On average it takes about 4-6 weeks to go live on all stores. Some stores review faster than others with Amazon taking under a week, Napster and Emusic about a week or two, Rhapsody about 2-3 weeks and the same for GroupieTunes. So far we have been unable to determine the average time to go live in Lala.com and Shockhound as they are so new. Remember TuneCore does not have control over when your album goes live but these are averages based on long-term distribution relationships with each DSP (digital service provider).
Unfortunately no, not at this time, but we promise to cross our fingers for you.
Most stores (like iTunes) send your sales information and money within 45 days after the end of the month in which the sale took place. As an example, if you had sales in the month of February, the stores send your sales information and money by April 15 (45 days after the end of February). Some stores, like eMusic and Napster (for streams only) send your sales information and money within 45 days after the end of each QUARTER. So if your music sold in those stores any time during January, February or March, you'll know about all three months by May 15. On the rare occasion that your sales information and money is posted late, it is due to delays in reporting from the stores.
We also offer weekly trending reports which are posted to your My Account page by every Wednesday for the following week. For more on trending, click here.
Unfortunately there is no easy way to make changes to an album once you have paid for the delivery. We distribute your album immediately to the stores and therefore cannot make changes to the delivered album. If you have made a spelling error, uploaded incorrect files for either music or artwork, the best way to make a change is to takedown the current version and upload a completely new one. More on takedowns.
If your album has been live on any of the stores for at least six months then just contact us and we will process a takedown for you. For albums that have not been live for at least six months there is an early takedown fee of $20. You can make this payment to accounts@tunecore.com and contact us to process your request.
There could be multiple reasons for why an album may not be live before or after the projected go live date has passed. More often then not it is because there is an open issue that needs to be resolved. If your album is not live but your go live date has passed and/or your album has been listed in processing for more than 48 hours please contact us.
We have found .wav files to be the most reliable and therefore recommend them first and foremost. Remember that they must be set at a 44.1 khz sample rate, 16 bit sample size and the channel set to stereo. Not sure how to convert your music? – Check out our tutorial.
Artwork can be in one of the following file formats: JPG, GIF or PNG. The image must be a perfect square and at least 1600x1600. All artwork must be in best-quality RGB Color mode (including black and white images) and must have a resolution of at least 72 dpi. You may not include: email addresses, URLs, any other contact information or any pricing information. You must include both the artist name and album title on the artwork and remove any stickers or other items from your artwork in case you are scanning it in from a physical CD.
The TuneCore FAQ is the place to go for answers, from the most simple to the most advanced. Find out what it all means.
Got questions about our service, or how to get your music onto your computer or what to do with it once it's there? Here's information everyone with a computer should know.
No! But you do have to be at least 18 years old to do a financial transaction. If you have music you'd like to put into our service and you are under 18 years old, ask for help from a parent or guardian.
A computer has a hard drive that stores data. From pictures to music to word processing files, its all just data to a computer. Software programs allow you to use and view the data however you need to, as pictures or text or music. iTunes is software from Apple Computer, Inc., that lets you store, organize, buy and play music.
All music lives on computers as data in digital files. Files live in folders throughout your computer. All files and folders have names, but files end in a three- or four-letter "extension" found after the "dot" (.) in the file name. Most PC computers show these extensions, but most Apple computers do not. Music can be stored in many ways, and the extension tells you and the computer how that file is stored. Some ways of storage "compress" the data to keep the size down (sometimes resulting in loss of sound quality).
For music files, the most common extensions are:
For questions about TuneCore Video, please click here.
Music files primarily come in two varieties: "compressed" and "uncompressed." An uncompressed music file is the music stored as faithfully as the computer can hold it, just like the music on normal audio CDs. These are large files and hold every scrap of data the computer needs to reproduce the music as closely as it can to the original recording. These files are often named with .wav or .AIFF extensions.
Since these files are large and in most cases contain data not necessary in order to have the computer reproduce your music at an acceptable level of sound quality, they are often "compressed" into smaller files. Compression is a kind of shortcut, and in most cases even a trained ear cannot tell the difference between music reproduced from a compressed or uncompressed file. Music files that have been compressed are often given .MP3 and AAC (.M4A) and .FLAC extensions.
Here's how it works. An audio CD you buy at a record store has data on it, and a CD player knows how to read that data and turn it back into music. The amount of data on an audio CD for just one song is quite large: around 35 to 60 megabytes per song, depending on the length of the song. But a lot of that data is unnecessary: it's possible to "compress" big data files into smaller, more manageable sizes. Sure you lose some information, but mostly the unimportant stuff that most people won't miss. After compression, the 35 to 60 MB file gets much smaller: only 3 to 7 MB.
But not all compression is the same. Compressions can be very subtle. If a compressed music file retains 100% of the original sound, it's called "lossless" (no sound quality is lost in compression), such as FLAC files. A FLAC file is smaller than a .wav or .AIFF, but it's still quite large. The smaller the file is compressed, the more data is lost, the less faithfully a computer can reproduce the music. Usually this is represented by a number called the "sampling rate," which describes how much data (in groups of one thousand bytes) is captured from the music by the computer in any given second. The number is abbreviated "kilobits per second" or "kbps." Here are common compressions and their impact on the music:
Generally, the higher the kbps, the better the reproduction, but the larger the file.
For questions about TuneCore Video and compression, please click here.
However you normally store your music (on a compact disk, on reel-to-reel tape, on a cassette, on vinyl record, etc.), the most common way to get it into your computer is to "rip" it, or as Apple says, "Import." Ripping almost always begins with a regular audio CD placed in the disk drive in your computer, then software like iTunes is told to "import" or "rip" the songs. Even music you get off the Internet or from other computers in a network was probably ripped some time in the past by someone else (EXCEPTIONS: music created on a computer in the first place, music downloaded to your computer off the Internet, sent in an email or from a Website, or music you enter into your computer directly, through a microphone or electronic instrument).
If your music isn't yet on your computer but is on an audio CD, you'll need to rip it yourself to get it onto your computer. Many software programs let you rip music, and they all give you a choice how to rip it. Don't have any ripping software? TuneCore recommends the FREE iTunes software created by Apple Computer, Inc., and available on both Mac and PC: click here for iTunes.
Whichever software you use, you'll be able to rip your music in your choice of formats. To upload your music to TuneCore, we need your songs in any of these formats and at these minimum kbps:
If you have a CD of your songs and want to rip and upload them to TuneCore for delivery to iTunes and the other stores, please see our Rip/Upload Tutorial
At the moment, TuneCore is not accepting uploads for music videos. For questions about TuneCore Video, please click here.
A UPC ("Universal Product Code") number is nothing more than a group of numbers that are exclusively associated with your album, EP or single. That's it. A BARCODE is a way for a machine to read the UPC numbers. The UPC numbers appear in graphic form as vertical lines: the lines represent the numbers of your UPC in a way that can be scanned and understand by a computer. A UPC/Bar Code allows physical stores to order your CDs easily. It also allows easy tracking of what has sold in both physical and digital form.
For CDs, UPC/Barcodes tend to be between 12 and 15 numbers long. There is a mathematical formula involved in calculating some of the numbers. That is, some numbers are assigned, others appear due to a math formula based on all the other numbers.
Your album, EP or single should have its very own, one-of-a-kind UPC/Barcode. If not, two albums, EPs or singles with the same UPC/Barcode will confuse computers and people: they will not know which album, EP or single they are ordering or tracking.
Your album, EP or single needs a unique UPC. With TuneCore, there are two options:
If we assign you a UPC/Barcode, your UPC will appear on your My Discography page very shortly after you complete your payment has been received. You are free to use it for your physical CDs as well at no extra charge. You can continue using it even if you are no longer a TuneCore customer. TuneCore will never re-use your UPC/Barcode number. If you want it, it's yours forever.
To receive a barcode (currently offered free of charge), please contact barcode@tunecore.com with your UPC number and ID Number and we will email you back a barcode. You can find your UPC number and ID Number on your My Discography page next to your album, EP or single. Remember, if you don't have a UPC, TuneCore will auto-generate one for you when you use the TuneCore service, currently at no extra charge. Also if you want any CDs replicated or duplicated, please click here for details click here.
IMPORTANT: UPCs and barcodes issued by TuneCore are for you to use, now and forever. But they are just for you. Please don't resell them! There are penalties for reselling to discourage this: you'll have to pay a $25.00 (U.S. dollars) fee plus all the revenue you received from the sale of the UPC or barcode or both, and TuneCore can take this money from the proceeds of music sales. Please keep the UPC and barcode what they are meant to be: a free and convenient part of the TuneCore experience for you, the TuneCore client.
For tracking and accounting purposes, each of your songs needs its own unique ISRC number. An ISRC ("International Standard Recording Code") is assigned to each song. This allows easy tracking of each song, such as keeping track of how many copies of it sold. Each ISRC is associated with only one song.
Each ISRC number is a total of twelve characters in a combination of letters and numbers. For example: US SB5 0501001.
Your songs need unique ISRC numbers. With TuneCore, there are two options:
If we assign your songs ISRC numbers, you are free to use them any way you like for anything else you like at no extra charge. You can continue using them even if you are no longer a TuneCore customer. TuneCore will never re-use your ISRC numbers. If you want them, they're yours forever.
Both your UPC/Barcode and ISRC numbers will be used on your "My Account" page in calculating and displaying how many songs and albums, EPs or singles sold.
IMPORTANT: A single requires both an ISRC (for the song) and a UPC (for the "album"): as far as stores are concerned, a single is merely an album with one song.
TuneCore Video customers do not have the option of using their own custom UPC or ISRC codes. However, TuneCore will assign each music video submission a UPC and ISRC code at no charge. They will be visible on your My Videography page after you have paid to have your music video delivered. For questions about TuneCore Video, please click here.
Here you'll find everything you need to know to get your music from your computer to us. For questions about TuneCore Video delivery, please click here.
All TuneCore customers deliver their music using the TuneCore Web tool to upload directly to us as fast as your Internet connection lets you. You will need a free, no-obligation account. Then, from the My Discography page, just click "Add Album," or "Add Single" ("Add EP coming soon!) and you're ready to go. You'll be asked to enter in all the information we'll need to delivery your music. You'll eventually be asked to upload your music. It's easy, though it also helps to have high-speed broadband Internet and a reliable computer. Even if your connection to the Internet drops, the songs you've uploaded will be saved and the rest you can upload later, when your connection comes back. If you have a CD of your music and want to rip and upload them to TuneCore for delivery to iTunes and the other stores, please see our Rip/Upload Tutorial
We analyze all files uploaded--all of them. If we find it's corrupted or it's anything other than a 256 kbps AAC (.M4A) (or better) or 320 kbps .MP3 file (or better), we'll notify you. You can then try to upload them again.
Don't worry if any of your uploads are interrupted! Any song that you uploaded successfully will still be there. You'll only have to resend the song that got interrupted. The album, EP or single and its information will be intact, awaiting your return.
TuneCore was specifically created for use by Record Labels and distributors. With one label or distributor account you can:
All of the titles you enter via TuneCore will appear only under your one account. When you log in, you will see all of your release titles, album cover graphics, song titles, order of songs on each title/release, UPC for each title/release and the ISRC for each song, all under your one account.
When you go to your My Account page, you will be able to see, and download, itemized sales information for each album and song in each store and service. Your data is very secure: the only way to gain access to the information under your account is to have the email address and password associated with the account. IMPORTANT: There is no way to view only information on just one release. Anyone that logs into your account with the user name and password will be able to see all the information for all of your releases and titles. Please guard your password carefully.
Labels are also welcome to use TuneCore Video to distribute their music videos. For questions about TuneCore Video, please click here.
Find out how TuneCore organizes music into songs, albums, EPs and singles.
Although you can choose almost any title you want for your album, EP or single and almost any song name for your songs, there are important restrictions:
We call a "song" (some people call them "tracks") any piece of music or sound that appears on an album, even if it's the only item on the album. No matter how short it is, it's still a song: every audio file you send us is considered a song, even if it's called "Part One" of a larger work. Songs are separate from one another, even if artistically they belong together as sections of a larger work.
