List of FAQ by Artists
How much does it cost?
The basic setup costs are as follows:
- Basic CD (max. 2-disc/50 songs) - $25.00
- Basic Download (max. 2-disc/50 songs) - $20.00
- Basic CD/Download Combination (max. 2-disc/50 songs) - $35.00
- Single/EP CD (Under 7 songs) - $15.00
- Single/EP Download (Under 7 songs) - $10.00
- Single/EP CD/Download Combination (Under 7 songs) - $20.00
- One-song download – $2.50
These fees pay for the creation of your samples, uploading all of your material, and the setup/maintenance of your page. Each submission carries this one-time only fee and you’re submission will be in our store unless you tell us to take it out!
The setup costs for other items are as follows:
- Vinyl - $20.00
- Apparel - $10.00 per item (an item with multiple sizes is considered one item)
- Accessories - $5.00 per item
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Can I still sell my music elsewhere?
Of course! This is completely non-exclusive. You’re welcome to continue to put your music in other stores or in other online venues. Only thing is, they won’t pay you as much!
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I’m a little concerned about using my credit card. Is this site secure?
Absolutely! We don’t want anybody to be worried about identity theft or fraud, so we make sure to use the most secure means possible to take orders. Pages where sensitive information is given (credit card number, address, etc.) are encrypted and secured.
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How much should I charge for my music?
That’s really up to you. However, we recommend that you try to keep prices low. Part of the reason we give you such a large percentage of your asking price back to you is so you can keep your asking price low and still make money! This encourages fans to try new music and new artists without breaking the bank.
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How many CDs should I send?
If you are selling CDs, start by sending 5-10, including one that will be opened (if sealed) and kept by Tarnius Music Inc. so that we can use it to load your music and information to our servers. If you are selling by download only, just send us the one copy to be added to our servers. If your items have no liner notes, be sure to include a sheet listing the album name, song names/numbers, year of release, UPC/ISRC numbers (where applicable), etc.
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When should I send more CDs?
We’ll let you know whenever we’re running low, and we’ll tell you how many you need to send. Of course, if you’re selling via download this is not as much of a problem, but we’ll let you know with plenty of notice if we need more.
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How do I sell apparel and accessories?
This works just like selling CDs. Just send us 5-10 of your items, we put it on your page and send you 90% of all sales! For clothing with multiple sizes, send us 5 of each size. We will let you know when any supplies are running low and you can send more!
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When and how do I get paid?
All artists and labels will be paid monthly, assuming that more than $5 is owed. If you are owed less than $5, we will roll your payment over to the following month. If your balance remains below $5, you will receive payment every quarter-year no matter how small the sum. If you ever need early payment or other arrangements, you can simply contact us at artist@tarniusmusic.com.
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What are the advantages of getting UPC/ISRC codes?
In order to be tracked by Nielson Soundscan, you MUST have UPC/ISRC (Universal Product Code/International Sound Recording Code) registration! In case you don’t know, Soundscan is the organization that tracks sale of music, and is therefore what the music charts are based on. So, without a UPC you could sell 10 million albums and you wouldn’t be included on the charts! Creating a UPC for other items is just a simple way for sales to be tracked and inventoried. The problem is that getting a UPC is EXPENSIVE!!! So we went ahead at forked over the dough that allows us to dispense UPCs. That way we can turn around and give them to you for much a lower price and everybody’s happy! And don’t worry: the music still belongs to you; we just give you the codes.
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Which genre(s) should I choose?
Part of our mission is to leave the music and creativity in the hands of the artists, so we really leave this up to you! We don’t want to pigeon-hole you or your music. That being said, we also don’t want artists to put themselves in an obscure sub-genre ("We’re zombie rat hip-rap-rock-fusion with gospel reggae undertones and a twinge of bluegrass."). We’ve found that the best thing to do is choose one or two broader genres and then narrow it down in your description. For instance, you can place yourself in rock and explain, "You can really hear our country roots on ‘Album A’ and we really get heavier on ‘Album B.’" etc. etc. If you’re really having trouble deciding, we listen to everything and keep everything on file. Shoot us an email at artist@tarniusmusic.com and we’d be happy to help point you in the right direction. Or, if you don’t see the genre you want, let us know what you'd like to see added at genres@tarniusmusic.com.
