recommendations — Suggested actions from the AI (copy ideas, strategy prompts)
• Artist Activity Feed — Recent actions across your roster

How to Use It

The Dashboard loads all data in parallel when you sign in. Use it as your morning briefing:

1. Check Today's Priorities first — these are things that must be done today
2. Scan Revenue Overview for any anomalies
3. Review Demo Inbox — new submissions since yesterday
4. Check Deadlines for anything due this week
5. Open any item by clicking its card — it takes you to the relevant detail view

4. Managing Your Artist Roster

Viewing Your Roster

Navigate to Artists (/artists). You'll see all artists in your label, with:

• Artist name and image
• Status badges — Active, Inactive, Signed, Prospect
• Profile completeness — Orange indicators show what's missing (bio, social links, etc.)
• Genre tags
• Total releases count

Adding an Artist

1. Click + Add Artist (top-right)
2. Fill in: Name, Label, Status, Genres, Bio, Image URL
3. Add social links (Instagram, Spotify, SoundCloud, etc.)
4. Click Save

Editing an Artist

1. Click an artist from the list to open their detail panel
2. Edit any field
3. Click Save

Profile Completeness

Artists with missing information show orange "missing info" indicators. The system tracks:

• Bio (empty?)
• Social links (missing Instagram? Spotify?)
• Image URL
• Upcoming releases

Fill these in to clear the indicators. A complete profile helps the AI Assistant generate better copy.

Artist Statuses

5. Release Pipeline

Viewing Releases

Navigate to Releases (/releases). You'll see all releases with:

• Catalog number
• Title and artist
• Status badge — where each release is in the pipeline
• Priority (Critical / High / Medium / Low)
• Release date
• Readiness percentage (orange progress bar)
• "Needs Attention" flag

Release Statuses

Creating a Release

1. Click + New Release
2. Enter: Title, Artist, Catalog Number, Release Date, Genres
3. Add tracks (title, duration, BPM, key, mastered status)
4. Upload artwork
5. The launch checklist auto-populates — mark items complete as you go

Readiness Percentage

The orange readiness bar shows how close a release is to launch. It's calculated from:

• Tracks mastered (% of tracks marked as mastered)
• Artwork uploaded (yes/no)
• Launch checklist completion (% of required items checked)
• Promo assets ready (yes/no)
• Distributor submission (yes/no)

Aim for 80%+ two weeks before release date.

Launch Checklist

Every release has a checklist with required and optional items. Required items block the readiness percentage. Typical items:

• Mastered WAV files received
• Artwork finalized (3000×3000px minimum)
• ISRC codes assigned
• Distributor metadata submitted
• Promo one-sheet written
• Social assets created

Track Details

Each track in a release stores:

• Title
• Duration (MM:SS)
• BPM and musical key (rendered in monospace)
• Mastered status (toggle)

6. Rights & Contracts

Viewing Contracts

Navigate to Contracts (/contracts). You'll see all agreements with:

• Artist name
• Contract type — Exclusive, Non-Exclusive, Distribution, Licensing
• Status — Draft, Sent, Signed, Expired, Terminated
• Priority
• Signed date and expiry date
• Revenue share percentage
• GDPR and IPI compliance status

Contract Types

Creating a Contract

1. Click + New Contract
2. Select the artist and contract type
3. Set revenue share percentage (e.g., 50/50 = 50)
4. Enter contract value, rights description, and notes
5. Set signed date and expiry date (if known)
6. Upload the signed PDF via the file uploader
7. Click Save

GDPR & IPI Status

Every contract tracks two compliance fields:

• GDPR Status — Compliant / Pending / Not Applicable
• IPI Status — Registered / Pending / Not Submitted

These are important for EU-based labels. The system flags contracts where either status is "Pending" as needing attention.

Contract Expiry

Contracts approaching expiry show a warning in the Dashboard and Notifications. Renew or terminate before the expiry date to keep your rights chain clean.

7. Demo Inbox

How Demos Arrive

Demos come in via a public webhook endpoint (/api/webhook/:uuid). You can connect this to:

• A Make.com (Integromat) scenario that watches a Gmail inbox
• A custom submission form on your label's website
• A Typeform or Google Form with webhook forwarding

Each submission captures: artist name, email, Instagram handle, track title, genre, duration, BPM, key, and a private listening link.

Reviewing Demos

1. Navigate to Demo Inbox (/demo-inbox)
2. New demos show an animated "new" badge
3. Click a demo to open its detail panel
4. Listen to the track via the private link
5. Rate the submission (star rating)
6. Set Label Fit — Perfect / Good / Moderate / Poor
7. Update the Status:

Demo Statuses

Demo Workflow

The recommended flow:

1. New → open, listen, rate
2. If promising → Listening → set Label Fit → add notes
3. If you want to sign → Interested → reach out to artist
4. If you sign them → Accepted → create Artist profile + Contract
5. If not a fit → Rejected (soft-deleted, restorable)

8. Promo Campaigns

Viewing Campaigns

Navigate to Promo Campaigns (/promo). Each campaign shows:

• Campaign name
• Linked release and artist
• Status — Planning, Active, Completed, Paused
• Priority
• Start and end dates
• Target platforms
• Budget
• Impressions and engagements
• Readiness percentage
• Missing content flags
• Next action

Creating a Campaign

1. Click + New Campaign
2. Name the campaign and link it to a release
3. Select target platforms (Instagram, Spotify, TikTok, Beatport, YouTube, etc.)
4. Set budget, start date, and end date
5. The campaign checklist auto-populates — mark items as you progress

Campaign Checklist

Each campaign tracks platform-specific deliverables:

Campaign Readiness

Similar to releases, campaigns have a readiness percentage. Missing content flags tell you what still needs to be created. Use the Content Engine (/content) to generate platform-specific copy for each deliverable.

