Frequently asked Questions about thebizmo Super Distribution
1. Am I giving TheBizmo any rights over my music?
No you are NOT. You are simply giving us the non-exclusive rights to submit your music to digital retailers on your behalf. The same terms and conditions you agreed to when you registered for TheBizmo will apply.
2. What rights am I granting to theBizmo?
As you’ll see in our terms and conditions you grant theBizmo only these rights:
a. You grant theBizmo the NON-exclusive right to deliver and allow the stores/services you choose to sell your music. In order for your music or art to appear on other digital music services, theBizmo must first get your permission.
b. You grant theBizmo the right to collect and transfer to you all the money owed to you from the sale of your music in the stores/services you choose.
c. You grant theBizmo the right to use the name(s), photographs and likenesses, artwork images, biographical and other information provided by you in connection with your music
d. You agree to the Schedule of Fees for our services.
e. You agree to our Privacy Policy.
REMEMBER: theBizmo 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, theBizmo gets no rights to manufacture CDs, vinyl, DVDs, tapes or anything else. These are your rights, not ours.
3. What does super distribution to over 200 stores cost me?
This is a really easy one. It costs 34.95 US dollars a year regardless. If you live in the UK it costs 21.95 British pounds a year and if you are a Eurozone Citizen then it costs 24.95 Euros a year. That’s it, nothing more nothing less. Clean and simple. This allows you to release as many albums EPs and singles as you want.
theBizmo charges an annual fee to store, deliver and potentially redeliver your music to stores and services you choose 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.
4. How much of my sales revenue does theBizmo keep?
We charge 15% for this extremely flexible wide reaching and market beating distribution service. Since we make your music available in almost twenty times as many stores as some of our competitors you are likely to sell more in our network.
5. How do I get my music in to the stores/services I chose?
When you upload and prepare a release we allow a certain flexibility on what stores you want the release to be in. See the SD CMS (Super Distribution Content Management System) for details.
6. How do I deliver my albums, EPs, singles and songs to theBizmo?
All bizmo customers getting ready to distribute their music outside theBizmo microstore need to upload their music using the theBizmo Super Distribution Content Management System (SD CMS) to upload directly to us as fast as your Internet connection lets you. You will need a free, no-obligation, theBizmo account. Then, after paying for the Super distribution service and uploading the songs you want to sell using super distribution to your regular bizmo microstore so we can create all the codes you need, you go to “login to my SD CMS” on your “my account/super distribution” page, and you’re ready to go. You’ll be asked to enter in all the information we’ll need to deliver your music.
Uploading to the SD CMS is a meticulous process since there is no going back to change things, like there is when you use your regular bizmo account to upload content to the store.
There are seven steps. First you create the “release” and then go through various info and metadata input steps until you are ready for step seven that is your final verification of the previous six steps.
You’ll eventually be asked to upload your music. Even though you have done this in the Bizmo CMS earlier we are still asking you to do it again now. There are two reasons for this.
theBizmo accepts many kinds of Audio files but the SD CMS only accepts .WAV uncompressed 44.1kHz 16 bit stereo files
The Meta data required for a Super Distribution upload is more complex than for a bizmo sale. To keep it simple for the guys and Gals who concentrate on selling straight to their fans we would rather have two separate interfaces.
It’s easy to upload and enter data, 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 to theBizmo SD CMS for delivery to iTunes and the other stores please ensure that you rip the correct format WAV uncompressed 44.1kHz 16 bit stereo files.
7. What if I attempt to upload something in a format theBizmo can’t accept, and what if my upload gets interrupted?
We analyze all files uploaded to the SD CMS, all of them. If we find the file is corrupted or it’s anything other than a WAV uncompressed 44.1kHz 16 bit stereo files, 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.
8. How long does it take for an album to go live?
Once theBizmo has received all of your required information, music, art and payment, we will deliver your music to the stores you chose for this delivery more or less straight away (meaning the same day).
HOWEVER, once we deliver your music, it’s up to the stores to get it onto their “shelves.” Each of the stores/services you choose will treat your music with the same careful attention they provide for all their record labels and artists. However, for reasons entirely out of theBizmo’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 theBizmo 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 four to six weeks. Please allow time for this
On average it takes about 6-8 weeks to go live on all stores. Some stores review faster than others. Remember; theBizmo 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). Our partner has been doing this for over ten years.
IMPORTANT: Once we deliver the music to the stores/services you choose, theBizmo 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.
