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Q: What
is IAC?
Q: How
do I upload songs?
Q: How
can I start an artist page, must I have an invite, and how much does it cost?
Q: What
are stations about, why start a station?
Q: How
should I read the columns in Chart Positions and Plays (Song Statistics)?
Raw Plays? Unique Plays? What do these values mean?
Q: What
is "the pipeline?"
Q: How
can I sell my songs on IAC?
Q: What is IAC? A: IAC is Independent Artists Company,
the Indie Capital of the World. It is comprised of several components,
only one of which is the music site. Other facets will be coming over the
course of the next several years.
Q: Is it free to have a page on IACmusic.com? A: Yes, it is free to have both an
artist and a pipeline page. You can also upgrade the artist page to
IAC Prime
which includes additional features.
Q: How come there are so many great indies I've never heard before at IAC? A: Even before the site went online,
the programming dept. at IAC conducted an unprecedented online talent search
which continues to this day. IAC believes that the greatest living
artists are currently in the indie realm.
Q: Who runs IACmusic? A: The founders are all indie artists
themselves with years of experience in music, particularly in the realm of
online mp3 sites.
Q: What is the mission of IAC? A: You can read the mission statement
HERE.
Q: IAC looks so different from the other sites, is this deliberate or just the way it turned out? A: IAC set out to create a site where
the outward appearance reflected the creativity of the artists
themselves. The front page changes each time you view it. No
cookie-cutters were used in the building of the site.
Q: I see the counter on the front page, are there really that many people visiting the site? A: That number represents the
aggregate number of concurrent sessions on all IAC servers. A new session
starts when someone opens their browser and visits IAC. As they move from page
to page within the site, that session stays active and continues to be counted
in the Connected Users. A session ends when there's 20 minutes of inactivity.
When any IAC server is restarted, the number of sessions for that server resets
to zero. If all IAC servers were restarted simultaneously, the reported number
of connected users would start out again at zero.
Q: I just started a page and have a lot of questions, I need assistance. A: Our Support Hotline can be found on
any administration page or write
HERE. We take a lot of pride in
our support dept. and are renowned for this, many artists have said it's the
best they've seen anywhere.
Q: What is the KIAC Big 50? When is it updated? A: It's the main feature chart on the
site, our simulated radio playlist. It is compiled by the programming
department. The new KIAC Big 50 comes out weekly.
Q: What is IAC Prime? A: IAC Prime is the upgraded artist
plan which allows you to upload up to 30 songs, have a photo gallery which
works in conjunction with a Deluxe Slideslow element, sell full-length DMDs and
consignment CDs, and become a voting member of the IAIA (International Academy
of Independent Artists). For more details about subscribing to IAC
Prime, click
HERE.
Q: What are all these stations I see on the site? A: These are playlists created by
artists and listeners. The heart of iacmusic.com is its very active
station community. Any artist or listener can start their own
stations. There's a nice guide to doing so
HERE. You can also export your
stations to any domain website you have or your my space page with ease using
the KIAC Export Player found
HERE.
Q: Are there any hidden functions on the IAC Player that pops up when you click on a song or station? A: The IAC Player does many
things. Other than the functions that are labelled, if you click on
the picture it will take you to the artist page. You can also click and
drag the volume up to raise or lower it on the upper right corner of the
player. Also if you click on the darkened part of the song progress bar,
you can drag that to fast-forward or rewind the song!
Q: What are the best ways to promote my music using IAC? A: One of the best ways to get your
music circulating at IAC is to start a station and get involved with the
station community. You can post on your blog, which is also seen on the
front page of IAC. We also have a special personal page section called the
pipeline that we encourage every artist to start a separate page for
HERE.
Also if you know any avid indie music lovers, the pipeline is made especially
for listeners. We would also like to encourage you to spread the word
about IAC on other parts of the internet, and help with the indie
revolution! You can link to IAC by using various banners found
HERE.
