· Your music (audio and sheet music), bio, and pictures are featured on your oySongs Artist Page, easily found by your name, song titles, and cross-referenced by style/genre/holiday.

· Semi-annual commission reports are sent to you via email to show sales activity.

· Commissions are a 50/50 split (after credit card fees) and sent quarterly or when the $25 US threshold is met.  Commissions are paid by bank-generated check or can be deposited to your PayPal account.

· oySongs sets the pricing which is in line with market standards:

• mp3 downloads: $1.29

• Album downloads: $9.99 for typical album of 10 songs or more; prices may be adjusted for specialty albums or unusual lengths.

• Sheet Music: $3.95 for lead sheets; $4.95 for Piano/Vocal/Guitar; $2.25 for multi-part with minimum purchases (i.e., choral, multi-instrumental, etc.)

 NOTE: There are occasional exceptions for non-standard products.  oySongs reserves the right to set pricing to stay in line with market/customer/industry standards.  Promotional pricing including discount codes for certain customers or limited license agreement pricing may also fall outside the standard pricing model. 

Why sell your music on oySongs?

When you sell your music with oySongs, you have exposure to a customer base that is specifically looking for Jewish music and is open to finding new music for their libraries.  This gives your music great exposure opportunities to customers who may not know you (yet) but may find you when they are intent on finding Jewish music. 

oySongs’ customers are cantors, rabbis, worship leaders, music teachers (Jewish, religious and secular), song leaders, educators, musicians who play Jewish gigs, and music lovers of all stripes.  Many are repeat customers who know oySongs is their best resource for Jewish music.

oySongs can be, as we are for many artists, the exclusive distributor which unburdens you from customer service issues and the need to be accessible at all times.  Or, we can be one part of your distribution network.

Because we are focused on the Jewish music niche, we are uniquely positioned to become familiar with your music catalog and our customers’ needs, to make a good shidduch (match).

How to become an oySongs Artist

We have a brief online application (Become an oySongs Artist can be found at the bottom of the Home Page).  We will go through our vetting process, and you will receive both automated and personal responses throughout the process regarding the status of your application.  We encourage you to provide links to videos, your website, etc., so we can get a good sense of you and your music.

What we look for in an oySongs Artist:

• Be a Jewish composer/performer, or a composer/performer of Jewish music
• Have a catalog of 8 songs, minimum, of Jewish content
• Have production rights (i.e., mechanical licenses) and/or permission to sell the music
• Audio recordings must be of a professional quality, ready for consumers
• Sheet music must be software generated (no handwritten scores), edited professionally, ready for consumers.  (See Sheet Music, below, for more details.)

Yes!  We have a match!

Once we’ve approved the application, you’ll receive our standard 3-page contract.  All Artists have the same agreement with oySongs.  Highlights of the contract include:

• We ask to be your only digital Jewish music distributor, however this does not interfere with your non-Jewish distribution methods, such as your site, iTunes, CD Baby, Amazon, etc.
• We ask that you let your fan base know via your website, social media, etc. that your music is available on oySongs.  We can provide you with a graphic that you can link to off your site, which will bring your fans to your oySongs Artist page directly.
• The agreement term is for 1 year, self-renewing, and may be terminated with 60 days’ notice in writing by either party.
• oySongs has the right to negotiate license agreements for your music, using the same 50/50 split after credit card fees, and oySongs-determined pricing. 

Upon execution of the contract, you can establish your catalog on oySongs.

BIO, PICTURES

In addition to the music upload capability that your artist account provides, you can also upload promotional content; bits of information and pictures that make the customer shopping experience more complete:

Biography.  Click My Account/My Bio and add your already-completed biography.  It can be as long as you like, but please make sure it’s spell- and grammar-checked and proofread.

Pictures.  Click My Account/My Pictures and add your headshots, in-action pics, or any pose.  You can upload up to 6 images – the more, the better.  Please make sure they’re .jpeg files, max size 500 x 500 pixels.

News & Reviews.  Click My Account/News & Reviews and begin uploading reviews, articles, links, or anything else you think would help people better get to know you and your music.