9. Here are some common things that can cause a delay:
Missing information is the most common delay. Before we can deliver your album, EP or single to the stores/services you choose, we need to have all of the required information, such as song/track names, title, etc. If any of the required information is missing, the delivery process will stop until the information is complete.
Music and art files not meeting the requirements will be rejected quickly, but art files that are blurry or unreadable may be rejected by the stores even if they get past our checks.
It is possible, for reasons out of theBizmo’s control, that it could take some time before your music appears in your chosen stores/services. There is no way we can rush them. Once we’ve delivered your music and information, we can only wait patiently. To date, all theBizmo partners have been very good with getting music into their stores/services quickly.
10. Is there a way to expedite my release?
Unfortunately no. Once we send your content, we are at the mercy of the stores you have chosen. However, all the stores work diligently to get things done, or they would not be on our list.
11. Sounds like you have the widest range of stores?
You are absolutely right about that. Of course we have the obvious ones like iTunes (all their stores all over the world), Amazon, Seven Digital, Napster, MSN, Rhapsody, Spotify, Emusic, HMV, Nokia and Sony but we also have one hundred and fifty (yes 185 or so ) others, creating an all encompassing, hugely powerful distribution network carefully built over the last ten years by our distribution partner. And all this immense power is at your fingertips using theBizmo to do your super distribution.
12. Is my music guaranteed to get placed at these retailers?
No. Each retailer has the right to refuse your release. Common reasons for refusal include the quality of the recording or cover art, or a pre-existing release with the same UPC/ISRC. Some stores have content policies relating to the kind of music they want to sell etc. However, most stores are in the business of selling music and will happily accept your release.
13. What if my music is placed at some retailers, but not all? Do I get a refund?
No.
14. How and when do I get my money?
You get a daily update on sales in the Super Distribution Content Management System. There are a number of ways you can look at this info. However, these dailies are not final and precise for various reasons. Every quarter we receive a final and conclusive report and then your bizmo account will be automatically updated with the money you have made.
15. How do I make changes to an album once I have submitted it?
Unfortunately, once an album, EP, single or music video is submitted, you can make ABSOLUTELY NO CHANGES.. 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.
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 $40.00 early termination fee will apply. Then you would have to re-submit the entire album to theBizmo, which will create a huge delay before you can get your album back online. As you can see, correcting mistakes after payment can be very time consuming and tedious so check and double check your details before submitting.
16. How do I takedown an album that has already been submitted?
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 $40. You can make this payment to accounts@theBizmo.com and contact us to process your request.
We charge this $40.00 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.
17. Six weeks has passed, why is my album not live?
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 expected live date has passed please get in touch with us
18. Can I transfer existing songs in my bizmo microstore directly to the Super distribution service?
No. (see next question)
19. Why do I have to upload Super distribution service songs separately?
Many artists choose to release different tracks for widget sales versus super distribution. By selling through your bizmo microstore widget a takedown is just a mouse click away. Also, the meta-data requirements for digital distribution are different from online streaming.
20. What format must my music be in, in order to upload to the SD CMS?
You need uncompressed WAV files. Remember that they must be set at a 44.1 kHz sample rate, 16 bit sample size and the channel set to stereo. Your songs are required to be in the WAV format. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WAV for details on this format.
21. What if my songs are already on some of these retailers?
If they share the same UPC, then those retailers will reject the release. The existing contracts with those retailers will remain in place. The other retailers will receive the submission.
22. What format must my artwork be in, in order to upload to theBizmo Super Distribution CMS?
Artwork can be in one of the following file formats: Jpeg or Tiff.. The image must be a perfect square and 1400×1400 pixels. 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 and no larger than 8 MB. 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.
Stores like iTunes and Amazon has very spesific rules, so no matter how you create it, please make sure your artwork meets all these requirements:
You fully own the rights to the image.
You have the rights to use the face or image of anyone in your artwork, especially if it’s a photograph.
If someone else provided you the image, you have permission from them to use it.
No logos, trademarks or any other text or images can appear unless you own them or have permission from the owner(s) to use them. For example, you can not have a logo from a soda company, restaurant, gas station, store, etc., in the background. If things like that show up in your artwork, theBizmo might ask you to prove you have ownership or permission.
No obscenity or pornography can appear in the image.
Words that appear in the image are spelled correctly and are legible
The image is not blurry or distorted.
The image is square.