Although TuneCore can accept spoken word albums, EPs and singles, we cannot deliver audiobook content to iTunes or the other stores. There is a private company separate from TuneCore or the stores called "Audible" that has the exclusive right to distribute audiobook content. If your album, EP or single is an audiobook, you'll have to work with them. However, all other spoken word content is free to use TuneCore for digital distribution.
Classical music requires a great deal of more information than other genres. In order to deliver all of this additional information (such as composer, conductor, ensemble roles and more) we need to build a new system to do so. Until we have built this new system we are unable to deliver classical content. This is a top priority for us and we are almost there, so stay tuned! Once we are able to distribute classical material we will announce it loud and clear!
Albums, EPs or singles with explicit lyrics are permitted on iTunes and other stores, but they must be marked explicit. This is voluntary, but if it is later discovered your album, EP or single has explicit lyrics and you failed to indicate it, both TuneCore and the stores/services reserve the right to remove it at any time, or it may be rejected right from the beginning.
IMPORTANT: Although the TuneCore Web tool lets you mark individual songs explicit, right now if even ONE song on an album, EP or single is marked explicit, the ENTIRE ALBUM, EP or SINGLE will be marked explicit. There is no way to restrict it to a select few songs. It works just like the sticker affixed to the covers of CDs: it indicates the CD has explicit content, not just any given song. Please be aware of this when you make your choice.
TuneCore Video customers also have the option to mark their music videos explicit. For questions about TuneCore Video, please click here.
Albums at TuneCore have several states:
No. We truncate some names so they fit on our pages, but your full name will always be delivered to the stores/services you chose.
We want you to have a unique album, EP or single cover artwork you can be proud of.
All TuneCore customers can upload their own image by clicking the "Upload Image" link on the Your Album or Your Single page.
IMPORTANT: Images cannot contain URLs or email addresses. Please remember that this is a small, "thumbnail" image that most likely already has text on it (the name of your band/artist and the album name, while not required, are strongly encouraged). It must be legible at small size and not blurry. The stores also require proper spelling and other professional touches, though "artistic" and intentional misspellings are acceptable. This is a gray area, please use your judgment, and remember that all the stores have the right to refuse or require different artwork.
For those who don't have artwork of their own yet, we have created an Artwork Tool. Simply click "create artwork for me" and the site will guide you.
No matter how you create it, please make sure your artwork meets all these requirements:
If your image meets all these requirements, then upload it as a 1600 x 1600 pixel (or better, so long as it's square) .JPEG, .GIF, or .PNG file in best-quality RGB Color mode and at least 300 dpi. For best results, don't scale up smaller images, and don't submit anything that contains an embedded color profile. The most common reason why uploaded art doesn't look good is that the file you uploaded was not to specifications. IMPORTANT: TuneCore can't accept artwork emailed, sent to us through the post, attached as files or any other way but our Web tool.
Once TuneCore has received all of your required information, music, art and payment, we will deliver your music WITHIN ABOUT SIX HOURS! Yes, it's very fast.
HOWEVER, once we deliver your music, it's up to the stores to get it onto their "shelves." Each of the stores/services you chose will treat your music with the same careful attention they provide for all their record labels and artists. However, for reasons entirely out of TuneCore's control, the amount of time it will take for your music to appear may vary. Here is the general rule (not a guarantee), from the moment TuneCore receives the complete set of data (music, information, art, payment, files, etc.) for your album, EP or single, it should be up for sale on the stores you chose within six to eight weeks. Please allow time for this.
IMPORTANT: Once we deliver the music to the stores/services you chose, TuneCore has no control over when your music will appear for sale.
IMPORTANT: Some stores are slower than the other stores/services. We have no estimate on when music can be delivered to any particular store. Thank you for understanding and for being patient.
Here are some common things that can cause a delay:
For questions about TuneCore Video, please click here.
There are three ways your music (and one way your music videos) can earn you money in the stores and services you choose:
PERMANENT DOWNLOADS
A Permanent Download means someone bought your music or your music video from a store and downloaded it to their computer, cell phone or some other media device. Each time your music is bought, you get paid. There are currently two ways that you get paid by Permanent download:
The following stores all offer a Fixed Permanent Download model
An example of a Subscription Pay Rate Permanent Download model
Unlike Fixed Pay Rate models, Subscription Pay Rates can be confusing. Here's an example using eMusic, which has a Subscription Pay Rate Permanent Download model:
For Example: Say, in the months of January, February, March there were a total of 1,000,000 songs downloaded from eMusic by all customers downloading all songs. Imagine in those same months eMusic took in $750,000 in digital download pre-pay revenue. That makes each individual download worth $0.75.
From this $0.75, eMusic then deducts expenses (credit card processing fees, bandwidth, other expenses). For this example, let's say the expenses come to $0.10 per song. This is subtracted from the $0.75 per song, leaving $0.65.
From this remaining $0.65, 60% goes to you. So in this example, you would make $0.39 per song bought: $0.39 is the Subscription Permanent Download Pay Rate for this store in this period. If you had forty downloads from eMusic in this period, you'd make 40 x $0.39 = $15.60 (U.S.), and as always, TuneCore takes nothing, 100% of that money goes to you.
Remember, the amount you make will vary from statement to statement and from store to store as the number of songs bought and the amount of money made in each period will not be the same, and some stores may have different deals.
The following stores offer a Subscription Permanent Download model:
STREAMS
A Stream is when someone listens to your song (not music video) but does not own it and has not downloaded it. People usually listen to streams as part of a subscription model similar to the Subscription Permanent Downloads (see above), paying a monthly subscription fee for the access. In many ways, it's like your fans joined a service that lets them rent your music. As soon as they stop paying their monthly rental fee, they will not have access to listen to your music. Each time more than thirty seconds of your music is listened to, you get paid a fee called a Streaming Pay Rate
There are typically two ways to listen to a music as a stream: "Tethered" and "Non-Tethered" streams:
Each time your music streams, you get paid the Streaming Pay Rate for that store. EXCEPTION: Some stores let potential customers stream for promotion or as a "free trial." In those cases, even though your music may stream, you will not get paid.
The following stores/services offer Streaming Pay Rate:
ADVERTISING
There are some new services that allow people to listen to your music (not music videos) for free. In return, the services sell advertising space on the Website where people must go and stay in order to listen to the music. The amount of money you receive each time your music is listened to is predicated on how much money the service made in advertising revenue.
At this time, TuneCore is not working with any stores or services that pay out money based on advertising revenue.
SPECIAL NOTE: iTunes provides weekly Trending Reports that show unofficial sales trends every Wednesday for the previous Monday-Sunday. To learn more, please click here.
Until the stores and services you chose send information, there is no way of knowing what has sold, where it has sold, how many copies it has sold or how much money you have made from the sale of your music or music videos.
All of the stores and services send out this information in one of two ways:
For example, iTunes sends information and payment by 45 days after the end of each month, so sales and information for the month of March are sent by iTunes by May 15th (May 15th is 45 days after the end of March). Sales and information on what your music sold in the month of April is sent by iTunes (and all other services that account monthly) by June 15th, and so on.
For exmple, eMusic sends out all information and money by 45 days after the end of every three months. Sales and information for the months of January, Febuary and March gets sent by eMusic by May 15th, which is 45 days after the end of March. Sales and information for the months of April, May and June gets sent by eMusic by August 15th, which is 45 days after the end of June, and so on.
IMPORTANT: Until the stores and services send the information and payment for the sales, there is no way of knowing what has sold, where it has sold, how many copies sold or anything else. Rest assured, as soon as the information is received, it will appear in your My Accounts page and your money will be available to take.
STORES/SERVICES THAT SEND INFORMATION AND MONEY by 45 days after the end of EACH MONTH:
STORES/SERVICES THAT SEND INFORMATION by 45 days after the end of EVERY THREE MONTHS:
How does iTunes sell my music and/or music videos?
There are currently seven iTunes stores:
IMPORTANT: At TuneCore, some stores are bundled together to save you money and for ease of use. The following iTunes stores are bundled together so that when you purchase one, you get your music delivered to both for the same single-store price:
All iTunes stores sell music and music videos only as permanent digital downloads (no streaming is offered) that the customer owns and uses in the Fixed Pay Rate Permanent Digital Download model. Customers can purchase songs or music videos individually for a per-song/per-video price, or customers can buy albums whole (not music videos), getting every song on that album for one set price. However, this isn't always the case. See below for EXCEPTIONS.
Most often, iTunes sells individual songs at $0.99 each. Most often, albums are sold for either the sum of all the songs on the album (for albums with ten or less songs), or for a single set price of $9.99 for albums over ten songs. See below for EXCEPTIONS.
For example, if your album has five songs, an iTunes U.S. customer can either buy the songs individually for $0.99 or the whole album for 5 x $0.99 = $4.95. If you had another album with 12 songs, an iTunes U.S. customer can either buy the songs individually for $0.99 or the whole album for $9.99.
EXCEPTIONS: iTunes (and all other digital retailers, for that matter) reserves the right to sell music and/or music videos any way they want and at any price they want. When your songs or albums or music videos sell, you will always receive the required amount, but iTunes can sell your music or video for a penny, a million dollars or anything in between. For music, iTunes reserves the right to make a song "purchasable only with the album." That is, no button would be placed next to the song itself, no option to download it on its own would be available to the iTunes customer. iTunes does this solely at their own discretion. Sometimes they do it to long songs (presumably because a 73-minute song would be too much of a bargain for just $0.99, since that's a whole album's worth of music on a single song). Sometimes they do it to very short songs (presumably because $0.99 is too much for a 10-second song). Sometimes they simply adjust the price. However iTunes decides, TuneCore has no say in the matter, and neither do our patrons. Regardless, once a song or an album or a music video sells, you will be paid the required amount the moment iTunes sends the money. There is no withholding of any sort, not from iTunes, not from TuneCore.
Remember, only albums, EPs and singles can be set to sell in stores/services, not individual songs. All songs are grouped into albums (technically, an EP and a single is an album of few or one song), and however the album is set to sell, so will all the songs on that album.
What is iTunes Plus, and will my music sell as iTunes Plus?
iTunes Plus
IMPORTANT: If a customer acquired your album, EP or single as a "regular" iTunes purchase in the past and the same album, EP or single is offered in iTunes Plus, they can UPGRADE their purchase for a small fee. You will see part of that fee as a royalty payment when the accounting for that month is reported. The price for an album "upgraded" will be about $2.00 (U.S. dollars), depending on the number of tracks on the album upgraded.
For questions about how iTunes sells music videos, please click here.
For questions about how iTunes Trending Reports work, please click here.
What do I get paid when my songs, albums, EPs or singles sell from the iTunes store(s) I chose?
SPECIAL NOTE: iTunes provides weekly Trending Reports that show unofficial sales trends every Wednesday for the previous Monday-Sunday. To learn more, please click here.
When an individual song or album/EP/single or music video sells from an iTunes store, you get a fixed "pay rate," the same pay rate for all independent record labels. (Click for more information about the Fixed Pay Rate for music Permanent Download model). Remember, only iTunes can set the sale price, but no matter what they sell that song or album/EP/single or music video for, you always get the current pay rate. Even if iTunes wants to have a discount, say, offering its customers your content for a penny each, you still get the full pay rate every time it sells.
Albums, EPs, singles and individual songs sell differently, so the pay rate is different:
HOW MUCH IS THE PAY RATE FOR MUSIC?
TuneCore takes none of the money from the sale of your music. You get it all. For the iTunes U.S. store, you receive $0.70 per song sold individually and $7.00 per album with 11 or more songs sold in its entirety.
You are paid the pay rate in the local currency of the country where the sale occurred. For example, if an album or song sells from the iTunes Japan store, iTunes Japan pays in Japanese yen (¥). The money is converted into U.S. dollars by the bank and forwarded on to you. As always, TuneCore takes none of the money from the sale of your music. You get it all, but be aware that bank conversion rates are out of our control and can change from day to day--the bank will convert the currency into U.S. dollars based on what the exchange rate is at the time the bank receives the money.
