Stage name

The name under which recordings are published and under which productions and the audience know you. It separates what is publicly findable from what stands in your ID — and it is the only one of these dividing lines you have completely in your own hands.

What you choose by

Three criteria decide usability. First uniqueness: the name should not drown in a search engine among thousands of foreign hits, but also not already be used by another person in the industry. Check both before you settle.

Second pronounceability. The name is spelled on the phone, typed in mails and written in metadata. Constructions with special characters, numbers or unusual spelling lead to productions not finding you again.

Third durability. The name may accompany you for years. A reference to a current age, a hair colour or a place of residence dates — and a name change means that the previous findability is lost.

The four most common mistakes

• Echoes of the real name. The second first name, the mother’s maiden name, a short form from the circle of friends. Exactly that is what anyone who searches specifically finds.
• Old nicknames or gamer tags. They often exist for years in forums and old profiles and can be linked to your surroundings with a search.
• Names that suggest minority. They are excluded with us and restrict placeability, because serious productions will not book them.
• Several names in parallel. Anyone who is called something different on every platform builds no recognition and loses track of where what is published.

Where the protection ends

This is the point at which many expect something wrong. The stage name protects the publication, not the contract level. The model contract is concluded with your ID name, the ID check is done with identity card or passport, and your invoices carry the name under which you are held for tax. A contract on a fantasy name would not be discreet; it would be legally worthless.

Production, agency and tax office therefore know your real name. That is unavoidable and at the same time unproblematic as long as those data stay there. What the stage name does is the split to the outside: nobody who sees a recording gets to your identity through it.

What the name alone does not cover

It does not prevent recognition by people who know your face. Against that case only picture decisions help, within tight limits a geoblocking, and the protection rules that stand on our safety page. It also does not automatically protect on your own sales: on a fan platform you leave payment data and answer messages yourself, which makes the split clearly harder.

From the start therefore open a separate mail address and separate profiles that have no connection to private accounts. How far anonymity carries in practice is placed in the article on working anonymously.