Help! I'm not a musician but I want to purchase music. How do I find and purchase music here?
You can SIGN UP for FREE as a Music Fan and go to the ARTIST DIRECTORY to search for artists. With a PayPal account or any major credit card, you can purchase mp3s which are immediately available for download.

How old do I have to be to sell music?
You must be 18 years of age or older to sell music.

What is the service that XYZmp3.com provides musicians and artists?
We provide an easy-to-implement and manage e-commerce storefront for musicians and artists(Sellers). The storefront consists of an e-commerce enabled media player (DSMP: Digital Storefront Media Player) that can be embedded into any webpage that you can edit. The player allows music fans(Buyers) who visit the artists' website to sample and buy music. The player can be implemented in a cut-n-paste method, in much the same way many webpages are edited everyday in social networking sites such as MySpace™, Friendster™, or Tagworld™ for example. The player will display whichever tracks or albums you upload through XYZmp3's Backstage Artist Management System (BAMS). The XYZmp3 system also tracks your sales and content and pays you monthly via your PayPal account or ACH to your bank account. When you sign up with us, you will need to log in to our website (log in link at the top) where you are then directed to the Backstage Artist Management System. There you can upload your artist, album, and track data as well as album covers and artist pictures. Currently we are offering 5 tracks for free that you can upload and display for sale. In the near future we will enable album and video sales for musicians as well.

As a musician, how do I use this service? What's my first step?

1. SIGN UP with our secure form as an Artist (Seller). You will need to fill in contact information, Social Security # or Tax ID and bank account number or PayPal account ID SO YOU CAN GET PAID. You set up your username and password at this step.
2. Choose a service package: You can start for FREE with 5 tracks for sale. *In the near future you will be able to purchase with any major credit card or using Paypal service packages that allow you to upload more albums and/or tracks.
3. You are sent a confirmation email to the email address you provided as your login name at signup.
4. Click on the link in the confirmation email you received.
5. You are directed to a verification page where you are asked for the password you set up at signup. Successful verification activates your account.
6. Upon verification you are forwarded to the Backstage Artist Management System (BAMS). You should read the "Getting Started with XYZMP3" tutorial first.
7. In BAMS you may edit your artist data, upload MP3s, album cover(.jpeg), and artist photo (.jpeg) which will display in the e-commerce enabled storefront player. In the Backstage System you can also view sales reports as well as generate the code to display your storefront.
8. Once you have uploaded your mp3s and artist content, you should click on "Get Digital Storefront Media Player" in the main menu. At the resulting page is a field containing the html code that you will cut-n-paste into your band's website or social networking profile webpage.
9. Promote your Digital Storefront Media Player (DSMP) and start selling!
10. Start getting paid monthly on your sales! (You must have at least $20.00 dollars in net sales before a payment will be issued.)

How do I encode (rip) my mp3s?:
Before you create or upload your mp3s you should know the following:

*Encode 2 copies of each song/track: a SAMPLE (low quality Example: 56 kb) and a PRODUCT (high quality Example: 192 kb) copy

• SAMPLE version: Your fans will listen to this one via the player you embed in your webpage/website and anywhere you may be featured on www.xyzmp3.com or one of it’s affiliates. The sample version should be encoded at a lower bit rate (56k is a popular sample rate of encoding).
• PRODUCT version: This is the copy your fans will actually download to their computer after purchasing. The product version should be encoded at a high quality bit rate (192k is popular).

Note: The encoding rates are only recommendations.

Encoding/Ripping: To convert your music to mp3 format you will need a software application to do this. These applications are called encoders or rippers. The process is called encoding or ripping. There are several encoders on the web as well as tutorials. You may want to do a little research first and you will want to make sure you can encode at different bit rates (should be able to at least go as low as 56k and as high as 192k) so you can create mp3 versions for sampling and purchase by your fans.

Software: CDex available from SourceForge is a popular encoder that you could use in creating mp3s for sale and sampling. Click here to visit their site.