For songs sold individually off an EP or album through the iTunes stores, you receive the following:
| iTunes Stores Worldwide: | You receive |
|---|---|
| iTunes U.S. Store | US$0.70 (no exchange required) |
| iTunes Australia Store | Australian Dollars AU$0.99 (EXCEPTION BELOW!) |
| iTunes New Zealand Store | New Zealand Dollars NZ$1.17 (EXCEPTION BELOW!) |
| iTunes Canada Store | Canadian Dollars CAD$0.70 |
| iTunes Japan Store | Japanese Yen ¥100 (EXCEPTION BELOW!) |
| iTunes U.K. Store | British Pounds £0.49 |
| iTunes Europe Store | Euros €0.71 (after September, 2007) |
Albums and EPs are sold in their entirety in two possible ways:
For albums with 11 or more songs sold in their entirety, you receive the following:
| iTunes Stores Worldwide | You receive |
|---|---|
| iTunes U.S. Store | US$7.00 (no exchange required) |
| iTunes Australia Store | Australian Dollars AU$9.99 (EXCEPTION BELOW!) |
| iTunes New Zealand Store | New Zealand Dollars NZ$11.75 (EXCEPTION BELOW!) |
| iTunes Canada Store | Canadian Dollars CAD$7.00 |
| iTunes Japan Store | Japanese Yen ¥1000 (EXCEPTION BELOW!) |
| iTunes UK Store | British Pounds £4.90 |
| iTunes Europe Store | Euros €7.10 (after September, 2007) |
IMPORTANT: Special iTunes Pricing and Pay Rates:
HOW MUCH IS THE PAY RATE FOR "COMPLETE MY ALBUM" PURCHASES?
iTunes lets customers who purchased some of the tracks off one of your albums to, on some future date, "Complete My Album" (CMA) and get the rest of the album for only the cost of the remaining tracks.
For accounting purposes, CMA purchases do not appear: rather, the album counts as a full sale, and the previously purchased track is considered refunded.
EXAMPLE: If you had an album in iTunes U.S. with 15 songs/tracks and one of your fans purchased a song from it (say, track #8) you'd get the track Pay Rate of $0.70. If later the same customer came back and purchased the album in its entirety as a CMA, you would earn the Pay Rate for a whole album sale for albums over 11 songs/tracks, $7.00; a refund for the original track #8 purchase would be generated, but not appear in your accounting: it would "cancel out" the next sale you had of that particular track. That is, if in the same month, someone (anyone) purchased track #8, that sale would be "cancelled out" by the CMA refund and not appear. The refund remains until cancelled out by a sale, and can persist over many months until another track #8 is purchased.
NOTE: None of this has anything to do with the Trending Reports, which do not take into consideration the royalties. This is just one of many ways the Trending Reports are different from the Royalty Reports, and should not be compared side-by-side.
HOW MUCH IS THE PAY RATE FOR "UPGRADED" ALBUM PURCHASES?
If a customer acquired your album, EP or single as a "regular" iTunes purchase in the past and the same album, EP or single is offered in iTunes Plus, they can UPGRADE their purchase for a small fee. You will see part of that fee as a royalty payment when the accounting for that month is reported. The price for an album "upgraded" will be about $2.00 (U.S. dollars), depending on the number of tracks on the album upgraded.
HOW MUCH IS THE PAY RATE FOR MUSIC VIDEOS?
For questions about sales work for music videos through iTunes, please click here.
IMPORTANT: All of the amounts for music and/or music video sales outside of the United States are subject to the terms, conditions, taxes and laws of those countries, including:
Remember, because of currency exchange, these pay rates can vary from country to country and from day to day. For example, if you sell one of your songs through the iTunes U.K./Europe store, you ultimately may get a little more or less than the pay rate listed in the above tables, depending only on the foreign currency exchange rate the moment the bank received the money. How much more or less? That changes from day to day, but always, we promise that you get 100% of whatever your songs earn for you.
EXCEPTION: Japan has some special rules, so that even before taxes, tariffs, exchange rates or treaties kick in, some money is deducted by the iTunes Japan store to pay fees and royalties dictated by local Japanese copyright laws. So from the sales of your music in Japan, some portion will be deducted to pay the copyright holders under the copyright laws of Japan. Even if the copyright holder is you, Japanese laws require certain royalties to be paid out in Japan. However, no matter what, you will get paid the pay rate less this amount, after taxes, exchange rate, etc.
EXCEPTION: Both Australia's and New Zealand's governments withhold 5% as a tax on all sales. This amount is already deducted when you receive your accounting.
iTunes Latino is a sub-store within iTunes U.S. specifically for content of interest to the Latino community. It consists of a home page and feature pages, lists, reviews, specials and other promotional material targeting the Latino demographic. Depending on the sales of your music, iTunes may direct the editors of iTunes Latino to place your music on best-seller lists and other promotionals.
All the rules, restrictions, pay rates and territories of the iTunes U.S. store apply: music in the iTunes Latino sub-store is sold as iTunes U.S. music, and is available only in the United States. All sales will be reported as regular iTunes U.S. sales. For all the information you need to know on iTunes U.S. sales and payments, please see the section on iTunes.
Your content does NOT have be in Spanish or Portuguese to be in the iTunes Latino sub-store, but it must be germane and appeal to the Latino community. iTunes reserves the right to determine what is or is not appropriate for the iTunes Latino store, and will remove any items it decides are misplaced there. IMPORTANT: TuneCore cannot decide if your content is appropriate for iTunes Latino, and iTunes does not provide specific guidelines. It is up to you to decide if your material belongs in the iTunes Latino store or not. If iTunes rejects or otherwise flags your material as misplaced in the iTunes Latino store, TuneCore will abide by iTunes's decision unilaterally.
To have your album, EP or single included in the iTunes Latino sub-store, simply CHOOSE LATIN AS ONE OF THE TWO GENRES when selecting genres from the Your Album or Your Single page. IMPORTANT: All content with the genre selection "Latin" will be eligible for the iTunes Latino store. All content with "Latin" as one of its genres WILL BE PLACED in the iTunes Latino sub-store, unless iTunes's editorial staff determines otherwise. Again, only iTunes decides what should or should not be in iTunes Latino.
How does Rhapsody sell my music?
Real Networks has a digital music service called Rhapsody which lets customers buy permanent digital downloads as well as stream digital music directly from their site to a computer and, if customers choose to use Rhapsody's "To Go" program, on selected portable devices. For help with the Rhapsody service, we suggest you use Rhapsody Support.
Rhapsody has several ways of allowing its customers to buy or listen to music:
There are several kinds of Rhapsody customers each with their own options for buying your music, each of which generates money for you in a different way:
What do I get paid when my music sells or stream from Rhapsody?
Each time a Rhapsody Non-Subscribing Customer permanently downloads your music, you get a payment. When a Rhapsody Subscriber or Rhapsody Trial Subscriber permanently downloads, you also get a payment, but a fraction less. When a Rhapsody Subscriber streams or "tethered downloads" your songs, you get a payment, but when a Rhapsody Trial Subscriber streams, you don't get a payment (see below). Non-Subscribers can stream only up to 25 whole songs per month before they put down a credit card and opt in either to become Trail Subscribers or Subscribers, but if they stream one of your songs during this "Rhapsody 25," you will receive payment.
IMPORTANT: Anyone in the United States can sign up for a Rhapsody Trial by putting down a credit card and get unlimited free streams for 14 days. If a customer streams your music during this period, you will not get any payment for the streams--it's considered promotional. This is a Rhapsody policy. If you do not like the idea of people streaming your music for free, please do not choose Rhapsody as one of your digital distribution stores.
Albums and EPs are sold in two possible ways:
You will be able to see the exact pay rate TuneCore pays you for each song or album/EP/single every time it's downloaded or streamed from Rhapsody in your TuneCore accounting report. The pay rate is available as an element in every line item. As always, this is all the money owed to you for that stream or download, NOTHING was taken by TuneCore.
How does Napster sell my music?
Napster lets customers listen to an unlimited number of full-length songs while they are connected to the Internet and download an unlimited number of high quality music files to their PC. They can listen to these downloaded songs online or offline and keep the music they download for as long as they want to be a "Member."
Napster subscribers can access music in two ways: as "Members" and "To Go Members." Although Napster sometimes differentiates between the Napster store and the Napster Light store, these contain the same music, and your albums will be in both. For a complete description of the Napster service, we suggest you read the Napster FAQ. NOTE: TuneCore is aware of the Napster Ringtones service, and we are currently working on how to make this available for our customers.
What do I get paid when music sells or streams from Napster?
Remember that no matter how an individual song or album sells from Napster, you get a fixed "pay rate," the same pay rate for all independent record labels. Only Napster can set the sale price, but no matter what they sell that song or album for, you always get the current pay rate. Even if Napster wants to have a discount, say, offering its customers your songs for a penny each, you still get the full pay rate every time one of your songs or albums sell. Visit our section on Subscription Streaming models to learn more.
Napster works in several ways:
Each time a Napster Subscriber ("Member" or "To Go Member") streams more than 30 seconds of your song, you get paid. When anyone, even a Napster Subscriber ("Member" or "To Go Member") permanently downloads one of your songs or albums, you also get paid. Here is a chart that tells you what you will you get when a song streams or downloads from the countries Napster sells in:
For Permanent Downloads PER SONG through the Napster Light Store:
| Napster Light Worldwide: | You receive per song |
|---|---|
| Napster U.S. Store | US$0.65 |
| Napster Canada Store | Canadian Dollars CAD$0.65 |
| Napster U.K. Store | British Pounds £0.48 |
| Napster Europe Store | Euros €0.65 |
Albums and EPs are sold in two possible ways:
For Permanent Downloads PER ALBUM (11 songs or more) through the Napster Light Store:
| Napster Light Worldwide: | You receive per album |
|---|---|
| Napster U.S. Store | US$6.50 |
| Napster Canada Store | Canadian Dollars CAD$6.50 |
| Napster U.K. Store | British Pounds £4.80 |
| Napster Europe Store | Euros €6.50 |
For each of your songs streamed by a Napster Subscriber ("Member" or "To Go Member"), you receive a proportionate share of the membership fees, based on the number of streams of your music in that pay period, minus any applicable expenses. As always, TuneCore keeps NONE of this money.
IMPORTANT: Napster currently distributes in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and the European Union. Napster may add more countries at any time. For the moment, you MUST have worldwide rights to your music before you select to have it available in Napster. In the near future, TuneCore will offer you the ability to control what parts of the world you make your music available in.
How does MusicNet sell my music?
IMPORTANT: As of Tuesday, July 24, 2007, MusicNet (currently renaming itself to "MediaNet") no longer accepts submissions. Although TuneCore has successfully delivered music to MusicNet and its partner stores for many months, MusicNet has informed us that it is no longer accepting any submissions. TuneCore is continuing its partnership with MusicNet in the hopes that in the future we can begin redelivery. IMPORTANT: If you have albums already for sale in the stores MusicNet delivers to, those albums will remain available for sale. If your music was slated for delivery to MusicNet but has not yet been accepted by them, they will be unable to process your request. TuneCore is working with MusicNet to compile a list of those affected; if your album(s) was affected, your account will receive a complete refund for the store. Tunecore will pro-actively contact you and add $0.99 to your account balance for each album MusicNet was unable to process. Thank you for understanding.
MusicNet provides branded digital music stores for other companies. At the moment, MusicNet's comprehensive suite of digital music services include Yahoo!, Cdigix Ctrax (on more than 30 college campuses), iMesh, HMV Digital, Virgin Digital U.K., FYE Download Zone, MTV's Urge, Microsoft's Zune and MusicGremlin. MusicNet is the world's leading business-to-business digital music service provider.
