The short answer
Seven years. Each 2257 record must be kept for seven years from when it was created or last changed. If you stop doing business, your records must be kept for five years after that. Answers that give five years as the general rule are mixing the two up.
When the clock starts
The seven years run from the record's creation or its last change. A record that changes, for example when a performer's stage name is added or the content goes up at a new URL, is a record that was changed.
What has to be kept
The whole record, not just the ID:
- The copy of each performer's ID and their legal name and date of birth
- Every other name each performer has used
- A copy of the content and the URLs where it is published
- The date of original production
- The cross-reference index linking performers to content
Taking content down does not end it
Deleting a clip from a platform does not delete the duty to keep its record. The record has to exist for the full period whether the content is still published or not.
If you stop creating
Closing your account or leaving the industry does not end it either. The regulations require the records to be kept for five years after a producer stops doing business.
Where Easy2257 fits
Easy2257 keeps your records for the full seven years. Deleting something inside that window takes it off your account but keeps it in custody, where it can still be produced. Cancelling your subscription does not delete your records, and you can export everything before you do. Retention and deletion has the details.
Informational only, not legal advice.