Where the numbers come from.

What studios log

Studios log their creators’ posts and numbers themselves, one at a time or from a spreadsheet: for each post, the day it went up and its views, likes, comments and shares, and for each account, its followers. Every number is marked self-reported, so a brand always knows where it came from.

The grade and the weekly state are worked out from those numbers: how the grade works.

Sponsored posts are recorded when they go live, at 0 views, and stay out of the grade until their numbers are logged.

The demo’s creators, studios and brands, and all their numbers, are made up.

What’s checked today

• Live links. A live link must be on the deal’s platform (a TikTok video on TikTok). For TikTok and YouTube, Synthicate then asks the platform’s public embed service who posted it: a post by anyone but the creator is refused, and the deal shows both sides whether the post was found. Instagram’s doesn’t say who posted, so there the brand looks for itself. A check proves the post, never its numbers.
• The fee. 15% of the price, rounded to the nearest cent with halves up. The studio’s share is the price less the fee, so the two always add back to the price: on a A$900 deal the studio gets A$765.
• The held money. For every deal, the money held is exactly the price from payment until it’s released or refunded. It’s checked before and after every move, and a deal whose money doesn’t add up doesn’t move until a person looks at it.
• The brief’s filters. One check decides both a brand’s “who matches” list and a studio’s “open briefs” list, so the two sides always agree. An offer only goes to a creator that meets them.

What’s coming

• Next, the numbers come from the platforms’ official APIs instead of being typed in. Each platform reviews an app before it may read a creator’s numbers.

Until then, every number keeps its self-reported mark.

Research we read

The rules rest on research read on 29 Sep 2026: what regulators and the platforms say, how the payment provider works, and what others in the market already do. Each link goes to the source.