Q: If I want to find songs in a specific style, how can I do that? A: You can use "Find a Genre" on the
left side of the front page. Or you can go to the charts page from top
menu and go to whatever genre you want and click on songs on the chart to play
them. Or, you can do a search for that genre using the
search engine and many genres have a
fair amount of stations representing them. Also you can check out the
list of genre-based feature stations on the
station homepage.
Q: What is the IAIA? A: It's the International Academy of
Independent Artists.
Q: Why do I see name artists on the site? A: IAC feels there are many, many
indies without a high level of fame that are producing better songs than most
of the current mainstream acts, it has been proven they hold their own on IAC
charts with more famous acts. Some of the name acts we have at IAC
epitomize the indie spirit and no amount of prominence changes that. Also
some of these top acts bring more listeners to the site which is beneficial to
indies. The adminstrators of IAC will never forget that our purpose is to
elevate the online indies, and will never let that collective group be obscured
on iacmusic.com by name artists .
Q: Can I volunteer to help with IAC? A. Absolutely.
Contact Support at IACsupporthotline AT gmail DOT com
Q: How do I upload songs? A: Login to your Artist Area (Admin)
page, find the song section on the left, then Click 'Add Song'.
Q: How do I pick a genre? A: Pick the closest approximation of a
main category first (this helps people find what style they are looking for),
then you can write your own creative subgenre if you so choose by just typing
into the blank space available for this. Or you can choose one of the
subgenres already available.
Q: What are the unusual subgenres I see around the site, some of them are crazy. A: IAC decided to add a little spice
to the song descriptions by encouraging artists to create their own genre
name. These do not aid in sorting songs into categories (that's the main
genre that does that) but can be quite descriptive and are fun to come up with.
Q: I can't decide on a genre for my song. A: Pick what you think is the closest
one, it will help others to find your music.
Q: I don't really believe in genres. A: Then choose the genre called No
Genre
Q: What bitrate kbps mp3s must I use? A: You can use any bitrate mp3 you
want up to 320. However it is recommended you use from 128 up to
256kbps mp3s, as 320s don't play as reliably on slower versions of
broadband.
Q: How many songs can I have on my page? A: Free (Basic) pages are allowed 2
songs. If you upgrade to IAC Prime you can have up to 30 songs on your
page.
Q. My songs are not showing up on my page, what gives? A. Did you get an indication that your
song was successfully uploaded ? If so, look in your song Administration
area (click on the song title itself) and make sure the active box is selected
on the songs.
Q: How do I edit the information for my song? A: Go to your administration page and
click on the title of the song you want to edit, that will take you to the
individual song edit page.
Q: Can I cover up my songs so they don't show up on my page? A: Yes, just click on the song title
on your administrative page (which will take you to the song edit page), and
then uncheck the Active box.
Q: There's a picture I didn't upload next to my song. A: You didn't upload a picture for the
song. When you do it will replace the default picture.
Q: I can't seem to get songs to stream, what gives? A: If songs aren't streaming, it might
be in your popup settings (popup blockers must be off or IACmusic.com must be
allowed to create popups), but usually if you download the newest version of
Flash
HERE, you'll be ok.
Q: Can I sell my songs as download singles? How? A: Yes, by clicking onto your song on
your administration page, checking the download sales box and setting your
price?
Q: How much should I charge for my songs? A: The most common price on the
internet is 99 cents, but many indies charge less. Some charge more.
IAC's default price is .50.
Q. I have a track on my page and I'd like to replace it with the same track--different mix--so therefore a different file. If I do so will its play history and chart ranking be affected? A. Click on the song title in your
Artist Area to go to the song edit page for that song. Under "HiFi file -
normal streaming", select Browse and then find the new file on your system that
you wish to upload to replace the current mp3 file. Done this way, the
song will keep its stats and chart position, and remain on the stations you
have been added to. If you delete the song completely, none of these will
remain intact.