9. Calendar & Tasks

Viewing Tasks

Navigate to Calendar (/calendar). Tasks are displayed with:

• Title and description
• Status — Backlog, To Do, In Progress, Done
• Priority (Critical / High / Medium / Low)
• Category (Contract, Artwork, Mastering, Promo, Admin, Social, Distributor, Content)
• Due date
• Assignee
• Related entity (linked release, artist, campaign, or contract)
• Overdue flag — red indicator if past due

Creating a Task

1. Click + New Task
2. Enter title, description, due date, priority, category, and assignee
3. Optionally link it to a release, artist, campaign, or contract
4. Click Save

Task Statuses

Overdue Tasks

Tasks past their due date with status ≠ Done show a red "Overdue" flag. These appear in the Dashboard under "Deadlines Needing Attention."

10. Revenue Tracking

Viewing Revenue

Navigate to Revenue (/revenue). You'll see:

• Total Revenue — All-time earnings
• Monthly Revenue — Current month
• Pending Payouts — Earnings not yet distributed
• Revenue by Artist — Proportion bars showing which artists generate the most
• Revenue by Release — Proportion bars showing which releases earn the most
• Currency — EUR (euro)

Understanding the Data

Revenue data comes from the /api/revenue endpoint. The system shows:

• Monthly trend — Is revenue growing month-over-month?
• Artist concentration — Are you too dependent on one artist?
• Release performance — Which releases are your catalog workhorses?

Use this surface to make signing and marketing decisions. If one artist generates 60% of revenue, you need to diversify. If one release from two years ago still earns, you have catalog value.

11. AI Assistant

What It Does

The AI Assistant generates copy and strategy, wired to your actual label data. It knows your artists, releases, and contracts — so it can produce context-aware output.

Using the AI Assistant

1. Navigate to AI Assistant (/ai)
2. Type your prompt — be specific about what you need:
   • "Write a Spotify bio for [Artist Name] highlighting their last three releases"
   • "Draft a press release for [Release Title]"
   • "Suggest three promo strategies for our new signing [Artist Name]"
   • "Summarize this quarter's releases for our newsletter"
3. Click Generate
4. Review the output — it's saved as a draft
5. Copy, edit, or regenerate as needed

Provider Badges

The output header shows which engine generated the text:

Tips

• The more context you give, the better the output
• Artist names, release titles, and contract terms are pulled from your database — the AI has access to these
• Generate, then edit. The AI gives you a strong first draft; you add the human touch

12. Content Engine

What Makes It Different

The Content Engine (/content) is distinct from the AI Assistant. It's purpose-built for platform-specific content — the AI Assistant handles general copy and strategy; the Content Engine handles channel-aware generation.

Platform Selector

Choose a platform from the dropdown. Each platform has specific rules:

Using the Content Engine

1. Navigate to Content Engine (/content)
2. Select the target Platform
3. Choose context: artist, release, or campaign (optional)
4. Enter your prompt or topic
5. Click Generate
6. The output respects the platform's character limits and style guidance

How It Works

The platform rules are injected into the LLM system prompt AND hard-capped in the template fallback. So even without an AI key, you get properly-sized output for your chosen platform.

13. Settings

Accessing Settings

Navigate to Settings (/settings). This is where you configure your label.

What You Can Configure

• Label Information — Name, logo, contact details
• AI Providers — Anthropic API key and/or OpenAI API key (either is optional — if neither is set, templates are used)
• Session Management — View your current session, sign out from all devices
• Team Access — Manage users (admin only)

Global Save

Settings uses one global Save button. Edit any card, then click the single Save at the top. This prevents the ambiguity of "which card did I just save?" — a deliberate UX choice.

Signing Out

You can sign out from two places:

1. User Menu (top-right avatar chip, available on every page)
2. Settings → Session Card

Both clear your token and redirect to the login page. There's no "silent logout" — you always know you're signed out.

14. Security & Access

Authentication

• Login requires username + password + Turnstile verification
• Sessions use JWT tokens (7-day expiry)
• Failed login attempts are rate-limited (5 per 15 minutes per IP)
• The system uses timing-safe password comparison to prevent username enumeration

File Storage

• Artwork, contracts, and demo audio are stored in Cloudflare R2
• Files are served via the /api/files/:key endpoint
• Uploads require authentication
• Downloads can be public (for artwork/images) or authenticated (for contracts)

Data Privacy

• Contract GDPR compliance is tracked per agreement
• IPI registration status is monitored
• No analytics or tracking beyond what's needed for the app to function

15. Quick Reference

Status Overview

Priority Levels

Keyboard & Navigation

• Click any card to open its detail view
• Use the sidebar to switch between surfaces
• Esc closes detail panels and modals
• Click outside a detail panel to close it

Getting Help

• The Dashboard's AI Recommendations suggest actions you might want to take
• The Content Engine generates copy for every platform
• Missing info flags on artists and contracts tell you what's incomplete
• Notification bell in the header shows task due dates, contract expirations, and demo reviews

AURA — A&R Utility & Revenue Assistant. Built for ORBEAT Records. Ready for your label.