The image does not include any “stickers” or indications of limited sale. For example, if your artwork has a blaze on it reading “iTunes U.S. Exclusive!” please make sure you deliver it only to iTunes U.S., or alter the artwork accordingly.
Remember: theBizmo and its partners reserve the right to reject any artwork at any time for any reason.
If your image meets all these requirements, then upload it as a 1400 x 1400 pixel (or better, so long as it’s square) .JPEG or TIFF file in best-quality RGB Color mode and at least 72 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: theBizmo can’t accept artwork emailed, sent to us through the post, attached as files or any other way but our Web tool. The artwork can be no larger than 8 MB in size.
23. Do I have to be at least 18 years old to get an account?
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.
24. What if I made a mistake upon uploading?
PLEASE double and triple check everything before you submit your release. Changes are a slow, manual process for each retailer effectively equivalent to a take-down and repost. Any changes will likely delay your release for months and involve additional fees. There is no method of making these changes through the site, please contact support@theBizmo.com.
25. What is a UPC code?
A Universal Product Code (UPC) is a number (from 12 to 14 characters long) exclusively associated with your release. If you do not have a UPC code, that’s okay, we’ll generate one for you for free. Retailers use the UPC as a unique identifier for your release and track and report all sales according to the UPC. Most published CDs have the UPC printed, along with the bar code form, on the back cover..
26. Two scenarios for you:
a. You already have a UPC/Barcode and want to use it. No problem, just enter it and it will be used.
b. You do not yet have a UPC/Barcode. No problem, we generate one for each product by default. This service is free of charge.
c. We assign all products you upload to your regular free bizmo account with a UPC code free of charge regardless. The codes are hidden because you do not need them without the super distribution product. Your UPC codes will appear on your Super distribution account page under a download button very shortly after you complete your payment. This means that if you want your music on iTunes etc. and have no codes, you first have to put it on theBizmo to get the codes you need. That’s how we create the associated codes. Also it makes sense to use theBizmo for all your music because it’s a better and more direct way to sell your music than iTunes or other similar services.
d. Once you know that all the tracks you want to sell using Super Distribution are uploaded into thebizmo, just click to access the list from your Super Distribution account page. Then you can use the list to input the codes when putting the tracks into the Super distribution content management system (SD CMS). You are free to use these codes and numbers for your physical CDs as well at no extra charge. You can continue using them even if you are no longer a customer of theBizmo. theBizmo will never re-use your UPC/Barcode number. If you want it, it’s yours forever. As you upload new products, the list will grow if you are still a paying user of the Digital Super Distribution Service, so just download a new list after adding content.
e. Remember, if you don’t have a UPC, theBizmo will auto-generate one for you when you use the theBizmo service, currently at no extra charge. But to get the UPC code you have to upload the tracks to your bizmo first or create and fill the album in the regular bizmo microstore CMS .
f. IMPORTANT: UPCs and barcodes issued by theBizmo are for you to use, now and forever. But they are just for you. Do not 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 theBizmo 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 theBizmo experience for you, our client.
g. IMPORTANT: when you are creating an album You use the UPC code for the album on all tracks in the album. If you are releasing a single then use the UPC code assigned to the track for that single
27. What is an ISRC number ?
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 DE3 2551321.
28. Your songs need unique ISRC numbers. With theBizmo, there are two options:
a. You already have your own ISRC codes for each song and want to use them. No problem, just enter each song’s ISRC and they will be used.
b. You do not yet have ISRC codes. No problem, we will make them for you free of charge.
i. 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 theBizmo customer. theBizmo will never re-use your ISRC numbers. If you want them, they’re yours forever.
ii. 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.
iii. 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.
iv. IMPORTANT: to get the ISRC number you have to upload the tracks to your bizmo first in the regular bizmo microstore CMS.
29. Can I print the UPC code that I am assigned?
If TheBizmo is assigning you a UPC code, the number will be available when the song is uploaded to the microstore and you have downloaded the list of codes from your account pages. You can take the number you are assigned to various online locations and print the UPC code from there. Examples: http://www.barcodesinc.com/generator/ or http://www.barcoding.com/upc/
30. Can I have more than one artist or band in my account?
theBizmo Superdistribution acount is priced and was was created for use by small Record Labels, artists or their managers. IT creates a unique even playing field and a very low entry level cost for the indie artist. Please do not take advantage of the format of the offer by reselling the service to others or uploading large catalogues of music under one account without asking us upfront.. To avoid this happening Thebizmo reserves the right to limit the number of releases in any one account for whatever reason we want. With one account you can:
List and include what we deem to be a reasonable amount of titles/releases.
