Offline Artist Royalties

 

Offline royalties come from blanket deals with various API and oAuth partners - for example YouTube MCNs. We do not provide data on these royalties in the same manner we do online sales due to the lack of availability of said data. With both offline and online sales, we are under no obligation to provide you any sort of end user or placement data.

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What exactly does royalty free mean?

Royalty free means you pay only once to use a track as many times as you like under the provisions of the license you selected for that track. 

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What does "crowd source for content" mean?

It means we accept content from anyone from an established artist to someone who has just produced his or her first song. Obviously we have quality control and will reject songs if they do not meet our quality standards, but there are no restrictions on who can submit content - anyone and everyone is free to do so. Top

How are you different from your competition?

Here are just a few of the many differences between AudioMicro and the competition:

a.  We accept .wav, .mp3, and .aif files

b.  No initial test files or portfolio review to become a contributor

c.  We pay a 50% royalty as opposed to 20% and even less

d.  We allow/promote ASCAP, BMI, and other PRO artists while others exclude these artists

e.  We are strictly focused on music and sound effects

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How much money can I potentially earn selling my music on AudioMicro?

In the micro stock / micro payment photography world, many of the top contributors earn 6 figures (i.e. over $100,000) per year in micro payment royalties.   We feel the size of the micro payment music market will be in excess of the micro payment photography market, and that this market will emerge over the next 5 to 10 years.

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What commission rate do I earn if my track sells?

AudioMicro artists receive 35% of the sales from each file that they submit to our archive. Exclusive artists receive 50%. 

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I am used to very high licensing fees. Will this undermine my high paying tracks?

The high end of the commercial music licensing market is not going anywhere and the traditional production libraries should not see AudioMicro as a threat but rather an opportunity. Every micro stock music sale is not a lost customer for a traditional library, but most often a new customer and an additional sale for the artist.

We are not making light of the music licensing industry by simply undercutting the larger, established libraries. What we are doing is getting exposure for unknown, unsigned artists by placing their work in creative audiovisual projects that are produced by every day consumers on shoe-string budgets.

With micro payment, artists may first think they are underselling themselves; however, the reality is that with micro payment, you are actually opening up your library to an entirely new group of content purchasers that never before would ever think about paying for a sync licenses. As video continues to proliferate the Internet, as Internet video quality continues to improve, and video proliferates every website and blog, it’s obvious that audio becomes increasingly important in the equation. Licensing your content on AudioMicro opens up your portfolio to an entirely new audience, and an entirely new customer base. The market for online audio is going to continue to grow well into the foreseeable future. Even blogging softwares, such as WordPress, incorporate one-click audio (and video) insert options into all blog posts. If consumers do not have an outlet where they can get easy access to affordable, pre-cleared music for creative projects, there are two major implications:

1.  The customer will simply not use music for their projects.

2.  They will make unauthorized use of the content that they have purchased (or illegally downloaded) for personal use.

Micro stock music opens up commercial music licensing to the masses and offers an affordable, easy solution for licensing music for use in audio-visual media. There are approximately 10 videos uploaded to YouTube every second. Everyone with a cell phone is essentially a producer. With so much video content circulating the web today, it’s only natural that a platform for clearing and licensing music, royalty free sound effects, and production elements to accompany these videos (and any video project, not just YouTube) will emerge and thrive.

 

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Whats the difference between selling my track exclusively versus non-exclusively?

Selling your track exclusively with AudioMicro means that no other online licensing libraries, anywhere in the world, have the permission to license this particular track. Exclusive artists receive a 50% royalty rate, while non-exclusive artists receive the standard 35% rate. 

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Do I still retain copyright ownership if my track is sold on AudioMicro?

Yes, you remain the owner of the music track. The buyer of the track is only granted a non-exclusive, limited sync, performance and mechanical license to use your track in commercial audiovisual productions.

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How can I see downloads I have received?

You can check your downloads by visiting the “My Account” profile page and clicking “Sales History” (hint:  the Sales History link is located on the left sidebar). You can drill down on your monthly (and all time) downloads and see exactly which tracks have been licensed.  You can also download these reports in .csv format and open them in Word, Excel, and any Text Editor program you like. 