When you selected to have your albums delivered to MusicNet, your music was be placed in all the stores/services MusicNet currently provides and any future ones they may add. IMPORTANT: There is no way to pick and choose which stores you want to be in at MusicNet--it is an "all or nothing" choice. If you choose to have your music delivered to MusicNet, be aware they may drop or add stores/services, and your music will be removed from any dropped stores/services and/or into any new stores/services. IMPORTANT: Some current or some future stores that are part of MusicNet may distribute in countries outside the United States. You currently MUST have worldwide rights to your music before you select to have it available in the MusicNet group of stores. In the near future, TuneCore will offer you the ability to control what parts of the world you make your music available in.
MusicNet sells music in various ways:
IMPORTANT: Anyone can sign up for MusicNet and get unlimited free streams for 30 days. If a customer streams your music during this period, you will not get any payment for them--it's considered promotional. This is a MusicNet policy. If you do not like the idea of people streaming your music for free, please do not choose MusicNet as one of your digital distribution stores.
What do I get paid when songs STREAM from MusicNet?
For STREAMS, MusicNet works on a Subscription Pay Rate Permanent Download model. MusicNet does not pay a pre-set amount for each stream. For each three month period, MusicNet calculates how many songs were streamed and how much money was paid to MusicNet for subscriptions in that period. This rate changes from period to period based on how many songs are streamed and how much money was paid to MusicNet for subscriptions.
To get the per-song Pay Rate, MusicNet divides the amount of money made by the number of songs streamed. This sets the Pay Rate for each song streamed. From this Pay Rate, MusicNet then deducts out Allowed Expenses (these are not negotiable and are the same Allowed Expenses deducted from all other labels and artists working with MusicNet). As always, TuneCore takes nothing, passing all of your money on to you. You get 45% of what remains.
For Example: Say, in the months of January, February, March there were a total of 1,000,000 songs streamed from MusicNet by all customers streaming all songs. Imagine in those same months MusicNet took in $250,000 in digital streaming pre-pay revenue. That makes each individual stream worth $0.25.
From this $0.25, MusicNet then deducts expenses (credit card processing fees, advertising, bandwidth, other expenses). For this example, let's say the expenses come to $0.05 per song. This is subtracted from the $0.25 per song, leaving $0.20.
From this remaining $0.20, 45% goes to you. So in this example, you would make $0.09 per song streamed: $0.09 is the Subscription Streaming Pay Rate for this store in this period. If you had forty streams from MusicNet in this period, you'd make 40 x $0.09 = $3.60 (U.S.), and as always, TuneCore takes nothing, 100% of that money goes to you.
What do I get paid when songs ARE DOWNLOADED from MusicNet?
For DOWNLOADS from MusicNet, regardless of whether or not the customer is a "Member," you get a fixed "pay rate," the same pay rate for all independent record labels. (Click for more information about the Fixed Pay Rate Permanent Download model). Remember, only MusicNet can set the sale price, but no matter what they sell that song or album for, you always get the current pay rate. Even if they want to have a discount, say, offering its customers your songs for a penny each, you still get the full pay rate every time one of your songs or albums sell.
HOW MUCH IS THE PAY RATE?
TuneCore takes none of the money from the sale of your music. You get it all. Music can be downloaded from MusicNet in several possible ways:
Song Pay Rates, By Country:
| MusicNet Downloads Worldwide: | You receive per song |
|---|---|
| MusicNet U.S. Store | US$0.70 |
| MusicNet Canada Store | Canadian Dollars CAD$0.72 |
| MusicNet U.K. Store | British Pounds £0.47 |
| MusicNet Europe Store | Euros €0.68 |
Album Pay Rates for Albums Sold In Their Entirety, By Country:
| MusicNet Whole-Album Downloads Worldwide: | You receive |
|---|---|
| MusicNet U.S. Store | US$7.00 |
| MusicNet Canada Store | Canadian Dollars CAD$7.20 |
| MusicNet U.K. Store | British Pounds £4.60 |
| MusicNet Europe Store | Euros €6.70 |
How does eMusic sell my music?
eMusic is a service that lets people download music (no streaming is offered) on a pre-buy model. eMusic's customers sign up at one of three different pre-buy rates which sets how many songs they can download each month. eMusic currently offers:
IMPORTANT: Anyone can sign up for eMusic and get 25 free downloads. If a customer downloads your music as one or more of these 25 free downloads, you will not get any payment for them--it's considered promotional. This is an eMusic policy. If you do not like the idea of people downloading your music for free, please do not choose eMusic as one of your digital distribution stores.
Once an eMusic customer signs up and passes the free trial period, they have one month to download any 30, 50 or 75 songs they want. At the end of the month, any songs not downloaded expire. For Example, if, by the last day of their month, an eMusic Basic customer downloaded only 23 of their 30 pre-bought songs, the eight "leftovers" expire and the customer has to buy another 30 (or more) songs in order to download more music.
For a complete description of the eMusic service, we suggest you read the eMusic FAQ.
IMPORTANT: eMusic now distributes in the United States, the United Kingdom and Europe, but may add more countries at any time. For the moment, you MUST have worldwide rights to your music before you select to have it available in eMusic. In the near future, TuneCore will offer you the ability to control what parts of the world you make your music available in.
What do I get paid when songs or albums sell from eMusic?
eMusic works on a Subscription Pay Rate Permanent Download model, so the Pay Rate varies depending on how much money eMusic made in pre-sales each pay period. eMusic calculates how many songs were downloaded and how much money was made in the same three month period. This rate changes from month to month based on how many songs are downloaded and if customers that pre-paid for their songs downloaded everything they pre-bought.
To get the per-song Pay Rate, eMusic divides the amount of money made by the number of songs downloaded. This sets the Pay Rate for each song downloaded. From this Pay Rate, eMusic then deducts out Allowed Expenses (these are not negotiable and are the same Allowed Expenses deducted from all other labels and artists working with eMusic). Of what remains, you get 60%, and that sum is delivered to you by TuneCore. As always, TuneCore takes nothing, passing all of your money on to you.
For Example: Say, in the months of January, February, March there were a total of 1,000,000 songs downloaded from eMusic by all customers downloading all songs. Imagine in those same months eMusic took in $750,000 in digital download pre-pay revenue. That makes each individual download worth $0.75.
From this $0.75, eMusic then deducts expenses (credit card processing fees, bandwidth, other expenses). For this example, let's say the expenses come to $0.10 per song. This is subtracted from the $0.75 per song, leaving $0.65.
From this remaining $0.65, 60% goes to you. So in this example, you would make $0.39 per song bought: $0.39 is the Subscription Permanent Download Pay Rate for this store in this period. If you had forty downloads from eMusic in this period, you'd make 40 x $0.39 = $15.60 (U.S.), and as always, TuneCore takes nothing, 100% of that money goes to you.
GroupieTunes is a company that "powers" other companies, such as IMVU and the soon to be launched SonicTap. When you choose to have your music in IMVU, you agree to have it in ALL the places GroupieTunes sends music or may send music.
As of September 2008, GroupieTunes no longer runs its own store, instead it now only delivers to IMVU and SonicTap.
IMVU (imvu.com) is not a traditional music retailer, but a social site where people can, in the course of their social interaction, listen to and purchase music, as streams and/or downloads. Digital download sales, which will be DRM-free MP3s at 256 kbps, will be track-by-track, obey the above rules of pricing for GroupieTules, and will yield $0.70 each time one downloads. These download sales work normally, with the money coming back into TuneCore 45 days after the end of the month and accounted for like any other store.
But imvu in particular has a new wrinkle worth considering. People go to IMVU, create an avatar (a graphical representation of you on the internet) and wander, interact, socialize, buy virtual items and buy music for download. But an avatar can also put together a "radio playlist" of songs and let other avatars listen to them, just like a radio station puts together a playlist of songs and lets listeners hear them. As this is the internet, in the United States, when a "radio station" plays songs on the Internet, U.S. law requires you get paid. The money that is owed to you is paid to a collection agency called Sound ExchangeSound Exchange. Sound Exchange's job is to collect the money owed to you from streams in the U.S. and then give it to you, once you register with them (registration with Sound Exchange is free). International streaming sales are handled through another compandy called PPL.
So money earned by your music from streams at imvu will NOT flow through TuneCore: it will be waiting for you at Sound Exchange, and you need to be signed up with Sound Exchange to retrieve it. Streaming is purchased at a flat rate, regardless of how much people listen to, even a fraction of a second!
SonicTap is a forthcoming (due in late 2009) digital download store owned by DMX. It will be selling DRM-free MP3s at 256 kbps. A beta is expected in early 2009, which will run by invitation only. Your content will be live already, if you opted in to imvu or, in the past, GroupieTunes. SonicTap will not work on a per-album model, so only tracks will sell. All the rules of pricing for GroupieTules (above) apply, which will be per-track only, and you'll get $0.70 each time one downloads. We'll have much more detailed information as launch date approaches.
How does Amazon MP3 sell my music?
TuneCore delivers your music to the Amazon MP3 music store, which sells music only as permanent digital downloads through the Web (no streaming is offered other than 30-second sample streams for each song). IMPORTANT: There is no physical distribution available through Amazon MP3. Your fans will be able to purchase songs individually or entire albums digitally as downloads to their computers and/or portable devices.
Amazon MP3 sells individual songs and albums at various price levels:
At this time, digital songs and albums are only sold in two stores: the Amazon MP3 U.S. store and the Amazon MP3 U.K. store; be sure you have the rights to sell the music within those territories, and be prepared in case Amazon MP3 expands to other territories, since Amazon reserves the right to automatically place its catalog into any territory or store they create in any country.
IMPORTANT: Amazon MP3 does not use Digital Rights Management (DRM) on music they sell. Music will be sold unprotected as MP3s. If you are concerned about the lack of DRM, please do not choose to sell your music through Amazon MP3.
IMPORTANT: Although for each album you submit to Amazon MP3, TuneCore lets you request its price level, an album can only be at one level, and all songs on that album will be sold at that level. Currently, Amazon does not offer regular or scheduled opportunities to change an album's pricing level, so please choose carefully before you finalize your decision!
IMPORTANT: Amazon MP3 reserves the right to sell music any way they want and at any price they want. Even though you may choose which price level you'd like for your album, the exact dollar amount of that level is set by Amazon and can change at any time. But remember: when your songs or albums sell, you will be paid at the rate you selected.
What do I get paid when my songs or albums sell from Amazon MP3?
When an individual song or album sells from Amazon MP3, you get a fixed "pay rate" (for more information about the Fixed Pay Rate, click here: Permanent Download model).
HOW MUCH IS THE PAY RATE?
When you choose to have your album delivered to Amazon MP3 for digital distribution, you will be provided tables that reflect the Pay Rate for each price level. On occasion, Amazon MP3 will enter into promotions to help drive sales and raise profile of the music in the Amazon store (i.e., download codes bundled with a non-music product). For these promotions, the Pay Rate will automatically decrease. Please consider carefully when you decide how you want your album priced or if you are comfortable with Amazon MP3's promotional policies at all. If not, please do not choose to have your album distributed through Amazon MP3.
IMPORTANT: As soon as we have information regarding pay rates for Amazon MP3 in their U.K. store, we will pass that on to you. Thank you for being patient.
Lala.com is a digital download and streaming service that lets its members store their personal music collection and play it anywhere, any time, through any computer with an Internet connection or iPod (excluding the iPhone and iPod Touch). Membership is free. Members upload music from their MP3 collections into a free, unlimited locker "account" at Lala.com, and later can listen (stream) via a web browser and even sync (download) the content to their iPods and other compatible devices through an Web browser plugin. Members can also buy new music for sale directly from Lala.com while sitting at any computer (no need to do it at home) and simply store it in their Lala.com accounts. Lala.com resembles a subscription model, only the member actually owns the files rather than rents them.
TuneCore customers can select to have their albums delivered into the Lala.com system, where Lala.com members can buy them. When a Lala.com member buys your song(s) or album(s), you get paid the PAY RATE for that purchase, and the album appears in that Lala.com member's account. For every stream, you will get paid the streaming pay rate. For every download, you will get paid the download pay rate.
