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Frequently Asked Questions

The Site
- What are the benefits of MadeLoud.com? And what does Beta mean?
- What kind of music is on MadeLoud?

Getting Started
- Do I have to pay anything to sign up?
- How does MadeLoud work with PayPal?
- How do I start uploading songs?

Artists
- How does the embed player help me on my other music pages?
- How can I get my new album reviewed by MadeLoud?
- When and how do artists get paid?
- How do I convert my songs to MP3?

Fans
- Can I play this music on my media player?
- Why can't I hear the whole song when I'm browsing?
- Can I republish MadeLoud.com articles?





The Site

- What are the benefits of MadeLoud.com? And what does Beta mean?

MadeLoud.com is an innovative music website that incorporates the content of an indie music publication with the services of an online music retailer. Our intent is to create a site that empowers independent musicians to be who they are, maintain creative control over their music and financial control of their sales.

Beta means that this is just the beginning for us. Fans can still buy music from artists safely and securely using PayPal during our beta run. If you do find bugs anywhere, please let us know by contacting us so we can improve on the site and make your experience better and better.

Finally here are some of the many Benefits you'll find on the site!

...for Artists

- $0 membership fees
- Free signup (during Beta!)
- Unlimited upload space for your songs (during Beta!)
- Artist gets 80% of sales made off of downloads and ringtones
- Choose the price of your music, offer free promo songs, or price your work so that a fan is enticed to buy the entire album instead of a few individual tracks. It's up to you!
- Sell your merchandise (cds, hats, stickers, LPs, etc.) and get 85% of all sales made!
- Get your music reviewed by fans, ... and possibly us!

...for Fans

- Free membership to a new kind of indie music community!
- Buy music, merch, and cds direct from your favorite bands!
- Review new album releases
- Read the latest MadeLoud articles, reviews and news
- Take advantage of promo offers on the site
- Be the biggest Indie Fan!
- Know that you're money is directly supporting the music you love to hear!




- What kind of music is on MadeLoud?

MadeLoud.com supports indie artists of all genres, whether you like pop, heavy metal, country, or Christian music.

Our lyrical guide can help you make sure the music you find is just what you need. Artists can rate their songs as explicit, kid friendly, or clean, and users can go in and search by lyrical content. Please see the "lyrical content" section in our "A-Z" or our Terms of Use for more information.




Getting Started

- Do I have to pay anything to sign up?

No, during Beta all artists get to signup for free PLUS they get free unlimited upload space for music! It's also free to set up a storefront and start selling merch (including CDs, LPs, T's, stickers and more) direct to your fans.

As a fan it's free to join the community and enjoy the benefits of supporting independent music!



- How does MadeLoud work with PayPal?

One of the first things you will need to do in order to use MadeLoud's store, is set up a PayPal account if you don't already have one.

Fans - In order to buy mp3s and merchandise on MadeLoud, fans will need to set up a Personal PayPal account. PayPal allows you to send and receive payments quickly and securely online using a credit card or bank account. You can also check the status of your payment and review your own payment history.

Artists - Artists will need a Personal PayPal account in order to sell (or buy) mp3s and merchandise. Artists do not need Premier or Business PayPal accounts to sell their products since all money transactions will go through MadeLoud's account in order to ensure fairness and efficiency.

- Sales - MadeLoud provides artists with the convenience of selling digital content and physical merch all through a single site. Artists who sell their products on MadeLoud will have the money they make transferred into their PayPal account monthly once their sales reach 25 dollars.

- MP3s Selling mp3s on MadeLoud couldn't be more simple. All an artist must do is upload mp3 files of their songs and set their prices. Songs can be sold (or offered for free) as individual tracks or they can be grouped into digital albums. When grouping songs into an album, the artist should first create and name the album, and then upload the songs into that album. Either way, the artist is responsible for the quality and price of their mp3s.

- Physical Merchandise - An artist who wishes to sell physical merch like T-shirts or Posters on MadeLoud must be willing to take on the responsibilities required to do so. Selling merch through MadeLoud is similar to selling items on eBay; the artist is responsible for shipping the items they've sold undamaged and in a timely manner. Shipping tracking numbers must be entered into every order, and MadeLoud will only pay artists after shipping has commenced. Prices are set by the artist, and include shipping costs, so a small amount of research is a must before any item is put up for sale in the MadeLoud store.

Please visit PayPal's website and or our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy for more info.




- How do I start uploading songs?

1) Make sure you have logged into your MadeLoud Artist Account
2) Once logged in, click on "my site" from the top navigation bar beside your username
3) When you have reached your profile page click on the "Music" tab located next to your "Proflie" tab.
4) Under your "music" tab you can either add an album or add a single song.
5) Once you have decided whether to add an album or song, fill out the required fields to complete the process




Artists

- How does the embed player help me on my other music pages?

The MadeLoud embed player has many features that you can utilize on all your sites; MySpace coming soon! When a fan clicks on the album artwork that appears in your player while a song plays, they go directly to your Music Page on MadeLoud. From there they are able to immediately purchase any music they like and see what other albums and merch you may have.

Changing your music around on the embed player is easy. Go to each individual song and click on "feature" and that's it. It automatically uploads into the player. If the song is offered for free, the entire song plays. If the song is for sale, 45 seconds play and the price displays on the player.

The same breakdown applies here. Artists make 80% of all digital sales (and 85% of all merch sales).

Have fun with with MadeLoud and utilize the features on our site with your other musical outlets online. As an artist, the more places fans can find you, the better!

(Just make sure each site treats you fairly, gives you a fair cut, gives you creative control, and has a general interest in helping you succeed. )



- How can I get my new album reviewed by MadeLoud?

We've set up our site so that our users can be reviewed easily by our publication side. All MadeLoud users have the chance of getting reviewed as we listen to all the music our new users upload.

If you'd like to have the chance of being reviewed, sign up. It's easy and FREE. Unlimited upload space (whereas MySpace only gives you 5 spaces) plus 80% return to artist on all digital sales (you can make and sell downloads as well) and 85% return to artist on all merch sales.

If you are with a label, please contact promotions at madeloud dot com.



- When and how do artists get paid?

Artists make 80% off of their download sales and 85% off of any physical merchandise sold (including CDs, LPs, T's, stickers etc.). Artists whose accounts reach $25 a month get paid the following month through their PayPal account. Accounts that haven't reached $25 get rolled over into the next month.



- How do I convert my songs to MP3?

Songs must be converted to .MP3 format in order to be uploaded and listened to on MadeLoud. This also includes uploading songs which you desire to sell. If you are having problems converting to .MP3, you should head over to http://cdexos.sourceforge.net/ and download the "CDex - Open Source Digital Audio CD Extractor." It's free and easy to follow. This program can convert everything but .WMA to .MP3. If you want to convert .WMA files to .MP3, you will need to visit www.download.com and get the "Free WMA to MP3 converter 1.08" and follow the instructions accordingly.

After you've converted all your songs to .MP3, you'll be ready to upload them to your MadeLoud page for other users to listen to or purchase.




Fans

- Can I play this music on my media player?

Yes! All downloaded music on MadeLoud.com is DRM-free and is compatible with most media players.



- Why can't I hear the whole song when I'm browsing?

Just like iTunes TM, we offer a small 'clip' of the entire track being sold. Once downloaded, a user can listen to the complete track. Users can preview an entire song if they are offered for free by an artist.



- Can I republish MadeLoud.com articles?

Yes! If you really like our articles, please do! But make sure you link back to the article and give MadeLoud and our awesome writers the credit they deserve.

Premium Artists