List and include an unlimited amount of bands/artists.
Assign each title its own UPC and/or ISRC codes. If you do not have UPC and/or ISRC codes, theBizmo will create them for you if you have uploaded the track in the regular bizmo CMS currently for free. theBizmo- created UPC codes and ISRC codes are uniquely yours, will never be re-used and are recognized and accepted by Soundscan.
Use the theBizmo generated UPC on your physical CDs.
Add more titles/releases any time you want.
When you go to your SD CMS 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.
31. What can I name an album, EP, single or a song, or even my band?
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: You cannot include in any name such reserved characters as a slash, an asterisk and others. Neither your band name, your album/EP/single name nor your song titles can be URLs or email addresses. Abnormal or unusual capitalization may be ignored or undone by the stores. Consider your listing in the stores as a catalogue entry, not a place to establish your identity with unusual capitalization.
32. What makes up a track?
We call a “track” 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.
33. How do Explicit Lyrics work?
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 theBizmo 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 theBizmo 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.
34. What does “incomplete:” mean in “Catalogue”?
a. Albums at theBizmo have several states:
b. You have several things to do before a product is properly registered: Incomplete means that your album, EP or single is in process. It will stay in process until you’ve entered all the required information, artwork, track information and you’ve fully uploaded every song. You will find indicators of what you have left to do under the Catalogue/incomplete tab.
c. Validation: This is your chance to CHECK and VERIFY that the album, EP or single is exactly the way you want it. Is everything schpelled right? Does it have all the tracks it should, are they named correctly, is the correct file uploaded for each? REMEMBER, the next step FINALIZING means you are perfectly happy with it, that it’s exactly the way you want it to be, and you acknowledge no further changes can be made.
d. Finalize: This means you have given all the information the album, EP or single needs, and uploaded it all to the SD CMS (which means you APPROVE it and know nothing more can be changed). It’s on its way to the store(s) you chose. No changes can be made.
35. How do sales and payments work?
There are three ways your music can earn you money in the stores and services you choose:
a. PERMANENT DOWNLOADS (fixed pay rate)
b. PERMANENT DOWNLOADS (advertising or subscription financed. Number of downloads minus costs divided by advertising revenue)
c. STREAMS (pay per play, fixed rate)
d. STREAMS (advertising financed. Number of streams minus costs divided by advertising revenue)
36. PERMANENTS DOWNLOADS
A Permanent Download means someone bought your music 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:
You get a Fixed Pay Rate every time someone purchases your music for download, where you receive an unchanging, predetermined amount of money each time your music is bought. The Fixed Pay Rate remains the same no matter what the store sells it for. Even if the store sells your music for a hundred dollars or a penny, you still get the Fixed Pay Rate.
You get a Subscription Pay Rate every time someone purchases your music for download, where you receive a variable amount of money each time your music is bought. The Subscription Pay Rate is different every pay period, and is typically based on four things:
1. How many songs were downloaded in a set period of time (monthly or every three months),
2. How much money was made by the store in the same time frame,
3. What “expenses” are deducted by the store, and
4. What percentage of the remainder is contractually owed to you.
37. An example of 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 because the rest is Emusic’s profit. 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.), minus the 15 percent fee we charge for providing you with this service for such a record low entry level fee.
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.
38. STREAMS
A Stream is when someone listens to your song 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.
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.
39. ADVERTISING
There are some new services that allow people to listen to your music 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.
The only store we work with that uses this model is Spotify. Spotify also has a subscription model, but has almost no subscribers. Do not expect high payouts from this kind of store.
40. When do I see how much I got paid, and when do I get my money?
Check your account page at SD CMS for daily stats. These are indications only and could change due to credit card chargeback, currency swings, full album purchases etc. We receive corrected reports every quarter that will then be added to your bizmo account total together with the correct sales listings.
We are aware of the huge time gap that can occur between the sale and the payout here, the worst case here being a song sold on January 1 and not being paid until the end of April, but think of the last generation of artists who may have had to wait years for partial or no reports and lackluster payouts. It is actually a huge step in the right direction, and there are perfectly good practical and logistical reasons for the delay. Also if you need cash right now, send your fans to your bizmo store to buy your music. There we pay out straight away.