Lala.com sells downloads as 256 kbps MP3s and streams as 128 kbps MP3s. All 30-second samples are taken from the first thirty seconds of each song. Lala.com reports all sales monthly, 45 days after the end of the sales month.
HOW MUCH IS THE PAY RATE?
Each time your tracks sell individually, you will receive $0.70 (frontline). Each time your album sells as a whole, you will receive $7.00 (frontline). As always, this is all the money owed to you for that stream or download, NOTHING was taken by TuneCore.
For questions about Lala.com's business model and support for Lala.com, please click here: http://www.lala.com/frontend/action/help
ShockHound is a digital download service scheduled to launch in beta on June 15, 2008, with full launch scheduled on July 15, 2008. ShockHound is operated by Hot Topic, the U.S.-based retail chain, and integrates Hot Topic's merchandising, as well as its own. If you select to have your music delivered to Shockhound, your fans will be able to purchase individual tracks and whole albums in the United States (at the moment).
ShockHound sells your music as non-DRM MP3s encoded at 192kpbs.
ShockHound sells individual songs for $0.99 and albums for $9.99. In all cases, the Pay Rate is 70% of the sale price. All of that money goes to you!
Shockhound is a monthly accounting store, so you will see sales and activity from ShockHound 45 days after the end of the month. For example, sales activity in June, 2008, will appear on your TuneCore account My Account page on August 15, 2008.
As ShockHound gets closer to launch, check back for more information.
Amie Street is a new store on the wholesale, quarterly accounting model. It sells music as unencrypted .MP3 files at 256 kbps. Amie Street is unusual in that it's the first place where people collectively determine the price of every song; on Amie Street, all songs start at a low price and rise in price up to $0.98 (U.S.), based on their popularity.
Amie Street claims that when songs are free or inexpensive, customers are more likely to experiment, as opposed to buying from the artists they already know. When songs reach the higher price points, they become even more attractive to customers because the Amie Street community has effectively "voted" them to those prices through their purchases. Amie Street customers find this to be a great way to discover new music and artists find it's a way that maximizes digital revenue.
When you choose to have your music delivered to Amie Street through TuneCore, you will get to pick the price you would like your entire album to sell for. If the cost of buying each song individually is LESS than the price you picked, the album will sell at the lower price. If the cost of buying each song individually is MORE than the price you picked, the album will sell at the album price you selected.
For example, if you have ten songs on your album and each is priced at $0.39, the album would cost $3.90 regardless of what price cap you have selected. Another example: if you have twenty songs on your album and all are priced at $0.95, the album would cost $19.00, but if you selected the "Front Line" price cap, the album will sell for $8.98 instead.
Price Caps
If you choose the Front Line Cap, your album price will be the sum of the individual song prices, but it will never exceed $8.98 total.
If you choose the Mid Line Cap, your album price will be the sum of the individual song prices, but it will never exceed $7.00 total.
If you choose the Catalog Cap, your album price will be the sum of the individual song prices, but it will never exceed $5.00 total.
Single Song Pricing
At Amie Street, songs sell at different prices depending on how often they have been bought. Once a new song from a TuneCore customer gets added to Amie Street, it's available for purchase at $0.15. Every time the song gets purchased the price goes up a cent or two, to a maximum price of $0.98. You therefore have to sell 82 copies of your song before it reaches the highest sale price.
U.S. ONLY
Please note that, for the moment, Amie Street makes songs available for sale in the U.S. only. Your songs will become available in other countries automatically once Amie Street enters agreements with music publishers in those territories. TuneCore will be sure to keep you informed.
HOW MUCH IS THE PAY RATE?
When you choose to have your album delivered to Amie Street for digital distribution, you will be provided tables that reflect the Pay Rate for each price level and for single songs. On occasion, Amie Street will enter into promotions to help drive sales and raise profile of the music in their store (i.e., download codes bundled with a non-music product). For these promotions, the Pay Rate will automatically decrease. Please consider carefully when you decide how you want your album priced or if you are comfortable with Amie Street's promotional policies at all. If not, please do not choose to have your album distributed through Amie Street.
Amie Street reports sales 45 days after the end of the sale period (quarterly).
What is Amazon: Disc On Demand?
When you select Amazon: Disc On Demand you will have unlimited physical inventory made one at a time available for worldwide distribution for no up front manufacturing costs – all you need is an album cover and your music.
Your album will be available for purchase on Amazon.com at the price you pick at TuneCore. Music from TuneCore Artists will also be available exclusively within a TuneCore branded section of Amazon. All releases by TuneCore Artists in Amazon: Disc On Demand are eligible for inclusion in an exclusive marketing and promotion email targeting a portion of Amazon.com’s customers.
How is it done?
When your album is ordered at Amazon.com, it will be manufactured with high quality four-color artwork (a CD booklet, tray card and four color printing on the CD) in a shrink-wrapped jewel box. Amazon will fulfill and ship the order just like any other Amazon product.
What if I don't have artwork?
You do not need full artwork for Amazon: Disc On Demand. All you need is an album cover. At TuneCore you will pick from one of ten templates that layout and design all the rest of your artwork for free.
What size does my album artwork have to be?
Your album cover art has to be a higher quality than a digital album cover as it is being physically printed.
Dimensions:
1600 x 1600 pixels
300 dpi (dots per inch)
What if I have my own complete jewel case artwork?
If you have complete jewel case artwork (cd label, insert, traycard), with an insert that is either 4, 8, or 12 panels, please write support@tunecore.com with the subject: "I have art for Amazon: Disc On Demand" for further instructions. If your art is to the correct spec and has the right amount of panels, Amazon: Disc on Demand will be able to use your artwork to be included in the jewel case packaging.
How much will my CD sell for?
In TuneCore, you select what price you want your album to sell for starting at $8.98 and going up in one dollar increments to $19.98.
What do I get paid?
From each sale of your CD at Amazon.com, TuneCore pays you 40% of the sale price selected. As always, TuneCore passes through 100% of what we receive for your sales automatically into your TuneCore account balance. So, for example if you choose a price of $10.98 you will receive: $4.39.
Can I order my own CD?
Yes! Just go to Amazon.com, search for your CD, and order it.Will I get a physical copy of my CD before it goes live?
No, there will not be a physical copy made before it goes live.
How long does it take before my CD goes live in Amazon?
The average time it takes for releases to be processed by TuneCore and Amazon: Disc on Demand is about four weeks.
TuneCore is proud to deliver your music videos and full-length videos to iTunes. Here's all you need to know about TuneCore Video.
IMPORTANT: TuneCore Video's Film, Live Concert and Documentary delivery service goes live on November 18, 2008. On that day, a full FAQ entry will be available. Until then, enjoy this preliminary information:
This new service includes both the distribution and the digital conversion of films and live concerts while allowing you to keep all of your rights and profits.
The TuneCore up-front delivery fee is based on the running time.
In its current beta phase, TuneCore is delivering two films written by Obie Award winner Israel Horovitz: 3 Weeks After Paradise as well as Security. In addition, Horovitz will be starting his own film distribution company utilizing TuneCore; he will identify films that he deems are of artistic excellence.
Other films include the multi-platinum selling The Pimp Chronicles Part 1 and American Hustle by comedian Katt Williiams (First Sunday, My Wife and Kids), the inspiring documentary Ballou, about the unlikely success of an inner-city marching band, and the moving drama Little Chenier: A Cajun Story.
Will iTunes take ANY film?
The movies placed in the iTunes store are editorially approved by the iTunes staff. We will submit your movie along with your supplied materials for consideration. The process for approval is usually within 10 days.
How can I submit a movie to iTunes?
First, email us at movies@tunecore.com with:
IMPORTANT: Please note, at this time all films must be in English and we may need a screening copy mailed to us.
Once your movie is approved, we’ll send you all of the documents you’ll need as well as the information about the submission process. In addition, we will email you the TuneCore Terms and Conditions for film distribution that provide how much you get paid when your films are sold or rented as well as a number of other specific details. Once you approve the Terms and Conditions by sending us back a signed copy (email, fax or mail is fine) we will email you an invoice for the encoding and delivery of your film. The price of delivering a film is determined by runtime of the movie and the amount of labor involved in getting your video encoded.
Once approved by iTunes, what do I need to submit?
A complete package of the materials listed below must be supplied for us to deliver you film(s) to iTunes. Each of these items must be provided and up to spec before we can encode and deliver your movie.
1) Your film on video to be digitized for delivery (although iTunes prefers HD, we're able to process SD and HD material).
2) Metadata to be supplied by TuneCore to you post approval. The Metadata (text information) describing how to put your movie together. We’ll enter all of this data into an .XML form to be delivered with your film. This will include cast, crew, credits and other standard information about your feature film.
3) Other files necessary for displaying your movie. This includes your poster image and preview trailer.
How do movie sales work?
Through the iTunes store customers can buy and rent your film. The amount you are paid for each sale or rental is determined by the iTunes pricing tier system located in the TuneCore Terms and Conditions.
As always, TuneCore takes no “back-end” or “distribution” fee. You will receive 100% of the revenue generated from the sale or rental of your movie via a non-exclusive agreement that you can cancel at anytime!
Please email movies@tunecore.com with any additional questions.
All of the following information in this section concerns music video delivery into iTunes. Information on non-music video will be incorporated after November 18, 2008. Thanks for being patient.
Here are all the fees you'll ever encounter at TuneCore Video (all fees one-time only):
Other charges associated with transferring funds out of your account (e.g., by paper check) may apply (see above).
IMPORTANT: You can use the FedEx shipping label our Website supplies and the cost of shipping will be added to your total. However, if you choose to ship by some other means, please click here
IMPORTANT: ALL VIDEO FEES ARE NONREFUNDABLE.
TuneCore Video (currently in Beta) will deliver your music videos to iTunes, where your fans can buy them for download. TuneCore CANNOT currently deliver shorts, TV shows, movies or any other video that is not specifically a MUSIC VIDEO. After your video has been purchased, the money it earned will go into your TuneCore My Account page for you to take any time you want, day or night, by check or PayPal. As always, TuneCore takes NONE of the money from the sales of your music or music videos: you will receive 100% of the money from the sale of your music video. TuneCore Video is non-exclusive, we take none of your rights or masters, and you can cancel at any time. There is no charge if you would like your video removed from iTunes after the first six months.
HOW TO GET STARTED WITH TUNECORE VIDEO
Once you have a free, no-obligation TuneCore account, you can access TuneCore Video on our Web site from the top header of any page by clicking My Videography. You will have your own private My Videography page, which will list all of your music videos. To begin, click Add Video, type in the name of your music video, the name of the band/artist, the genres and various other information.
You will see on this page that your music video will be sent to all iTunes stores around the world. IMPORTANT: you must have WORLD-WIDE RIGHTS to sell your music video.
IMPORTANT: Once you have paid for a music video to be delivered, none of the information about it can be changed. Please make certain you are sure of spelling and other information before you pay!
Your music video sells on the Wholesale Model, where you get a fixed Pay Rate every time it sells. No matter what iTunes sells your music video for, you will always get the agreed-upon Pay Rate. For more information, please click here.
Right now, TuneCore Video only delivers to iTunes, but soon we will be adding many more destination stores for music videos.
In most ways, TuneCore Video is very much like TuneCore's very successful audio digital delivery service, which puts your music into iTunes, Rhapsody, Amazon MP3 and many other stores. Here are some key differences, at a glance:
IMPORTANT: Almost everything else about TuneCore Video is the same as TuneCore's music delivery service, so please take the time to read the policies and this Frequently Asked Questions page thoroughly.
iTunes has a different set of standards for non-music-video content. In time, TuneCore hopes to be able to offer this service.
WHAT IS THE DEFINITION OF A MUSIC VIDEO?