Q: Can I post songs with profanity in them? A: Yes, but you must check the box on
your song edit page (Click onto the song on your administration page) that says
Content Advisory.
Q: My song for some reason plays too fast, how come? A: Your file was probably sampled at
48.1 or some other nonstandard rate instead of the standard CD rate.
Reencode it at 44.1 kHz sampling rate.
Q: Can I post cover songs at IAC? A: Only if you have proper license
and/or permissions. By uploading it you've agreed to the Terms of Use
which states that if you upload it, you have proper permission to do
so. And you should check the box that says Licensed Cover on your
song edit page.
Q: Can I post short song clips? A: IAC prefers that you didn't.
The site is based around the station community and station managers don't want
to put songs that cut off on their stations.
Q: How do songs get on Hitline? A: Hitline is a function of the
programming dept. Those songs are chosen and changed frequently - every
day or so.
Q: How can I get my song on somebody's station? A: You can ask them to listen on their
station tagboard.
Q: I don't want my songs to be on the charts. A: Click onto your song on your
administration page and you can uncheck the chartable box.
Q: My song picture isn't showing up on the player. A: The player currently only shows
jpgs, you may have used a gif. If you resave the pic as a jpg it will
work.
Q: Who is the A&R guy? A: He is a highly qualified music
critic who gives you a lot of value for 20 dollars. IAC agreed not to
reveal his name as a condition of his employment with the site. To submit
a song to the A&R guy, go to the Artist Help Station
HERE.
Q. Can I put my music videos up at IAC? A: Not yet, but that feature is
coming. You can of course post YouTube videos.
Q: How can I start an artist page, must I have an invite, and how much does it cost? A: Go
HERE to start an artist page, it is
free and you don't need an invite.
Q: I can't seem to log in, what's going on? A: You need to make sure you're
enabled for cookies. In IE it's found in Tools, Internet Options, and
Privacy Settings. If that doesn't help, you may have forgotten your
password. To retrieve it, go
HERE or write to support.
Q: I'm having trouble uploading a picture.. A: Your file may be too large. Your main artist pic should be reduced (in proportion) to 400 wide, and the best size for your song pics are 400x400. HERE is a program very good for changing the size of your pic without losing resolution. Another possibility is that your file may
have the same name as a file already on the IAC servers. Try renaming your
picture file before uploading it.
Q: I'm having trouble changing my artist picture, it doesn't seem to take the new one. A: Your file may have the same name as
a file already on the IAC servers. Try renaming your picture file with a
slightly different file name before uploading it.
Q: Can we have a short url for our artist page? A: Yes, your short url by default is http://iacmusic.com/yourartistname
but you can change that in Edit Artist Info in your administration area.
Q: How do I change the color of my page? A: Go to the section of your
administration page called Change Page Template and you have numerous choices.
Q: I don't want a tagboard on my page. A: Just Click on Tagboard and you can
opt to remove the tagboard from your page.
Q: Somebody posted something nasty on my tagboard. A: Just go to Tagboard Options and you
can delete any post you don't want on there.
Q. How do I link my other site(s) to my IAC page? A.
Here are some banners to use to link
to.
Q: There's an error message when I click on a certain link.. A: Occasionally the site resets,
though usually not during daylight hours. Wait 2 minutes and if error
message is still there, contact
support from your administration page.
Q: How can I make my basic page a prime page? A: Go to your administration page and
click one of the
Go Prime links and follow the
instructions.
Q: What benefits come with an IAC Prime subscription? A: Go
HERE and they are listed.
Q: How soon will my prime page be activated? A: Usually within a two hours.
Sometimes payment processing takes awhile; if that's the case, write
IAC support.
Q: Can I subscribe if I don't want to use a card? A: Yes, you can mail a check to the address given you by iacsupporthotline@gmail.com Put "ATTN: Subscription" on the front of the envelope. If you email that you've sent a check, they'll activate your Prime account quickly. Q: Can I place advertising for my artist page on iacmusic.com? A: Yes, see
http://iacmusic.com/advertiseoniac.htm
and/or write to support
iacsupporthotline@gmail.com for rates.