IMPORTANT: Until the stores and services send the final information and payment for your sales, there is always the dailies (stats on your account pages) to monitor what you have sold. As soon as the final information is received, it will appear on your page and your money will be available for transfer. This happens four times a year or every quarter.
iTunes (and all other digital retailers for that matter) reserves the right to sell music 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 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, theBizmo has no say in the matter, and neither do our patrons. Regardless, once a song or an album 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 theBizmo.
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.
HOW MUCH IS THE PAY RATE FOR MUSIC?
theBizmo takes 15% of the money from the sale of your music. 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 your local currency by the bank and forwarded on to you. 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 your local currency 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 (remember that we deduct our 15 % fee from these sums):
| 41. iTunes Stores Worldwide: | 42. You receive |
| 43. iTunes U.S. Store | 44. US$0.70 |
| 45. iTunes Australia/New Zealand Store | 46. Australian Dollars AU$0.99 |
| 47. iTunes Canada Store | 48. Canadian Dollars CAD$0.70 |
| 49. iTunes Japan Store | 50. Japanese Yen ¥100 |
| 51. iTunes Europe/U.K. Store | 52. Euros €0.71 |
Albums and EPs are sold in their entirety in two possible ways:
1. Albums under 11 songs and EPs are priced by the song. To calculate how much you would receive from the sale of an album with less than 11 songs or an EP, multiply the number of songs by the pay rate of that iTunes store.
2. Albums with 11 songs or more sold in their entirety have a set pay rate listed below.
For albums with 11 or more songs sold in their entirety, you receive the following:
| 53. iTunes Stores Worldwide | 54. You receive |
| 55. iTunes U.S. Store | 56. US$7.00 |
| 57. iTunes Australia/New Zealand Store | 58. Australian Dollars AU$9.99 |
| 59. iTunes Canada Store | 60. Canadian Dollars CAD$7.00 |
| 61. iTunes Japan Store | 62. Japanese Yen ¥1000 |
| 63. iTunes Europe/U.K. Store | 64. Euros €5.40 |
IMPORTANT: Special iTunes Pricing and Pay Rates:
65. 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.
66. 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.
IMPORTANT: All of the amounts for music sales are subject to the terms, conditions, taxes and laws of those countries, including:
a. International treaties
b. Fluctuating exchange rates
c. Local city, state or federal taxes
d. Tariffs and local restrictions
Some countries have special rules, so that even before taxes, tariffs, exchange rates or treaties kick in, some money is deducted by the store to pay fees and royalties dictated by local copyright laws. So from the amount you receive for sales of your music in that country, some amount will be deducted to pay the copyright holders under the local copyright laws. Even if the copyright holder is you, some laws require certain royalties to be paid out in that country. However, no matter what, you will get paid the pay rate, after taxes, exchange rate adjustments, etc. Make sue you are a member of a collection society to get these deductions back.
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 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 85% 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.
67. Amazon MP3
How does Amazon MP3 sell my music?
theBizmo 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: 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:
Front Line: The highest retail price in the store (good for new releases)
Mid Line: Slightly lower than Front Line (good for new releases and other current releases)
Catalog: Slightly lower than Mid Line (good for older or lower selling releases)
Special: The lowest retail price in the store (good for promotions, old and/or low selling catalogue)
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, theBizmo 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.
68. 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, see the section on Permanent Download model).
HOW MUCH IS THE PAY RATE for Amazon?
Check the SD CMS list of stores. It lists the pay rate for each one of the Two hundred stores in the network. These rates can change and we therefore keep them updated in the SDCMS for reference.
69. How do I collect the money my music earned?
a. Go to your money and numbers page in your bizmo dashboard. There you will see how much money you have made, how many songs and other products you have sold, where they have sold and more. You will also see a transfer to paypal option that lets you choose how much of the money you earned to transfer out. Enter the desired amount. You can always leave your account with as little or as much money as you wish.
IMPORTANT: You’ll have to enter your information as requested or we won’t be able to transfer any funds.
We do not charge for the Pay Pal transfer, but we have no say regarding any charges PayPal may levy.
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 theBizmo account to yourself (or whoever you direct the transfer to go to) and split it up however you see fit.
IMPORTANT: If the payment doesn’t get through to you, theBizmo 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!
