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What basic things should I know?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. Do I have to be at least 18 years old to get an account?Yes! 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.
What are file formats does the Melody Widget Require?
What should I know about compression?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: .wav or .AIFF = Uncompressed (Melody requires that you rip your music into .wav format; we cannot currently accept .AIFF files.) .MP3 = Compressed. Music is sampled at your choice of rates, commonly 128 kbps (average sound quality), 192 kbps (better sound quality), 256 kbps (much better sound quality) and even higher (320 kbps is the MINIMUM for MP3s uploaded to Melody, but if you want to be in iTunes, you must use .wav). The higher the number, the larger the file. AAC = Compressed. These are usually found as .M4A or .M4P extensions. Music is sampled at your choice of rates. However, AAC files can sound better than MP3 files of the same size. Music sampled at 128 kbps for AAC files sounds much better than 128 kbps .MP3 files. Don't be fooled by the small number! .FLAC = Lossless Compressed = A big but still manageable file compressed in such a way that no sound quality is lost: "lossless" compression. Apple Lossless = Although this carries a ".M4A" extension just like AACs, this format (sometimes called ALE) is compressed, but in such a way that nothing is lost: "lossless" compression. Generally, the higher the kbps, the better the reproduction, but the larger the file.
What should I know about ripping and uploading?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. There are FREE programs such as iTunes software created by Apple Computer, Inc., and available on both Mac and PC: Download iTunes Whichever software you use, you'll be able to rip your music in your choice of formats. To upload your music to your widget, we suggest your songs be at a minimum 192 kbps.
How do I create albums, singles and add them to my widget?All Melody account holders deliver their music using the Melody Music Desk upload directly to your widget. Upload speeds are determined by your Internet connection. Please view the following video: Back to top How do I remove an album from my Melody Widget?You can remove any content from the Widget by clicking the Remove from Widget button located on your Melody Music Desk. Information for ManagersNEED INFO
How do Explicit Lyrics work?Albums, s or singles with explicit lyrics are permitted in your widget but they must be marked explicit. This is voluntary, but if it is later discovered your album, or single has explicit lyrics and you failed to indicate it,we may reserve the right to remove it at any time, until the proper Explicit Lyric Advisory Label is added to your artwork. Click Here for more info. IMPORTANT: ONE song on an album containing explicit content means the ENTIRE ALBUM 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.
How long until my album, or single shows up in the Melody Music Widget after I upload?Your digital content is INSTANTLY activated once you click the ADD TO WIDGET button in your music desk.
How do sales and payments work?Any and every sale through your Melody Widget is processed and delivered instantly. You won't need a merchant service or a paypal account to sell your music. You set the price of every download and control what music is available to your fans instantly. Melody has a simple yet effective way of paying the artist: DIRECTLY. We pay $.85 on the dollar every Friday at 5:00pm eastern time. You must have at least $5.00 in sales for the weekly period.
When do I see how much I got paid, and when do I get my money?You can check your balance in the Melody Music Desk by clicking on the Manage My Money link. Reports of sales are tracked daily. Melody WidgetWhat a Widget? A Widget is a flash-based promotional tool available to all Melody account subscribers. It can be shared and embedded into websites, social networking outlets like Myspace, blogs and more. Can I have multiple widgets in my account? What is the track limit for widgets? Why is my widget blank? What do I need to know about Accounting?Not Much. Melody will handle all of the processing of your sales, which tracks have been purchased and downloaded, how much you have pending in deposits, and the time and date of how much has been deposited onto your Melody Prepaid Debit MasterCard.
How do I collect the money my music earned?
Deposits will be credited to your Melody PrePaid Debit MasterCard every Friday at 5:00pm EST. How much of my sales revenue does Melody keep?Melody retains $.15 cents on the dollar which covers the Credit Card processing, hosting and file storage. Please note this fee is not a royalty based percentage because your fans are buying from you directly. Instead of starting with $.70 cents on the dollar with us you start with $.85 cents on the dollar.
Why is there so little (or no) money in my account?The only reason why you wouldn't have any music in your account is due to low or no music sales. Sales are tracked on a daily basis. Utilizing the share feature on your widget will ensure a greater amount of page views and give you a higher opportunity to market and sale your music.
Why hasn't my money been deposited onto my MasterCard?The only reason why your money would not be deposited on your MasterCard is due to your weekly sales being below $5.00.
What can I do with Melody Prepaid Debit MasterCard?Use may use the MasterCard anywhere the MasterCard logo is accepted. Because it is a prepaid debit card, only what is available on the card may be debited. The Melody Prepaid Debit MasterCard doubles as checking account as well. When you receive your MasterCard in the mail, it will include instructions on how to activate, use and deposit money onto your card. For more information, please contact our technical support team.
Can I give my music away for free on my widget?You can simply change the price of your album or track to $0.00 and your fans will be able to download your music free of charge. Your store will still require your fan to fill out the online form and provide an email address to download your digital content. Can I have, bios, and other information about the band? What about lyrics ?You do have a bio section within your Melody Widget. You can change this information as much as you like. You may also add as many photos in the Photo Gallery section of your widget. At this time we are unable to provide a section for lyrics.
Does Melody have or take ownership of any of my master recordings, copyrights, merchandise rights, live performance income, public performance royalties or any other income streams or rights?NO, You maintain ownership of all digital content uploaded to your widget. Please see the privacy policy for more information.
What rights am I granting to Melody?Please click on our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service documents for more information.
Can people buy my music from Melody?At this time, your music can only be purchased from the places you have shared your widget.
What are Melody's fees, how do I pay?Our Gold service is $19.95 per month. This fee gives you the Melody Prepaid Debit MasterCard, your online store (the Melody Widget), a custom url domain name in the event you don't have your own website, and the Melody Control Desk which is the online platform for you to manage your digital content. How do I notify Melody that I'd like to close my account?Simply send an email to: support@melodymanagement.com IMPORTANT: Once your account is closed, there's no turning back! You'll have to start at the beginning with a whole new account.
After I pay for my digital content what changes can I make?You have complete control over your digital content. Additional Video Tutorials are forth coming.
How do I get help with my Melody Widget?Our Youtube channel is the best place to find video tutorials and help on how to manage your widget. Click here to visit our Youtube Channel.
My fans downloaded my music from and it sounds terrible, what do I do?Because you are control of your own store, we suggest that you re-upload the content at a higher bit rate. Someone else has my band name or album/single name! What should I do?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."
Can I get my digital content promoted on the front page of Melody?We select artist monthly to feature on the front page of our website as well as in other marketing promotions such as video tutorials and Email Campaigns. To qualify for consideration you must have the following available on your Melody Widget:
What about physical duplication CDs of my albums?Melody is currently in negotiations to provide short run duplication of CDs. We will keep you updates once this feature becomes available.
What if I need more than one account?Please send an email to support@melodymanagement.com with the subject of "Manager's Inquiry"
I have more questions, what should I do?Simply send us an email at support@melodymanagement.com
Melody Music ServicesMelody Widget - Share FeatureCreate an AlbumMelody Manager's AccountMelody Online Store - Flash Widget |
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