Ethos Guild Quick Start Guide

🎵 What is Ethos?

Ethos Guild = Official audio identity program for AeThex. A synthwave-themed community of musicians, producers, and sound designers who create music and SFX for AeThex projects.

Not a separate business. It's a guild within the Foundation arm.

Not optional. It powers game audio for GameForge, provides talent for CORP clients, and creates revenue via the NEXUS marketplace.

📍 Where to Find Ethos

Public Pages (Live Now)

Page
Route
Purpose

Guild Community

/community/groups/ethos

Overview, features, roadmap

Curriculum

/docs/curriculum/ethos

Learning path (content coming Phase 3)

Admin Pages (Phase 2)

Page
Route
Purpose

Track Library

/ethos/library

Browse all published tracks

Artist Profiles

/ethos/artists/:userId

View artist portfolio

Artist Settings

/ethos/settings

Manage profile & pricing (authenticated)

Licensing Dashboard

/ethos/licensing

Manage commercial agreements (authenticated)

Marketplace Integration (Phase 2)

Page
Feature
Purpose

NEXUS

/nexus

"Audio Production" category with Ethos artists

🗂️ What Was Built (Phase 1)

1. Database Schema ✅

File: code/supabase/migrations/20250206_add_ethos_guild.sql

4 tables:

  • ethos_tracks - Music & SFX files

  • ethos_artist_profiles - Artist info & pricing

  • ethos_guild_members - Membership tracking

  • ethos_licensing_agreements - Commercial contracts

Status: Ready to deploy. Run migration on Supabase.

2. Community Page ✅

File: code/client/pages/community/EthosGuild.tsx Route: /community/groups/ethos

Features:

  • Synthwave branding (neon pink/purple/cyan)

  • Mission statement & value props

  • 3 tabs: Overview, Features, Roadmap

  • Stats dashboard (placeholder)

  • CTAs to curriculum & NEXUS

Status: Live and public. Share with community.

3. Curriculum Page ✅

File: code/client/pages/docs/DocsCurriculumEthos.tsx Route: /docs/curriculum/ethos

4 modules:

  • Synthwave Foundations (4 hrs)

  • Game Audio & SFX Design (5 hrs)

  • Composition & Scoring (6 hrs)

  • Licensing & Monetization (3 hrs)

Status: Skeleton ready. Content writing in Phase 3.

4. Routes & Navigation ✅

File: code/client/App.tsx (updated)

Routes added:

Status: Wired and accessible.

5. Documentation ✅

Files:

  • ETHOS_GUILD_PHASE1_COMPLETE.md - Full Phase 1 summary

  • ETHOS_GUILD_PHASE2_NEXUS_INTEGRATION.md - Phase 2 technical plan

  • ETHOS_GUILD_QUICK_START.md - This guide

⚙️ How It All Fits Together

📋 What's Next (Phase 2)

Tech Team (CTO) - 4 weeks, ~20 hours

Week 1: APIs + database

  • POST /api/ethos/tracks - Upload track

  • GET /api/ethos/tracks - List tracks

  • GET /api/ethos/artists - List artists

  • POST /api/ethos/licensing-agreements - Create licensing request

Week 2: Upload UI

  • TrackUploadModal.tsx - File upload + progress

  • TrackMetadataForm.tsx - Title, genre, license type, BPM, etc.

  • code/pages/ethos/TrackLibrary.tsx - Browse all tracks

Week 3: Artist profiles + NEXUS

  • ArtistProfile.tsx - View artist portfolio

  • ArtistSettings.tsx - Manage profile & pricing

  • Update /nexus to show "Audio Production" category

Week 4: Licensing + testing

  • LicensingDashboard.tsx - Manage agreements

  • Error handling & validation

  • Performance testing

Deliverable: MVP ready for founding artists to upload.