70. Why is there so little (or no) money in my account?
If no money has shown up in your account, there’s a reason. Here’s a checklist of common reasons:
a. None of your music or other products sold in the previous month. Remember, you get from the stores/services you chose whatever your content earned for you only after the data and money arrives. For example, data and money generated from the sale of a song from an iTunes store arrives approximately 45 days after the end of the month in which that song sold. Check your My Account page to see what months your music actually sold in. When money does arrive in your account, theBizmo automatically notifies you by email.
b. Your music or never sold at all.
c. You’re in the wrong account. Some people create multiple accounts. If you have multiple accounts, please make sure you’ve checked them all.
71. Why hasn’t my money transferred?
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:
a. You never requested a transfer. Your funds only transfer when you request it. Until you follow the steps on the Transfer to paypal page, no transfers will be made. Your money stays safe and sound in your account until you request some or all of it.
b. You indicated how you want the money transferred, but there’s an error in your information. Check to make sure your choices and information are correct on the Transfer Options page. Mistakes happen. Perhaps your PayPal account has changed or is no longer valid? Be sure everything is up to date.
c. You requested more money than is in your account. No transfers for sums larger than your account holds can be processed. Make sure there is no fee throwing off your calculations! Please try again.
d. You requested transfer to a country PayPal does not service. PayPal will only service people in certain countries. For an up-to-date list, please go to https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_display-approved-signup-countries-outside
e. You selected how you want the money to transfer, the information is correct, but something happened. Sometimes the post office loses a letter. Sometimes PayPal makes a mistake. If you suspect something like that happened, please contact support@theBizmo.com.
f. You never confirmed your email address. No transfers can be made to anyone who hasn’t confirmed their email address. Look at the low end of almost any page once you’ve logged in, and if you see a message reading “UNCONFIRMED” you need to click the “CONFIRM EMAIL” button and follow the directions.
g. You incurred a fee. Luckily for you theBizmo fee structure is very simple. You have to pay us once a year the same fee of 34.95 USD . IF you have not paid us and the fee comes due, we may deduct it from your account. If you incur a fee, it will appear on your money and numbers page. Should you have an outstanding fee, theBizmo reserves the right to deduct it from your account, which could mean you have nothing leftover to transfer. Please be sure to pay all fees promptly to avoid this.
h. We can’t reach you. If you cannot be reached even at a confirmed email address, if all your other information turns up empty, we can’t transfer money or even talk to you. It’s up to you to contact us.
72. What can I do with the money in my account?
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 theBizmo offers:
i. Use it buy music from other bizmo artists
ii. Use it to pay your next years Super Distribution fee
iii. Use it to pay for custom designed merchandise from your own or other peoples bizmo microstore
For more information, please contact support@theBizmo.com
73. Can I give my music away for free in the stores/services I chose?
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.
74. My songs or albums/EPs/singles are being sold for unusual prices, or my songs are forced to sell only with the purchase of the whole album: How does this affect my earnings?
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 theBizmo 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.
75. Do I get paid when someone downloads or streams a sample of my song or music video?
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.
76. Can people buy my music through theBizmo as well even though its on iTunes and all the rest of the stores?
Of course. Tickets, t shirts, albums, tracks and much more as well. TheBizmo was built to allow you to sell your music and related products straight to your fans wherever they are. IF you upload a track or album to theBizmo you are instantly in the position to sell it using your micro store. We offer Super Distribution because we want our artists to be successful and that means being everywhere.
77. How long will my album/EP/single(s) be available on the stores/services I selected, and how does automatic renewal work?
Your music will remain in the stores/services you chose for as long as you’d like, as long as you pay the annual fee.
If you’d like an album/EP/single or music video to be taken from any or all stores/services within the first six months from when the album was delivered to theBizmo, you’ll be charged a one-time $40.00 early termination fee per album or single.
After those first 6 months, you can have your album/EP/single(s) or music video(s) taken down at no charge.
Twelve (12) months after your content first went live in the last of the stores you initially chose, the annual renewal fee will come due.
IMPORTANT: All digital distribution fees are NON-REFUNDABLE and WILL NOT BE PRORATED.
78. Why is the fee in different currencies in different countries?
The annual fee is $34.95 if you are American, 24.95 GBP if you are British and 24.95 Euros if you are from a Eurozone country. At theBizmo we have a lot of experience with working around the world and it tells us that people are most comfortable using their local currencies. That’s why your bizmo store serves up your music in whatever currency they are used to seeing instead of just American Dollars. This is the internet and your customer could be anywhere. We respect that.