Q: Can we add html and "pimp up" our pages? A: Yes you can add that to your artist
info in your administration area and add various effects to your page.
Q: Can I change my artist name? A: Yes, write to the help/support link
on your administration page and they can do that for you.
Q: Can I have more than one artist page? A: Yes if they are separate musical
projects.
Q How do you use the photo gallery? A: That's a prime benefit, you must
sign up for IAC Prime. Then, you can upload up to 50 pics in your Gallery
from your administration page.
Q: What are stations about, why start a station? A: Stations are a list of streamable songs along with audio intros if you choose. The IAC station community is huge and extremely active. The first reason to start a station is because you make for yourself a great playlist of music. The second reason is, if you create a good station, your song on it gets more exposure. The third reason is, stations are just fun, they're like a whole world of creativity if you get into them. Q. How are Stations ranked at IAC? A. Stations are ranked based upon the
number of daily unique full-page plays, daily unique individual plays, and
daily unique page views. Thus one can infer popularity as the essence of the
rank. Stations with song lists in excess of 100 receive proportional
downgrades, as it is felt that excessive length makes it too easy to 'throw in
the kitchen sink', so to speak.
Q: How often do the stations rankings change? Q: Can I play my stations outside of the IAC site? A: Yes, by using the KIAC Export
Player, which you can set up
HERE. It takes only a few
seconds to generate code to put a fully functional, secure mp3 streaming player
on your website or My Space page.
Q: How many stations can I start? A: There is a suggested limit of 25.
Q: My station stops playing at a certain song, what's the problem? A: The song may have a defective mp3 file. You should report the song to Support, and remove it from your station until the artist uploads a new file. Q: What are station adds? A: They are the songs that get added
to stations daily. You can look at all the station adds
HERE.
Q: What are genre-based stations on the Station Homepage? A: These are stations with songs
picked by programming dept. to be featured in those genres.
Q: Is it okay to spam station tagboards? A: IAC doesn't disallow it but this
kind of thing does tend to make some of the most active station managers sour
somewhat on an artist, so it's probably better to just pick some stations that
fit your music best.
Q. Is there a limit to the number of songs you can have on your station? A. There is no limit,
but we do recommend around 100 as a maximum on any one station.
Q. How should I read the columns in Chart Positions and Plays (Song Statistics)? Unique Plays? What do these mean? A. Only one unique play per song per Icomputer per day is registered. Thus, if someone plays your song 5 times in one day, you will get one unique play for that song. Q. What are the Charts based on? A. The KIAC Big 50 is compiled by our
programming dept, is a feature chart, and has nothing to do with song streams.
The genre and All Genres charts are based on number of unique plays with a
formula that involves where the play came from, when you received the plays,
and stream completion percentage - that is, the average duration of a songplay
relative to the song's length.
Q: What is the exact formula used for the genre charts? A: IAC doesn't publish the exact
formula for the genre charts because that would facilitate gamers who try to
exploit any system to boost themselves.
Q: It seems like some artists are gaming the IAC charts. A: Anywhere there are play charts in
online music, there are artists trying to cheat the system by artificial
means. IAC has access to IP numbers for all plays and publishes plays as
they are occurring
HERE. The IAC Operations Manager was an
anti-gaming activist at mp3.com and the site is always vigilant in keeping eyes
open for statistical anomalies. Hence, IAC is much more equipped to
recognize and handle gamers than other sites where they take much more of a
laissez faire attitude.
Q: My song is in the top 5 in its genre, why isn't it on the KIAC Big 50 ? A: The KIAC Big 50 is compiled by the
programming dept, and has nothing to do with play charts.
Q: How can I get on the KIAC Big 50? A: There's nothing special you can do
to make that happen. Songwriting is a crucial aspect, Independent Artists
Company is based around that and we encourage all artists to invest quality
time in their songwriting and to try to be as prolific as possible.