A music video is a video shot around a song or piece of music. It can be recorded at a live event (a "concert music video"), it can have non-musical elements (such as a brief "intro" or "extro"), it can have spoken parts, so long as they are not the focus of the piece. Most every music video on a cable music channel qualifies. However, for example, a documentary or film that happens to have songs in it will be rejected by iTunes, even if it's a "making of" a music video or a song.
IMPORTANT: iTunes reserves the right to accept or reject any content, audio, video or music video. Please be sure to follow all specifications and restrictions precisely.
No. You don't have to be selling the song on iTunes. You are welcome to use TuneCore Video even if you never use any of TuneCore's other services. However, your music video must conform to iTunes's specifications.
Your music video content must conform to all of iTunes's music video specifications (see below) or iTunes will reject it.
IMPORTANT: Fees for accepting, processing and/or delivering music videos are NON-REFUNDABLE. Since the only way to tell if a video conforms to specifications is to process it, rejections could become costly: not only will you not get your fee back, there are additional services charges for each resubmission. PLEASE FOLLOW THE SPECIFICATIONS EXACTLY.
ALL VIDEO CONTENT YOU SUBMIT MUST BE BROADCAST READY. "Broadcast ready" means the quality of the video is extremely high, with no skips, jumps, out-of-phase audio, scan lines, digital artifacts, snow or anything else that betrays poor production values or errors in transferring. Stylistic choices for artistic purpose will not necessarily cause your music video to be rejected, as long as the video is broadcast ready. You may send any broadcast ready format. The quickest way your order will be processed is if we receive a professional level tape such as:
You may also send broadcast ready digital files, provided they meet the following spec: Any Quicktime native file format (ProRes, PhotoJPEG, Uncompressed, DVCPRO or DVCPRO50).
IMPORTANT: Video DVDs with data files that have been compressed using DVD compression or altered to comply with a DVD codec are NOT considered a broadcast ready format. If your content is submitted in DVD Video format with such compression, it will take longer to process and will incur a 50% surcharge for archiving. Please note that submission of media as digital data files that have been compressed or altered to fit a codec may result in an additional charge based on the required time in our edit bay to output this content to tape first.
Please note that TuneCore expects all content received for archival and delivery has already passed a Quality Control/Quality Assurance (QC/QA) stage from its place of origin, is clean and:
IMPORTANT: A video must be clean and clear of any superimposed graphics, words or chyron. Chyron is the lettering that often accompanies music videos, such as the name of the song, the album it's from, etc.
In the event that a submission does not pass our QC/QA, we will notify you of the issues and you will be asked to replace your video prior to re-delivery. In the event a re-delivery is needed, it will require a re-submission fee of $50.
TuneCore Video is automated and very easy to use. By the end of the process, you will have supplied or received:
The site will guide you from input to data-entry to payment and finally to printing the shipping label. You are welcome to use TuneCore Video's shipping label for FedEx if you have access to and wish to use Federal Express. Otherwise, you are welcome to ship it using your own preferred method using the label we provide; if you choose to use a service that does not require a signature or proof of delivery, we are not liable for missing or damaged delivery, and you will have to resend and pay any additional charges resending incurs.
IMPORTANT: If you cannot print out or otherwise use the shipping labels we provide, you MUST include all the information from the label prominently on your package. You will be able to read the label on screen, please copy it clearly from there. ALL INFORMATION IS VITAL, please do not omit anything.
Once we receive your video, we will process it and either notify you if there is a problem or forward it on to iTunes, where it should appear in their store within six to eight weeks AFTER YOUR DELIVERY IS RECEIVED. IMPORTANT: There can be considerable fees if the specifications are not followed, or if the video is not clean; no fees will be returned if the video requires reprocessing, and reprocessing and/or redelivery will cost additionally. Please follow instructions precisely.
If your address is within the continental United States and you wish to have your medium (tape/disc) returned to you, please include a SELF-ADDRESSED, STAMPED ENVELOPE with sufficient postage. We cannot guarantee your medium will be returned, and we are not responsible for any damage or loss in transit, but we will do our best to return it to you. PLEASE DO NOT SEND YOUR ONLY MASTER or any medium or content you feel is irreplaceable.
TO SEND MORE THAN ONE VIDEO AT A TIME:
If you are sending more than one video at a time, please follow these important steps:
Once your music video is on iTunes, it will be searchable and findable just like any other music video. Every time someone purchases it for download, you earn a payment. Except for the wholesale Pay Rate, money and data from music video sales works exactly the same as money and data from audio sales, which you can read about here.
REMEMBER: iTunes sells on the wholesale model, so neither you nor TuneCore have any say in the price they set. They could sell your music video for a penny or for a million dollars, no matter what, every time it sells you get the Pay Rate, below.
REMEMBER: iTunes only releases money and sales data within 45 days after the end of the month in which the sale took place. For example, if your music video sold in March, 2008, the payment and information will be in your TuneCore My Accounts page no later than May 15, 2008.
WHAT IS THE PAY RATE FOR MUSIC VIDEOS SOLD THROUGH iTUNES?
TuneCore takes none of the money from the sale of your music videos. You get it all. For each music video sold individually, you receive:
| iTunes Stores Worldwide: | You receive |
|---|---|
| iTunes U.S. Store | US$1.40 (no exchange required) |
| iTunes Australia Store | Australian Dollars AU$1.98 |
| iTunes New Zealand Store | New Zealand Dollars NZ$2.33 |
| iTunes Canada Store | Canadian Dollars CAD$1.65 |
| iTunes Japan Store (Intl. and Standard Domestic) | Japanese Yen ¥178 |
| iTunes Japan Store (Premium Domestic) | Japanese Yen ¥237 |
| iTunes U.K. Store | British Pounds £1.12 |
| iTunes U.K. Store (upgrade) | British Pounds +£0.22 |
| iTunes Europe Store | Euros €1.42 |
| iTunes Europe Store (upgrade) | Euros +€0.32 |
iTunes pays the above Pay Rate in the local currency of the country where the sale occurred. For example, if a music video sells from the iTunes Japan store, iTunes Japan pays in Japanese yen (¥). The money is converted into U.S. dollars by the bank and forwarded on to you. As always, TuneCore takes none of the money from the sale of your music video. You get it all, but be aware that bank conversion rates are out of our control and can change from day to day--the bank will convert the currency into U.S. dollars based on what the exchange rate is at the time the bank receives the money.
IMPORTANT: All of the amounts for music video sales outside of the United States are subject to the terms, conditions, taxes and laws of those countries, including:
Remember, because of currency exchange, these pay rates can vary from country to country and from day to day. For example, if you sell one of your songs through the iTunes U.K./Europe store, you ultimately may get a little more or less than the pay rate listed in the above tables, depending only on the foreign currency exchange rate the moment the bank received the money. How much more or less? That changes from day to day, but always, we promise that you get 100% of whatever your songs earn for you.
UPGRADES for UK/EU: Every time a customer who had purchased your music video once at the regular rate then later "upgrades" it to a the iTunes "Premium" rate for either the United Kingdom or the European Union, you will receive the additional amount listed in the table. Use the combined total of the regular price plus the upgrade to determine the Pay Rate when a music video sells for the first time at the "Premium" rate: £1.34 for the U.K.; €1.74 for the E.U.
EXCEPTION: Japan has two levels of sales for music videos: "International and Standard Domestic" and "Premium Domestic," each with their own Pay Rate. Additionally, Japan has some special rules, so that even before taxes, tariffs, exchange rates or treaties kick in, some money is deducted by the iTunes Japan store to pay fees and royalties dictated by local Japanese copyright laws. So from the sales of your music in Japan, some portion will be deducted to pay the copyright holders under the copyright laws of Japan. Even if the copyright holder is you, Japanese laws require certain royalties to be paid out in Japan. However, no matter what, you will get paid the pay rate less this amount, after taxes, exchange rate, etc.
EXCEPTION: Both Australia's and New Zealand's governments withhold 5% as a tax on all sales. This amount is already deducted by the Australian or New Zealand government when you receive your accounting.
Trending reports are NOT royalty and sales statements. Royalty and sales statements, along with payment for your sales, will continue to be reported by the digital stores within 45 days of the end of an accounting period (for more information, click here).
A "trending report" (sometimes called a "sales trending report" or "trending"), is a downloadable file, available once a week, that you can open with your favorite spreadsheet program (MS Excel, Lotus, the file will work with all spreadsheet software or any text reader).
The file shows you the unofficial sales activity for all of your music from iTunes (currently, iTunes is the only store or service offering this) each day, Monday through Sunday (inclusive), for one week. Every Wednesday, you can log into your My Account page and, for $2.98 (introductory price), you can download a file that shows sales by song, by album/EP/single and by band/artist from iTunes. Since most people with an iTunes account has a billing address, you'll also see the city, state, country and zip/postal code of the fan who purchased your music (note that non-U.S. postal codes won't show city or state).
IMPORTANT: This is sales TRENDING data, not actual sales reports. iTunes does not pay out any money for the information you are seeing until approximately 45 days after the end of a month. TuneCore can't pay you until the stores pay, and the sales on the Trending Report may not match the next Accounting Report. See below in this section for more.
The Trending report you download has many columns. Here are the column headers and their meanings, left to right:
NOTE: You may not see any zip code, postal code or location information: this is because iTunes did not include it in their reports. TuneCore can only report what iTunes sends us. Unfortunately, there's nothing TuneCore can do about this. Also, non-U.S. postal codes won't show city or state: these columns will be "N/A". The country code itself is a 2-character international code. Very soon, TuneCore will have the full name of the country in place.
IMPORTANT: Currently, no Trending reports exist for video content.
Although both reports will show sales activity for all the music you have up through TuneCore in iTunes, your Trending report isn't the same as your monthly accounting. Trending reports show trends but are not 100% perfect. People sometimes make a sale and then return it later, for whatever reason. People may take advantage of other programs such as "Complete My Album" which count sales differently at the end of the month than they appear during the week. Months don't evenly divide into weeks, and iTunes accounting months don't even match calendar months.
Here is a brief rundown of some key differences between Trending reports and accounting reports:
| Trending Report | Accounting Report |
|---|---|
| Not 100% accurate | 100% accurate |
| Available weekly (each Wednesday) | Available monthly (each 15th, 45 days after month's end) |
| Shows sales from previous week, by day (Mon-Sun) | Shows sales from month that ended 45 days earlier |
| Period is always 7 days | Period is an iTunes accounting month |
| No money included | Money placed into your account |
| May not reflect returns, "Complete My Album" or other activity | Reflects all activity |
| Includes CITY, STATE, COUNTRY, ZIP/POSTAL CODE and specific day of sale | Month of sale only (no city, state, country, zip/postal code or day of sale information) |
| Available only as a downloadable file | Available for download and for review online on your My Account page |
| Costs $2.98 (introductory price) per Trending report | Free |
IMPORTANT: You cannot match your weekly Trending reports to your monthly accounting report. There will almost always be enough differences that the two reports won't exactly match. Only the accounting report is 100% accurate.
A single Trending report covers a Monday through Sunday (inclusive) and is available for purchase on your My Account page. It comes out the each Wednesday and is available that week and over the next four weeks at a special introductory price of $2.98. After four weeks, the Trending Report will not appear on your My Account page, but you can still find it and purchase it by clicking the "history" button. Every Wednesday, a new Trending Report will appear and be available for purchase for $2.98 until the special introductory price changes. Simply LOG IN to your TuneCore account and click "My Account" from the top of any page. You can use your My Account balance to purchase the report, or you can pay with a credit card, eCheck or PayPal.
IMPORTANT: If there is no Trending Report available, it means you had no transactions during that week. We'd never charge you just to see an empty file! If you don't see it and can't buy it, that means iTunes did not report any activity from iTunes during that week.
Once you have paid for them (the site will show you how), you can download them to your computer (repeatedly, if necessary) and import them into the spreadsheet program of your choice.
With your My Account page, you can see your sales information, take the money you earned and access all the information you need to calculate any royalties or payments to anyone else. Every TuneCore customer with an active account has a My Account page. Just LOG IN to your TuneCore account and you'll be able to visit your My Account page by clicking "My Account" at the top of any page on the site.
