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elcome to oySongs.com!
oySongs makes your music available to the whole world. Our purpose is to be the best resource for Jewish music of all genres. We are a distributor (not a publisher) - similar to iTunes, Amazon, CD Baby - with the leading position in the niche of Jewish music.
How it works· 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:
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 ArtistWe 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:
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:
Upon execution of the contract, you can establish your catalog on oySongs. BIO, PICTURESIn 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 FILESThere are three ways to get your audio files on oySongs:
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:
File Information: Use ripping software like WinXMedia, iTunes, Nero, or Windows Media Player (use the LAME encoder with ID3 V1 or V2) to generate the actual mp3 files and to provide Track Title*, Artist Name*, Album Name*, Year of Release*, and Genre (* = required info)
Required Bit Rate: 192 kbps or 320 kbps exactly – no less, no more. You may use VBR set at 192 or 320 if you like.
Required Sample Rate: 44100 kHz
Cover Art: 150 x 150 pixels full-color .jpg (or .jpeg) file – please make sure it’s a good scan – album art often sells the music as much as the music itself does! NOTE: we cannot offer scans of the rest of the album art (inserts, back covers).
Other: Please no artificial (computer) fades; no unnecessary silence at either end of the track; no tracks under or over 192 or 320 kbps unless set on VBR. Set the channels to Stereo.
Which software should you use? You may use any of the standard media players like iTunes or Windows Media Player. Just make sure the aforementioned specs are followed exactly.
NOTE: Have your Cover Art formatted and ready using the specs noted above before you go to the next step:
Log into your already-created oySongs account, go to My Account, and click “Upload Music”, then follow the wizard. You can upload songs as being part of an album, or as singles. Your uploads will go into the queue. We will verify the specs in our system and assuming all files are formatted correctly, they will be added to your oySongs Artist catalog within 14 business days (usually sooner.) IMPORTANT THIINGS TO KNOW ABOUT UPLOADING YOUR MUSIC VIA THE WIZARD: Song info (metadata): Complete these fields: a) Song title name - use upper and lower case, do not use all capital letters b) Track number c) Genres: choose 1-4 genres that apply. This is a critical way for customers to search and find music. Please be realistic. d) Choral - applies to songs with accompanying 2, 3, 4+ part sheet music e) Holidays and/or Shabbat genres - also very important for search purposes f) Songwriter field: please use first initial, period, last name (example: D.Melech, not David Melech) g) Text/Lyric Source: brief references (i.e., Exodus, Psalm 123, Parsha Noah) Do NOT put your lyrics here. This is for Source references only.
SHEET MUSICTo add your sheet music to the catalog, send it to us as an attachment to oy@oysongs.com. We’ll prepare it with the oySongs.com logo and catalog number and associate it with your album and/or mp3 file. Sheet music is a key ingredient to the success of your music in the Jewish music world – our cantors, music directors, and worship/music leaders depend on it. There is no upload fee for sheet music at this time. oySongs is no longer a Sibelius/Scorch-based distributor. Instead, we are migrating to .pdf (flat) files. 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:
We recommend following the URJ Transliteration Guidelines for transliteration syllabication.
PLEASE NOTE: oySongs reserves the right to approve the quality of the sheet music.Investing in professional sheet music provides you with more products to sell and increases the probability that others will use your songs in worship and performance settings.
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.
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:
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.
Contact us at oy@oysongs.com to reserve your space and plan your content.
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.
A Final Note
The world of digitally-available music has opened up new opportunities for people to find your music. At oySongs, you, the artists, are our partners. We want to see you succeed because we love this music and we believe that the world needs it.
B'shirah,
Emily Howard Meyer
Owner, oySongs
Rockville, MD
(240) 630-0922
updated 10/21 |
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