Q: How often do the genre charts update? Q: I have less plays on a song than I did a week ago, something is messed up. A: You're looking at a moving range of
time. If you had a lot of plays on days that fell out of the charting
range, that's going to happen because you have less plays on the current
range. To illustrate, say on the week of May 5-11, you were promoting
your song a lot and received twice the amount of plays as usual.
Eventually the point in time is going to come when that week is dropped from
the current chart range, and then it's quite likely that your amount of plays
under Chart Positions and Plays will be a smaller number than previously, when
the week of May 5-11 was included.
Q: What is the "underground 40?" A: It's an alternate chart for some of
the styles of music that aren't represented as much in the KIAC Big 50, which
is more focused on rock and pop music. It's an eclectic mix of quality
music.
Q: The charts are unfair. A: Many indie artists have become so
hooked on stats and charts that they put the whole subject under a magnifying
glass and are only happy if their song is going up or at the top, and start
pointing fingers, if otherwise. In the era of the mp3, a number of superb
artists who fell into this mode stopped making music altogether. IAC
tries to advise those caught in this wave of thinking to try and remember why
they started making music in the first place, it's not a competitve
sport. Charts are mainly a tool to help promote artists and do not
provide an objective determination of the quality of your music.
Q: What is "the pipeline?" A: It's IAC's ramped up personal
page environment, a state-of-the-art networking community that takes the whole
concept to the next level. Most importantly, this is the first page of
this kind that has stations as part of the equation.
Q: How do I sign up for a pipeline page? A: Go
HERE.
Q: How can I set up what music plays on my pipeline page? A: Go to "Set Page Music" on your
pipeline administration page. You can choose whether or not your page has
autoplay and you can pick any station on KIAC to stream. You can also
choose whether the songs shuffle or stay in order. If you use your
pipeline page to create a station, that station will automatically stream when
somebody opens your page unless you change it.
Q: I'm having trouble setting up a pipeline page, it says the name is already taken. A: Since we use the same express urls
for pipeline and artist pages, you must choose a name that has some variation
on your artist name if you already have another page. Most people use an
underscore _ either in the middle of 2 words or at the end of their artist name
but it's up to you.
Q: How does one get a featured blog? A: Pipeline administrators look for
interesting content and writing, blogs in the purest sense of the word, rather
than just promo blurbs.
Q: I don't really get the pipeline, what purpose does it serve? A: It puts the artists and the
listeners in a community together, and has many features and networking tools
that make it the most comprehensive feature-filled personal page on the web.
Q: Why can't we log into our pipeline page at the same time as our artist page? A: That will be coming somewhere down
the road but in this aspect, it's similar to other sites where you can have
both an artist and a personal page.
Q: Can we build up a list of friends on the pipeline? How do I request that another person be my friend? A: No, IAC doesn't want any part of
the friends tally thing like you see at My Space. Friendship is not just
a click away and friends are not for collecting. We feel that whole
concept dummies down the internet.
Q: Can we add html and "pimp up" our pipeline pages? A: Yes you can add that to your artist
info in your pipeline administration area and add various effects to your
personal page.
Q: How do I change the color of my page? A: Go to the section of your
administration page called Change Page Colors and you have numerous choices.
Q: What does it mean when the logo on a pipeline page is blinking? A: It means there has been a
recent addition or change to the page or a new post on a blog or the tagboard.
Q: What does it mean when the logo on my pipeline administration page is blinking? A: It means there's a new Private
Message in your box or a new comment on one of your blogs.
Q: I don't want a tagboard on my page. A: Just click on "Tagboard" and you
can opt to remove the tagboard from your page.
Q: Somebody posted something nasty on my tagboard. A: Just click on "Tagboard" and you
can delete any post you don't want to remain on your page..