TuneCore works hard to get you money and sales data the moment we have them from the stores and services, usually when it becomes available 45 days after the end of an accounting period (for more information, click here).
If you have no music in your discography, no music videos in your videography or if you never sent music or a music video up to a digital retailer through TuneCore, your My Account page will be empty, showing only a block of text stating that your My Account page is you waiting for data and money from the stores you chose. Even if your music or music video is already in the stores you chose (iTunes, etc.), you may have no data or money in your My Accounts page, as most stores report sales activity and send payment only within 45 days after the end of the month, and in some cases every three months, in which the sale took place (for more information, please click here).
Once you have information in your My Account page, you will be able to see which songs sold, which albums/EPs/singles sold, which music videos sold, which stores sold them, which countries the sales occurred in, what month the sales occurred in, how much you made per song, how much you were paid by each store for your sales and much more. Click on links like "view by song" and "view by store" and so on, until you get to the page that shows you just what you want to see.
You can also download all of your sales information right to your computer as a .CSV (comma separated value) file. A CSV file can easily be read by any spreadsheet or text viewer. With the CSV file, you can sort and arrange the information any way you'd like. To download your sales information, click the download button and select the sales period you would like.
Use your downloaded "exported" accounting to build reports tailored to your needs. You can calculate mechanical royalty payments, how much each band member is owed, a producer royalty and more. If you like, you can also use the TuneCore system to make the payments for you. Go to your My Account page and send a payment by PayPal or paper check right to whomever you want! The system will also keep a log of all of your payments for easy reference
GUIDE TO READING DOWNLOADED ACCOUNTING STATEMENTS
The accounting information you download ("exported" accounting) has many columns. Here are the column headers and their meanings, left to right:
Go to your My Accounts Page. There you will see how much money you have made, how many songs or music videos you have sold, where they have sold and more. You will also see a field that lets you choose how much of the money you earned transferred out. Enter the desired amount. You can always leave your account with as little or as much money as you wish. You will also see a field that lets you transfer out your money in one of two ways:
IMPORTANT: You'll have to enter your information as requested or we won't be able to transfer any funds.
Each of these transfer options also has an associated fee per transaction which will be detailed at the time you make your transfer request:
Fees will be automatically deducted from the amount you requested withdrawn. For example, the cost to receive a paper check is $2.25. If you have $100.00 in your account and you requested all of it paid to you by check, the amount you will be sent is $97.75 (which is $100.00 minus the check fee of $2.25).
IMPORTANT: At this time, transfers can only be made to one person/entity. If you want to divide the money (to other band members, copyright owners, friends, etc.), it's up to you to transfer it out of your TuneCore account to yourself (or whoever you direct the transfer to go) and split it up however you see fit.
IMPORTANT: If the payment doesn't get through to you, TuneCore holds on to it. We'll try to reach you, but if we can't, we'll hold your earnings safely. After all, this is your money!
NONE. TuneCore takes NONE of the money YOU earned from the sale of YOUR music or music videos. It's your money, and we believe you deserve it 100%.
If no money has shown up in your account, there's a reason. Here's a checklist of common reasons:
If you requested a transfer through any of the available options but the transfer has not happened, there's a reason. Here's a checklist of common reasons:
Money in your account is completely safe. Only someone with the user name and password has access to it. You can, at your sole discretion, initiate a transfer of your money any time, day or night, by check or PayPal.
But that money is powerful! You can use it like a private account to pay for the products and services TuneCore and our partners offer:
For more information, please contact support@tunecore.com
Unfortunately, neither iTunes nor any of the other stores/services permit you to set the price customers pay to download or stream your music or music videos from their sites. When a download or stream happens, you will always be paid the required pay rate, but it's solely up to the store/service to set the price their clients pay. And they won't let you give it away.
There is another solution for music. Consider offering your music as a Podcast. They're free, and TuneCore encourages them, especially for those who wish to distribute their music for free. Here is a site (unaffiliated with TuneCore) that offers a good collection of sites and information about Podcasting: http://www.masternewmedia.org/news/2005/05/20/where_to_submit_your_podcasts.htm
Only the individual stores or services can set the price or circumstances for selling a song or album/EP/single or music video. You will always get the agreed pay rate, but that doesn't limit how they can sell your music. They can make a song available only when the whole album is purchased. They can charge more or less than average for a song or album. They can even have sales or specials, if they choose.
IMPORTANT: These decisions are wholly up to the store or service. Neither TuneCore nor a label nor the band/artist has any say in how stores or services sell the music. The only sure thing is whenever a song or album sells or streams, you will receive the pay rate.
No. A 30-second sample (also known as a "Clip") is automatically created and made available for songs or even music videos listed on the stores/services you chose. Samples do not earn a payment. Samples can be made out of any consecutive 30-second part of the song.
Cover songs involve "publishing." Publishing issues can be complex. Here is a quick background on how it works in the United States. Laws vary from country to country. IMPORTANT: The information in this section is not intended as legal advice.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Just like your computer or your car is your property; a song is property. It's a particular kind of property: "intellectual property." Just as you have a right to determine who uses your property, the owner of a song also has rights. So, you must get the right to use the song from the owner.
The particular right you need is the right to make copies of the song: the "copyright." Only the owner of the song has the right to make copies or to grant the right to others to make copies. So you need to get permission to copy the song. You get that permission by getting a license, just as a driver's license gives you permission to drive. In some cases, song writers and owners of songs do not take care of their own songs. They turn to someone else to deal with giving permission and doing all of the administrative stuff. This person or company is called a music publisher.
MECHANICAL LICENSES
In either case, you must contact the publisher of the song in order to get the license. The license is called a "mechanical license." The mechanical license gives you permission to mechanically reproduce (copy) the song. Of course, in this case the song is being reproduced digitally, but it's the same principle: every time someone downloads the song, a copy is being made. And for every copy that is made, the owner or publisher must be paid. Remember, the publisher is simply someone taking care of the song for the owner. The amount of payment is established by the United States government under copyright law. The amount being paid is called the "statutory rate." Statutory is a fancy word meaning required by law. The current statutory rate the song owner or publisher must be paid is 9.1 cents per copy. So every time the song sells, you owe the owner or publisher 9.1 cents. This rate, you will discover, will be written in the mechanical license.
COMPULSORY LICENCE
In addition, instead of getting a mechanical license from the publisher or song owner, you could make use of a provision in the copyright law called a "Compulsory License." However, there are so many requirements for both notifying the copyright owner and accounting to the copyright owner or publisher for sales of his song, it is not recommended that you try this method. The best and easiest way to get a mechanical license is from the owner or the publisher directly.
EXAMPLE
For example, let's take Dolly Parton. Dolly Parton wrote a song called "I Will Always Love You." Whitney Houston sang it and Sony Records released it. The song went on to sell 14 million copies on a CD single. For each copy made by Sony, Sony had to pay the owner of the song the statutory mechanical royalty dictated by the US Government. Multiply 14,000,000 times the mechanical royalty rate and you can see Dolly Parton was a very happy lady.
ADMINISTRATORS
Some people in the U.S. talk a lot about a company called the Harry Fox Agency. What is the Harry Fox Agency? The Harry Fox Agency is just a company that gets hired by the people that own the rights to the song. The Harry Fox Agency now gets to deal with the administration. Harry Fox gets the license signed and sent back to them (which means a ton of paper work) and then they run around trying to find anyone that has used their clients' song and collect the money owed to their clients. In return, the Harry Fox agency takes a percentage of the money owed to their clients. This is called an "Administration Deal" as the Harry Fox Agency administers the licenses and collects the money on behalf of its clients.
The Harry Fox Agency does represent tens of thousands of people, but not everyone. For example, TuneCore founder Jeff Price has run spinART Records for the past 15 years and released bands like The Pixies. The creator of the songs for the Pixies (one of the band members) did not hire the Harry Fox agency. Neither did the songwriter(s) for the Apples In Stereo, The Dears, Michael Penn, Kaito, Clem Snide or many others. So, if you want to "cover" a song, the Harry Fox Agency may or may not be the place to go to get the license and pay.
YOU HAVE TO FIND THE SONG OWNER
You need to discover who owns the song. Setting this up takes a little one time work, but after that, you're good to go.
How are you supposed to figure out who to pay? That's a very good quesiton. Places like BMI - BMI's site, or ASCAP - ASCAP's site, can you help you discover who wrote the song and who to contact to pay on their behalf.
TuneCore is also happy to report the Harry Fox Agency has recently launched a new site called "SONGFILE," for full download mechanical licensing for covers. It is a tool for artists and labels who need limited quantity physical and/or full download (also called DPD) licenses. It can be found at www.songfile.com. This service is unconnected to TuneCore, but may prove a valuable resource for our clients.
Harry Fox has also posted a new Digital Licensing FAQ which you may find useful.
Note: ASCAP and BMI are public performance societies, not publishing companies--but that is another ball of wax.
As you'll see on our terms and conditions (honestly, read it, it's important), you grant TuneCore only these rights:
REMEMBER: TuneCore does not own your songs, your masters, your copyrights, or the rights to any art work or band photo or music videos you submit. You maintain all ownership and control of all your rights. Also remember, TuneCore gets no rights to manufacture CDs, vinyl, DVDs, tapes or anything else. These are your rights, not ours.
At this time, your music and/or music videos can be bought in the stores and services TuneCore delivered your music to. However, your music/videos cannot be bought at TuneCore itself, nor does TuneCore sell or distribute physical copies of your music.
Here are all the fees you'll ever encounter at TuneCore for digital distribution of music:
One-Time Fees:
TuneCore charges a delivery fee for each song we deliver and for each store/service we deliver it to in order to offset the cost of delivering the music while checking the files, tying the music to the information and processing the files and data so they're ready to go on the shelves of the many different stores and services. We charge a $20.00 early termination fee to discourage people from frivolously uploading and requesting albums/EPs/singles be taken down right after they went up. Taking content off a store/service is a complex and time-consuming process for all involved. IMPORTANT: The only way to change anything about an album/EP/single once you've paid for it is to take it down and resend it, as detailed here, and this will incur all applicable takedown and delivery fees!
Annual Fees
TuneCore charges an annual maintenance and service fee to store, deliver and potentially redeliver your music to stores and services you chose or may opt for in the future. Also, we store your music in case one of the stores/services has a problem and requires we resend music files or information.
NOTE: If you ask for an album/EP/single to be taken down from all stores/services, we'll be sure to remove it completely from our storage.
TUNECORE VIDEO
Here are all the fees you'll ever encounter at TuneCore Video:
One-time fees:
Annual fees:
Other charges associated with transferring funds out of your account (e.g., by paper check) may apply (see above).
For questions about sales work for music videos through iTunes, please click here.
At the moment, TuneCore uses PayPal for all incoming payments. PayPal will allow you to use:
Find out more here.
Your music and music videos will remain in the stores/services you chose for as long as you'd like.
IMPORTANT: All digital distribution fees are NON-REFUNDABLE and WILL NOT BE PRORATED. Please go here for important details.
The maintenance and storage fee is $19.98 per album (and/or per music video) per year and $9.99 per single per year.
All delivered albums/EPs/singles or music videos have a yearly maintenance and storage fee. When you first had TuneCore deliver your content, the yearly fee was included in your initial payment. After twelve (12) months (measured from when your album went live in the last of the stores you initially chose), the maintenance and storage fee is due again, always at the same set rate: $19.98 (U.S. dollars) per album/EP/video and $9.99 (U.S. dollars) for singles.
NOTE: Some of our early-adopters may have annual maintenance fees of less than $19.98. If so, that album will carry that renewal cost forever, never increasing! Check your My Discography page to see how much an album's yearly renewal is.
You will receive an email to the address you used when you set up your account reminding you that the month has come due for one or more of your albums/EPs/singles or videos. IMPORTANT: the fee is due even if you don't get the email; TuneCore will do everything possible to contact you, but even if your email address or other contact information has changed, you are still responsible for maintaining your account and content. You will also be able to see which of your albums/EPs/singles or videos are up for renewal when you log into your TuneCore account, and also on your My Discography page.