AUDIO FILES

There are three ways to get your audio files on oySongs:

1. Send us your CDs (not copies – actual unopened commercial CDs, if available – we need artwork, etc.) – and we’ll do the hard work.  There will be a service fee of US$20 per album .We will make all necessary mp3 files, generate 30-second samples, and scan cover art.  We’ll need to keep the CD for our records.  Please email oy@oysongs.com for more information.  Please  write SEND YOU MY CD in the subject line.
2. Send us your mp3 files and artwork via Dropbox or as attachments and email to oy@oysongs.com and send a payment of $20 USD to our PayPal Account (oy@oysongs.com).  Please write UPLOAD MY CD in the subject line.
3. Or, ‘rip’ (industry term) the mp3s yourself, using the exact specs below.  If you do this according to our exact specs, there will be no service fee (however, if we have to go back and redo most of it, there will be a service fee, so please follow the directions).  

NO COVER ART IS NEEDED for singles, and our system cannot accommodate art for singles.For single mp3s (not part of an album) you can always upload them yourself, for no charge. 

The existing audio files on commercial CDs (like yours) are not mp3s – they need to be converted to this format to be sellable on the web.  To ensure that the customer gets the highest quality music product, we require the following specs for each mp3 file:

When submitting sheet music to oySongs, we ask that you send us publish-ready, edited, and professionally-engraved sheet music.  oySongs reserves the right to approve the quality of the sheet music.

Required elements include:

• Song title
• Composer name
• Lyricist name or Liturgy reference
• Copyright year and Publisher name, centered on first page
• Font size minimum 10 point
• No exotic fonts - keep it easy to read from the distance of a music stand
• Clear "road map" - repeats, Coda markings, etc.
• English translations of Hebrew or non-English lyrics, if applicable

If you’re not inclined to create your sheet music, there are many transcribers in the music business who can do it for you.  Please provide them with these guidelines to be sure your sheet music meets industry standards.  We suggest you work with someone who is experienced and knowledgeable about Jewish/Hebrew texts.  oySongs does not make corrections or assume responsibility for any errors.  Customers will be directed to the Artist regarding questions or errors in their sheet music.

• Lead sheets are best suited for guitar accompaniment and songleading.

• Piano/Vocal/Guitar arrangements are best suited for congregational use or performance with accompanists. Most pianists prefer complete piano parts to be written out and may not be able to create a piano accompaniment from a lead sheet.

Marketing with oySongs:

You will automatically be assigned your own personal oySongs Artist page.  This is an easy way for you to point people interested in your music to an all-inclusive store.  We encourage you to let your fans know that your music is available on oySongs.com.  You can print this on your concert information, flyers, brochures, link to it on your website, your social media pages, and list it on your CD sleeves. 

For each new album you send, oySongs will add it to the “Just Added” section on the home page.

Co-op opportunities exist for you to promote your music within oySongs:

•  Our colorful email newsletters are sent monthly to more than 5000 self-selected users and fans of Jewish music.
• The newsletters highlight multiple albums, artists, themes, and other oySongs-related topics.
• The newsletters always have links to featured oySongs Artist pages for quick access to purchasing action. 
• We will work with you on content and photos.
• We will schedule your space in advance to complement your other publicity programs.

We will work with you to design and write these features. They greatly increase your exposure to Jewish music shoppers.  As with all marketing, oySongs cannot guarantee sales, but adding your music to a Featured area on the oySongs home page and newsletters is an affordable way for you to market your brand to a focused audience.

Other Cool Things About oySongs

One of the perks of being an oySongs artist is catching up on your colleagues’ music – you receive a permanent 15% discount for music on oySongs – use the coupon code ‘artist’ when checking out!

About Cover Songs…

If you have recorded songs written by other people, oySongs requires that you have gone about this legally (with the exception of songs in the public domain).  Furthermore, you are required to pay that songwriter every time the track sells on oySongs (an easy way to keep track of sales is the semi-annual report you will receive) the same way you paid them for your recording – according to statutory mechanical rates.  As of January 2010, in the USA, that rate will be 9.1 cents for songs 5 minutes or less and 1.75 cents per minute or a fraction thereof over 5 minutes, unless you’ve negotiated a different rate (see www.HarryFox.com for more information, or if you live outside the USA, contact your national rights administrator).  That means, when you get your check and report from oySongs, you will need to, in turn, pay that songwriter or publisher their due royalty.  oySongs is not responsible for payment of these royalties.