Q: What is a secret message? A: It's just something fun you can
change regularly that will give your page visitors something else to do when
they arrive at your page.
Q: What are "action pages?" A: Any page that has a recent entry of
any kind.
Q: I notice the KIAC Big 50 plays on my pipeline page, is there a way to change that? A: Yes, if you start your own station
from the pipeline, it will play that instead of the Big 50. In fact, if
you go to Set Page Music on your pipeline administration page, you can set your
pipeline page to play any station on the site, or no station at all.
Q: How can I change which pics show up on my pipeline page? A: The first 3 listed in your Picture
Gallery are the ones that are viewable on your page. If you click on
those, btw, you can view the full image.
Q: Is there a short url for pipeline pages? A: Yes, it's http://iacmusic.com/yourpagename,
though you can pick a different one in your edit info section.
Q: What is the KIAC Top 5 Artist feature about on the pipeline? A: IAC hopes that everybody at some
point will list their 5 favorite acts (not themselves and their personal
friends) and eventually we will have a new feature coming that will involve
these picks.
Q. When I logged into my Pipeline Administration today, it looked just like my Artist Administration, why is this? A. You have to be sure and log out of
your Artist account before logging in to your Pipeline Admin
Q. How can I change my Artist/Pipeline Name? A. Email
support through the link on your Admin
page and they will take care of it for you.
Q: What can I do to network on the pipeline? A: If you see an interest blog topic,
write a comment, you have to be logged in to do that. And invite all your
friends to start a pipeline page!
Q: How can I sell my songs on IAC? A: Go to your administration page song
area, click on the song title, and then scroll down and check the box for
download sales and set your preferred price.
Q: Do I have to be a Prime member to sell my songs? A: No, any artist can sell their
downloads.
Q: How much should I charge for my download? A: That's up to you, the standard
price on the net is most often 99 cents. Many indies charge 50 cents
also.
Q: What is a DMD? A: It is a digital way to sell your
music in CD form. IAC's revolutionary DMD provides everything you
once got from a CD but injects all the past magic of opening and perusing a new
album into the digital product. You can add links, pics, lyrics, all
kinds of info to your Ultrapage. For more details and instructions on how
to set it up, go HERE.
Q: What is an Ultrapage? A: It's the digital page an online
listener can bookmark after purchasing that really provides an intimate door
into what the artist is about. Look
HERE to see an example of one that has
some more involved content
Q: How does somebody create an elaborate Ultrapage? A: The best way is to add pics and
info to each song, additional photos in the gallery section, and a lot of
content in liner notes which is a box called Full Description. Some
artists link to even more songs and various pages they have.
Q: How much does an artist charge for a DMD? A: That's up to you. You can
also create one that is more of an EP and charge as little as $1.98 for it.
Q: What's the best price to put on my DMD? A: The ones that have sold most have
been priced at 4.99, 5.99, and 6.99.
Q: Can I sell my already made CD on IAC? A: Yes, IAC Prime artists can do
this. See
HERE for more details.
Q: How does the payout work for sales? Do I need to set up a paypal account? A: Sales of DMD singles, DMD CDs, and Consignment CDs are reported in the artist's IAC account, available by a link from the Artist Area. DMD singles sales and consignment CD sales, as DMD CD sales, are reported within 2 hours after each sale. . IAC automatically credits to the artist
account when sales are posted. Artists who have any earnings balance may
request a check for the balance at any time.
Soon, artists can sign up for monthly Direct Deposit.
Q: How can I tell if I'm selling any downloads or DMDs? A: Go to Artist Account on the left
side of your administration page.
Q: Can people buy music if they don't have a card? A: If the buyer doesn't want to use a card, a check can be mailed to the address provided by Support. Put "ATTN: buying music" on front of
envelope.
Q: Why does IAC take no commission for music sales? A: Places like iTunes and others take
a big piece of the indie pie for transactions that cost them very little to
process. IAC seeks to provide an alternative to corporate music business as
usual..
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