You will be able to renew your album(s)/video(s) from your TuneCore My Account pages using your TuneCore Account balance, or a credit card, eCheck or PayPal.
If the annual maintenance and storage fee is not paid for an album or video, it will be taken down from all stores. IMPORTANT: Once your album or music video has been removed from a store, it cannot go back up without a complete redelivery and will require a full charge at current TuneCore delivery prices. Please renew promptly if you want to avoid delays, gaps and charges!
Your TuneCore account itself will remain open even if all your albums and music videos are removed from the stores.
If you chose not to renew an album/EP/single or video and you want it taken down, please click here for more information. For information on how to close your account completely, click here.
You can have your album/EP/single(s) or music video(s) taken down from any or all of the stores/services you chose at any time. Be sure you check here for important details. Then just send an email to support@tunecore.com and include:
IMPORTANT: You can have your content taken down from one store/service and keep them up in the others. For example, you can remove your album(s) from the Canadian iTunes store but still keep them in other store(s)/service(s). Please be specific in your instructions. Remember, if you ask for your album to be taken down from any store/service you selected within the first 6 months, you will be charged a one-time administrative fee of $20.00 per album/EP/single/video per request. For details, click here.
IMPORTANT: We can take your album/EP/single down, but we can't take down individual songs that are part of an album or EP. If you want some songs to be in one store and not others, you have to break them up into separate albums/EPs/singles, and each of these will be treated like new (it'll cost you a whole new delivery fee, maintenance and storage fee, and so on).
When we get your "takedown" request, the content will be marked "set for takedown" on your My Discography page (or My Videography page).
We will make sure to get your takedown request to the stores/services you chose within seven days of receiving it from you. The store/service should have the album down within two weeks, but it can take longer. Feel free to visit your listings in the stores/services from time to time to check the status of your album(s).
IMPORTANT: If you don't tell us you want your music or music video taken down, 12 months after the content first went live in any store, the annual maintenance and storage fee for the next year will come due. Thereafter, every 12 months the annual maintenance and storage fee will renew again. The annual maintenance and storage fee is NON-REFUNDABLE and WILL NOT BE PRORATED. Please see our Album Removal section for details, and please check here for more important details.
When you close your account, all your content will be taken down from all stores and services. Any money you might have in your account will be transfered to you the way you request it. Finally, we remove your artist/band and album/EP/single and music video information from our storage. To begin this process, please send an email to support@tunecore.com with all your information, including all your albums and their ID numbers and/or video information, and we'll get the ball rolling. IMPORTANT: Once your account is closed, there's no turning back! You'll have to start at the beginning with a whole new account.
Unfortunately, once an album, EP, single or music video is paid for, you can make ABSOLUTELY NO CHANGES. However, once it's finished being delivered to the store(s) you chose, a link will appear on your My Discography page next to the album/EP/single giving you the chance to add more stores.
If you absolutely need to change something, you'll have to request it specially. If we can help, this request is free of charge, unless it's within the first six months, in which case a $20.00 early termination fee may apply (details here) and, in the case of music videos, entire new fees may apply. Then you would have to re-submit the entire album to TuneCore, which will incur the add-album costs and yearly maintenance and storage fee. As you can see, correcting mistakes after payment can be very expensive.
IMPORTANT: You can add a store once an album/EP/single has been delivered to the stores you initially chose; you can add stores--even future stores, when TuneCore offers them--for a cost of $0.99 per store per album/EP/single or video.
Please, please make sure your information is right before you pay!
IMPORTANT: If you do not confirm your email address, you will not be able to transfer any money your music may have earned.
It's important we have a way to contact you. It's also vital for security that we have your email address, to make sure your account isn't being abused or hacked. Once you are logged in, please take the time to confirm your email by clicking the "CONFIRM EMAIL" button at the top of any page. If no such button is there, congratulations, you're confirmed!
Always go through TuneCore support (support@tunecore.com) for any problems with how your album appears, sounds, or if there is any problem with how it is categorized (genres, etc.). TuneCore is your liaison and your advocate with the stores, and they will only initiate addressing a problem if it originates from TuneCore. We will always be there to help!
Unfortunately, TuneCore offers neither support nor assistance with any of the stores or services or their software regarding purchases, payments, search and client-side support issues: in short, any problem you or your fans might have as normal customers of the stores. If you or your fans encounter a problem with any of these stores, services or softwares, please visit their support pages.
TuneCore promised to deliver your music and/or music video to the stores/services you chose at the same sound/video quality we received it. We have tests we run on every song uploaded or mailed to us. If your song appears on those stores or services, it means all these tests were passed, and the song or music video was neither corrupted nor altered on our end. So what happened?
We probably received a bad sound recording or "rip" of your music in the first place, or the quality of the video was poor or compromised from the beginning. This is almost always the reason for bad sound or video quality. Not all software "rips" music the same way, or even well, and not all transfers of video are perfect. Some computers are bad at ripping. IMPORTANT: It is up to you to provide us with clean, quality recordings and/or "rips" of your music and clean, broadcast ready content for your music videos; we can only deliver to the stores or services what we get from you!
It's vital you ensure your computer "ripped" a clean recording of your music before you sent it to us. And obviously, if the recording quality itself is low, nothing TuneCore or any store/service can do will improve it.
Names can be tricky. Different countries have different rules and laws about names, and those rules apply differently. Sometimes a person has registered their name with a government office. Sometimes a person has retained legal counsel and vigorously defends the use of their name and their identity. Many others "just got there first."
TuneCore is not part of these issues. If you discover someone on one or more of the stores/services you selected has your group, artist or album name, and that it's interfering with searches or otherwise causing you trouble, it's up to you to fix it.
Here are some important facts and common fixes you should know about:
Sometimes someone else may appear later with the a band, artist or album/EP/single identically named to one of yours. If so, it's up to them to go through the above process and do their best. You'll have to do the same, if you discover the new album is affecting your searches.
We ask you to enter optional information on the My Album or My Single page when you create your album so we have it on file for the day when the stores/services agree to accept it. Unfortunately, at the moment TuneCore is unable to send liner notes to iTunes or any of the stores/services. As soon as we have the ability and each store can accept and process liner notes we'll inform our customers.
For more information, click here
Unfortunately, at the moment neither iTunes nor any of the stores/services we offer have the ability to accept additional information about an album or artist or label--not even the information we ask you to enter optionally on the Add Album page when you created your album--except on an individual, case-by-case basis solely at their own discretion. This is also true of the look and feel of your artist and album pages, which is entirely under the control of the retailer, not TuneCore.
A store/service is the sole authority when it comes to deciding who gets featured, promoted, exposed or "surfaced" on their site. It's entirely up to them, TuneCore has no say in the matter.
In general, a store chooses to place an album or music video front-and-center based its own internal criteria.
We know how important it is for your music to be available all over the Internet. TuneCore is currently working out plans with most every other major online digital media retailer in operation and some that are only announced! We will have many other services available to you in the very near future.
PHYSICAL CD and DVD REPLICATION and PRODUCTION at VERY LOW PRICES NOW AVAILABLE!
This is such big news it has its own page.
TuneCore is happy to announce volume discounts. For every seven albums you pay to have delivered, TuneCore will give you back $10.00 (U.S.).
If you have many albums you'd like delivered (fifteen or more) or many music videos (five or more), you may be eligible for greater discounts. Please contact Peter at volume@tunecore.com
We're always looking for ways to improve! If you have a question that should be on our FAQ, drop us a line at support@tunecore.com and we'll do our best to help.
Please include your Album ID# (number starts with X0), Music Video ID# (number starts with XV) or UPC when contacting us about an issue.
Monday - Friday we will respond to all customer support inquiries on the same day. On Saturday and Sunday we guarantee a response within 48 hours.
support@tunecore.com
45 Main Street
Suite 301
Brooklyn, NY 11201
+1 (646) 651-1060
Si se entrega una sola pista (una sola) la tasa es de sólo un pago anual de $ 9,99. Si está entregando más de una canción (un álbum) la tasa anual es de $ 19,98. Los únicos cargos adicionales (para un álbum) son una sola vez las tasas de .99 centavos por cada tienda que usted elija y por cada cancion que usted suba a TuneCore. Por ejemplo, si entregar un álbumcon dos canciones a sólo iTunes US. esta ascendería a un total de $ 21.96 con una tasa de renovación anual de 19,98 después de el pago inicial.
Por término medio se tarda aproximadamente 4-6 semanas para estar disponible en todas las tiendas. Algunas tiendas te revisen más rápido que con otros Amazonas teniendo menos de una semana, Napster y Emusic aproximadamente una semana o dos, Rhapsody cerca de 2-3 semanas y el mismo para GroupieTunes. Hasta ahora hemos sido incapaces de determinar el promedio de tiempo para su musica acser disponible en las tiendas de Lala.com Shockhound y porque como son tan nuevas. Recuerde TuneCore no tiene control sobre cuándo su álbum estara disponible, pero estos son promedios a largo plazo con las relaciones de distribución con cada DSP (digital proveedor de servicios).
Lamentablemente no, no en este momento, pero le prometemos que cruzaremos los dedos para usted.
Todas las ventas se reportan 45 días después de que finalice el mes en que la venta se hizo. Por lo tanto, por Ej. las ventas a partir de enero se informó de 15 de marzo. Ventas a partir de febrero se informó de Abril 15. Una vez que haya ventas por su cuenta y que le gustaría recoger ls fondos, si usted tiene una cuenta PayPal puede transferir desde su cuenta tunecore a que está vinculada a su cuenta bancaria. Si no tienes una cuenta PayPal puede ponerse en contacto con nosotros y podemos enviarle un control físico.
También ofrecemos informes semanales de tendencias que se publican cada semana que esta en su “My Account” secion de su cuenta,todos. Para más información sobre tendencias, oprima aquí.
Desgraciadamente, no hay manera fácil de realizar cambios en un álbum una vez que han pagado por la entrega. Distribuimos un álbum de inmediato a las tiendas y, por tanto, no puede realizar cambios en el álbum. Si ha hecho un error de ortografía o errores de archivos incorrectos, sea de música o de obras de arte, la mejor manera de hacer un cambio es quitar su album(take down) de las tiendas y subir un album completamente Nuevo. Más información sobre takedowns.
Si su álbum ha sido disponible en cualquiera de las tiendas por lo menos seis meses luego usted simplemente tiene que ponerse en contacto con nosotros y nosotros pondremos mandar un proceso de takedown para usted. Para los álbumes que no han sido disponible menos de seis meses hay una carga para el takedown de $ 20. Usted puede hacer este pago a accounts@tunecore.com via PayPal y pongase en contacto con nosotros para procesar su solicitud.
Puede haber múltiples razones del por qué un álbum no pueden ser disponible antes o después de las fecha proyectada que ya ha pasado. Más a menudo es porque hay una cuestión que debemos resolver en nuestra parte.
Hemos encontrado. Archivos de wav a ser la más fiable y, por tanto, les recomendamos que usen ese formatto. Recuerde que debe ser formattizado en un 44.100 kHz sample rate, 16 bit tamaño de la muestra y el canal establecido para estéreo. ¿No está seguro de cómo convertir tu música? -- Echa una vista a nuestro tutorial.
Obra de arte puede estar en uno de los siguientes formatos de archivo: JPG, GIF o PNG. La imagen debe ser un cuadrado perfecto y al menos 600x600 píxeles de tamaño (1600x1600 se sugiere). Las obras deben estar en mejor calidad-Modo de color RGB (incluyendo imágenes en blanco y negro) y debe tener una resolución de al menos 72 dpi. No puede incluir: las direcciones de correo electrónico, URL, cualquier otra información de contacto o cualquier información sobre los precios. Usted debe incluir tanto el nombre del artista y álbum de título a la obra y tambien eliminarán los adhesivos o otros elementos de tu obra en caso de que usted vas a usar una obra de arte de un CD físico