CEO - This Week ⏳

Draft 3 legal templates:

  1. Ecosystem License - Free non-exclusive use (internal AeThex projects)

  2. Commercial License - Paid (CORP client projects)

  3. Artist Agreement - Rights, ownership, guidelines

Blocker: Upload feature cannot launch until templates drafted.

Community Team (Dylan) - Phase 3

Identify founding artists

  • 5-10 seed artists to launch with

  • Reach out & onboard to guild

Write curriculum

  • Schedule writing sprints

  • Covers: synthwave, SFX design, composition, licensing

  • Target: Live by Q2 2025

Community management

  • Guild leadership roles (curator, admin)

  • Monthly spotlights & events

  • Artist guidelines & COC

🚀 Launching Ethos (Timeline)

Date
Phase
Milestone

This week

Phase 1 → 2

CEO approves legal templates

Next week

Phase 2 Start

CTO schedules 4-week sprint

Week 1-4

Phase 2 Build

API endpoints + upload UI

Week 5

Phase 2 QA

Testing & final polish

Week 6

Phase 2 Launch

MVP live, founding artists invited

Month 2-3

Phase 3

Curriculum writing, community growth

💡 Key Design Decisions

Why Synthwave?

  • '80s retro-futuristic aesthetic = AeThex brand

  • Neon pink, purple, cyan visuals

  • Instantly recognizable, culturally cool

  • Differentiates from other game studios

Why Not a Separate Venture?

  • Ethos is for the ecosystem, not profits alone

  • Foundation owns & nurtures it

  • Revenue flows back to CORP client work

  • Talent pipeline strengthens all arms

Why NEXUS Integration?

  • Makes artists discoverable across AeThex

  • Unifies creator economy (designers, devs, musicians)

  • Enables CORP to hire for commercial projects

  • Builds network effects

📊 Success Metrics (Phase 2+)

Metric
Q1 2025 Target
Q2+ Target

Guild members

10 founding

100+ active

Tracks uploaded

50

500+

Commercial licensing agreements

2-3

20+

CORP revenue from Ethos (licensing)

$5K

$50K+

GameForge games using Ethos audio

3-5

15+

🔗 Quick Links

Documentation:

  • Phase 1 Summary: code/docs/ETHOS_GUILD_PHASE1_COMPLETE.md

  • Phase 2 Plan: code/docs/ETHOS_GUILD_PHASE2_NEXUS_INTEGRATION.md

  • Database: code/supabase/migrations/20250206_add_ethos_guild.sql

Code:

  • Community page: code/client/pages/community/EthosGuild.tsx

  • Curriculum page: code/client/pages/docs/DocsCurriculumEthos.tsx

  • Routes: code/client/App.tsx (search "ethos" or "EthosGuild")

Team Responsibilities:

  • CEO: Legal templates (this week)

  • CTO: Phase 2 sprint planning & build

  • Community: Founding artist outreach & curriculum

❓ FAQ

Q: Is Ethos a separate music label? A: No. It's a guild within Foundation, part of the ecosystem. It creates music for AeThex use + serves as a talent pool for CORP client work.

Q: Can artists sell their music elsewhere? A: Yes! The ecosystem license is non-exclusive. Artists can sell on Spotify, Bandcamp, etc. They just also grant AeThex a free license for internal use.

Q: How do artists make money? A: Three ways:

  1. CORP hires them for commercial projects (via NEXUS)

  2. Streaming revenue on other platforms

  3. (Future) Royalty share on successful games using their music

Q: What about copyright & IP? A: Artist retains ownership of original composition. AeThex gets a license for specific use cases. Managed via legal templates (CEO responsibility).

Q: When can I upload tracks? A: Phase 2 (4-6 weeks). Founding artists invited first, then open to community.

📞 Contact & Questions

  • Strategic questions: CEO (Anderson)

  • Technical questions: CTO (Braden)

  • Community questions: Community Lead (Dylan)

  • Documentation questions: Refer to ETHOS_GUILD_PHASE1_COMPLETE.md

🎵 Ready to make AeThex sound? Let's build Phase 2. 🎵

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