79. How does yearly renewal work?
Assuming you have paid your first annual fee already, after twelve (12) months, the fee is due again, always at the same set rate: $34.99 U.S. dollars, 24.95 British Pounds or 24.95 Euros, depending on where you live in the world. Regardless of how much content you upload and how many of the 200 stores we distribute to you choose. This absolutely unbeatable offer applies.
You will receive an email to the address you used when you set up your account, reminding you that the month has come due. IMPORTANT: The fee is due even if you don’t get the email; theBizmo 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 be able to renew your subscription to the Super Distribution service from your theBizmo “My Account/superdistribution” pages using your theBizmo Account balance, or a credit card or PayPal
If the annual maintenance and storage fee is not paid, your content will be taken down from all stores. IMPORTANT: Once your releases have been removed from a store, they cannot go back up without a complete redelivery. Please renew promptly if you want to avoid delays, gaps and charges!
Your theBizmo account itself will remain open even if all your albums and music is removed from the stores.
80. What happens if I fail to make a yearly payment or my credit card is declined?
You will be given 30 days to remedy the situation. If you do not provide an active credit card within the remedy period or pay the necessary takedown fees, theBizmo will then consider the release ‘abandoned’. The email account on record will be notified that the release has been abandoned. While it’s abandoned, theBizmo will earn all royalties from sales of your music. At any time, theBizmo may decide to take down the release either with or without notification to the user. While abandoned, and at any time prior to a takedown order, the user can reinstate their subscription for a one time fee of $15 dollars plus regular subscription fees. While abandoned, and at any time prior to a takedown order, the user can also choose to pay the regular takedown after abandonment fee ($50 per release) and have theBizmo remove the release from the retailers.
81. If I terminate my bizmo account, do I keep my Super Distribution?
No.
82. How do I notify theBizmo that I want my album/EP or single(s) removed from one or all stores/services?
You can have your album/EP/single(s) taken down from any or all of the stores/services you chose at any time. Just send an email to support@theBizmo.com and include:
i. Title of the album/EP/single
ii. Name of the artist
iii. Name of the person who holds the theBizmo account
iv. Unique Album ID Number UPC
v. The stores or services from which you want the whole album/EP/Single removed
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 $40.00 per album/EP/single per request.
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 a separate entity
We will make sure to get your takedown request to the stores/services you chose within thirty days of receiving it from you. The store/service should have the album down within two additional 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 taken down, 12 months after the content first went live in any store, the annual fee for the next year will come due. Thereafter, every 12 months the annual fee will renew again. The fee is NON-REFUNDABLE and WILL NOT BE PRORATED.
83. My release is already online through another company. Can I also put it online with theBizmo Superdistribution or transfer royalty payments for this release to theBizmo?
No. You will need to take down the release from retailers and re-upload it via theBizmo.
84. Will my album be available for purchase in all countries?
You get to specify what territories you want your music to be available in in the SDCMS (Super Distribution Content Management System) .
85. How do I notify theBizmo that I’d like to close my account?
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 transferred to you in the normal manner. 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@theBizmo.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.
86. Why do I have to confirm my email address?
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 low end of any dashboard page. If no such button is there, congratulations, you’re confirmed!
87. How do I get help with the stores/services or their software?
Always go through theBizmo support (support@theBizmo.com) for any problems with how your album appears, sounds, or if there is any problem with how it is categorized (genres, etc.). theBizmo is your liaison and your advocate with the stores, and they will only initiate addressing a problem if it originates from theBizmo. We will always be there to help!
Unfortunately, theBizmo 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.
88. If I or someone I know downloaded or streamed my music from a store/service I chose and it sounds terrible, what do I do?
theBizmo 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; 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 theBizmo or any store/service can do will improve it.
89. I entered liner notes and other information on the My Album or My Single page. Why can’t I find it on iTunes or the other stores/services I chose?
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 theBizmo 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.
90. Can I have liner notes, bios, about the band, lyrics and other information on the pages of the stores/services I chose? Can I alter the look of the page where my album/EP/single is displayed?
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 theBizmo.
91. Can I get my album/EP/single or artist featured or otherwise specially promoted on the front pages of iTunes or the other stores/services I chose?
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, theBizmo has no say in the matter.
In general, a store chooses to place an album front-and-center based its own internal criteria.
92. My question isn’t answered here, what should I do?
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@theBizmo.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.
By email support@thebizmo.com
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@theBizmo.com
By mail
New Bridge Street House 30 – 34 New Bridge Street London EC4V 6BJ United Kingdom