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My audio samples aren’t working, what should I do?
First, check the samples of another artist. If you are having trouble listening to everybody’s samples, then it is probably an issue with your computer or internet service. If the samples of other artists work and yours don’t, send us an email at samples@tarniusmusic.com right away (making sure to include artist name and album(s)/track(s) that are having problems) and we’ll have somebody examine the files to make sure everything is input correctly on our side and fixed ASAP.
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One or more of my tracks doesn’t have a sample clip. Why is that?
First of all, is this an original song? We cannot always play samples of covers because, while you have given us permission to play your music, we might not have the permission to play somebody else’s without paying. If an original track does not have a sample clip, it is most likely because of its length. For a track to be given a sample clip, it must be at least 90 seconds long. After all, we don’t want to give the whole song away! If you have a longer original song that does not have a sample clip, then contact us at samples@tarniusmusic.com. It is possible that there is something else wrong and we will look into it right away.
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Will my music be tracked by Soundscan?
All of our eligible sales results are sent to Soundscan so your music can be tracked and you can be on the charts. However, as a Soundscan requirement, this is only possible for items that have valid UPC and ISRC assignments. If you don’t have a UPC/ISRC, Tarnius can have one created for you. Just go to our Selling with Tarnius section and purchase this service to start your Soundscan inclusion.
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Will my account expire?
Nope! This is not a subscription. When you pay to submit an album, it stays there unless you ask us to remove it (or if you don’t follow the terms of service, but we know you wouldn’t do that!).
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Do I have to sell a certain amount to continue being a member?
Absolutely not! It doesn’t matter how much or how little you sell, you will remain a member as long as you abide by the terms of service and, of course, assuming that you haven’t asked us to remove you from the site.
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How can I become a featured artist?
There’s not necessarily anything you have to do to become a featured artist. Artists chosen to be featured on the homepage are sometimes chosen because they have a sudden drastic increase in sales and we want more people to see why that particular artist has gotten so hot. Other times, it may just be something that really strikes the listeners here at our office, and still other times it might be completely random in choice. Just hang in and keep plugging your music and you’ve got a good shot at being featured at some point. (we’ll email you beforehand so you can let your fans and friends know that you’ll be the featured artist on such n’ such date).
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How can I update my artist notes and bio?
Simply log in to your account and choose "edit" under your account information to edit any of your member information. If you’d like to make changes to the description or notes on a particular item, simply email artist@tarniusmusic.com with "yourbandname changes" in the subject line and let us know what you’d like changed. From there we will make the fix as soon as possible.
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What is DRM, and does Tarnius use it?
DRM stands for "digital rights management" and it is essentially a way for companies to track digitally downloaded music and make it proprietary. In other words, it is a way for companies to force you to use their software with their hardware. We do not use DRM. We believe that once you buy the music it is yours, and you are free to use it however you want. You can use it with your MP3 player, burn it to a CD, or play it on your computer. You bought it, and it’s yours.
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Can I put Tarnius Music downloads on my iPod™ or Zune™?
Yes! You can use our downloads with any MP3 player because we do not use DRM (digital rights management). Once your file is downloaded, simply import it into your player’s software (i.e. iTunes™) as if it was a track you ripped from a CD you purchased.
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What is the audio quality of your downloads?
We try to give you the best audio quality possible. When an MP3 is created, it can be compressed at different rates of kbps (kilobytes per second). 128 kbps is considered "CD quality." We compress our downloads at 320 kbps, making it a bigger file, but one that is over double the audio quality of a typical MP3.
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FAQ For Artists