The Basic Steps for Encoding:
(This generally applies to most encoding software)

1. You install the encoding software on the computer you will use to encode.
2. Put your music CD containing your tracks you want to sell in the CDROM drive of the computer you are encoding on. Remember, you are going to encode the CD twice: once in a low quality set of mp3s and again in a high quality set of mp3s.
3. Use the software to encode the tracks you want from the CD at a low bit rate (such as 56k) (for your SAMPLE quality mp3s).
4. Make sure the track data (artist name, album, track info, etc) is propagated or entered into the mp3s created.
5. Repeat the process with the encoding rate set at a high quality (such as 192k) to create your PRODUCT mp3s for download.

MP3 File Size Limits for Uploading: There are file size limits on mp3s uploaded to XYZmp3.

• PRODUCT mp3s should not be larger than 10 mbs in size.
• SAMPLE mp3s should not be larger than 4 mbs in size.

How do I upload my music for sale?
In the Manage Content section of the main menu, you can add or remove content such as mp3s and your artist photo by clicking the appropriate menu selection. You will want to upload your PRODUCT version mp3s first before adding your accompanying SAMPLE versions. The music you upload will be displayed for sale in the Digital Storefront Media Player where you cut-n-paste html code into your website or social networking webpage profile. Your music will also be displayed for sale at XYZmp3’s artist directory as well as it's affiliate network.

Why do you ask for a Social Security Number or Tax ID?
Because the U.S. Government wants to know who’s getting paid for tax reporting purposes. We are obligated to abide by the law. We implement highly secure technologies to protect your information.

Is the Digital Storefront Media Player easy to implement?
Yes. We have designed the implementation of the DSMP to be reasonably easy to embed in any webpage you can edit. It is very similar to the way many social networking websites such as MySpace™ or Tagworld™ are customized every day around the world by cutting and pasting html code.

What am I allowed to sell?
You may sell and display the media/content that you own the rights to sell or display. Your music for sale should be encoded as a high quality mp3 (encoding rate: 192kbs stereo). You should also upload a sample version of each track encoded at a lower bit rate such as 20k mono. **If you upload content that you do not own the right to sell, you will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. We take this very seriously. We are strongly against illegal file sharing. **

How am I paid and how much per sale?
You can choose to be paid directly to your PayPal account or receive an ACH Electronic check deposit directly to your bank account. You are paid monthly as soon as you have accumulated at least $20.00 in net sales. For all Items you have sold you receive 70% percent of the net wholesale. Please note there is a $3.00 processing fee to send you your money.

What is net wholesale?
Banking and transaction fees result from each sale. The remainder is net wholesale.

How much does it cost to sign up and use this service?
It is FREE to sign up and upload 5 tracks for sale. In the future there will be more service packages available beyond the current 5 tracks for free.

Can I give away my music for free?
Yes, you will be able to in the near future. You will be able to upload one free song for promotional purposes. We decide which songs are chosen for promotions that we make available. We will run promotions and may include your track offered for promotional purposes. **You must still sell something since this is an e-commerce service and we are not a free web hosting or disk storage provider.** We enable musicians to easily sell their music online and help them receive more sales revenue per track sold.

How do I get the most out of my Digital Storefront Media Player(DSMP)?
Promote it. Having signed up with us, you now have a storefront for all of your digital music (and videos/other media in the future). Let your fans know about it through various channels that they can now buy and download your music from your website. You should indicate your new music store in all your printed promotional artist/band materials as well as via email, newsletters or your website. Word of mouth isn't bad either.

How do my fans buy my music?
Once you the artist has embedded the Digital Storefront Media Player into your website, your fans can start sampling and buying music using PayPal Express, PayPal, or any major credit card.

Can musicians buy music?
They will be able to in the near future. In the interim you will want to create a separate account with a different email address than the one you used to signup as an artist.

Is your service safe to use?
We implement a very high level of security in our technology so that your transactions, information and media are safe from unauthorized use or viewing. Your uploaded digital music is also backed up in the event of disaster or system failure.

What's up with the gorilla??
Hailing from parts unknown, Rip Burn Winkle is XYZmp3's "spokesgorilla" and is in charge of "Gorilla Marketing". He believes musicians should be empowered and have the least amount of obstacles in selling their music online and getting paid. He's "takin' it to the streets" and getting the message out. You may see him in a city or music venue near you. Check out his MySpace page at www.myspace.com/ripburnwinkle.

Have more questions or suggestions?