Please note that these Sales History reports here are NOT final. They are designed to give you a some perspective on your download activity. Detailed sales reconciliations and calculations are performed internally by our accounting team each month and royalties are sent via PayPal around the 1st of the month subsequent to the month in which the sales occur. E.g. for sales in March, payment is made around May 1st or the first non-holiday weekday thereafter.

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How do I get paid? When do I get paid?

You can check your monthly sales stats in realtime from the Sales History section of your My Account page.

We automatically deliver your royalties to you via PayPal on or about the first day of the month, subsequent to the month in which the sales transactions occurred. For example, for sales that occur in June, we distribute your royalties to you on or around August 1st .  We pay you when your account has accrued an unpaid balance of $5 or more.

If you do not yet have a PayPal account, you can easily sign up for one at

https://www.paypal.com/


PayPal is simple and secure, and for added assurance, you can even order a "key fob / security key" from PayPal for $5 that will prevent anyone from being able to access your PayPal account except, you (the security key holder).

Here is a link to the PayPal security key signup -->

https://www.paypal.com/securitykey

 

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Is there any way I can get paid my royalties even if I havent amassed $50 in payments?

Yes, if you have more than $5 of accrued payments, you can request a one-time pay-out by contacting us. We will place your earnings in your PayPal account on the next payout date.

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What style of music are you looking for?

We encourage you to "spread the love" and upload content from all genres of music and audio whenever possible. The more diverse your archive, the more likely you are to receive increased royalties. As a general rule of thumb, our customers are looking for well-mixed, high quality tracks.

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Do you prefer music with vocals or just instrumentals?

We accept BOTH vocal and instrumental tracks.  If you are submitting vocal tracks, please make sure the tracks are appropriately mastered and the vocals are of top notch quality.  We reject over 90% of all tracks containing vocals so please, no hard feelings if your tracks are not accepted into the library.  Please be sure to tag all tracks that include vocals with the the following tags:  "vocals" (mandatory), "vocal" (mandatory), "female vocal" (if the track has a female vocalist), and / or "male vocals" (if the track has a male vocalist).  These tags will ensure that tracks containing vocals can be easily found in searches.  

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What copyright restrictions should I be aware of before uploading a track?

You should be the principal copyright holder of the uploaded music track or have written authorization to upload the track on behalf of the copyright holder (s). All contributors are held fully liable for any damages incurred as a result of copyright infringement. Please be sure to read our Upload agreement.

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Can I remove my track from your site at any time?

Yes. Provide a written request and an AudioMicro administrator will remove the track ASAP. Any commercial licenses we granted on your behalf while your track was active in our catalog must be honored.

Via email:
  click here to contact us via email

Via mail:
AudioMicro, Inc.
13351-D Riverside Drive, #219
Sherman Oaks, CA 91423
United States

 

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Am I allowed to upload a track that uses 3rd party samples or loops?

Your usage of any 3rd party samples must comply with the user agreement of that particular sample library or copyright holder. That said, most commercial sample libraries freely allow their samples to be used commercially, provided that sample is being combined with other audio elements. This legally makes your track a new copyright. All contributors are held fully liable for any damages incurred as a result of copyright infringement. Please be sure to read our Upload agreement.

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I am a member of ASCAP, BMI, or another Performing Rights Organization (PRO). How will I receive royalties if my track is broadcast on TV or radio?

We make every reasonable effort to ensure our customers file cue sheets for broadcast usages. Make sure your composer / songwriter name that you provide in your AudioMicro account is consistent with your ASCAP, BMI, or other PRO member information.

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My track is already registered with an ASCAP, BMI, or other PRO publisher. How will that publisher get royalties if my track is broadcast on TV or radio?

At the time of upload, you may enter the name of the Publishing Company with which the song is already registered.  When cue sheets, documenting a broadcast performance of your track, are submitted to the PRO by our customers, this publisher information will be filed along with that cue sheet.

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Can AudioMicro act as my publisher?

We can act as publisher for you with either ASCAP or BMI, should you desire to have AudioMicro represent you.  Please contact us if you are interested in having us act as your publisher.

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How do I become a featured artist?

Our editors regularly add new and existing artists to our featured artist panel. We feel that these artists are exceptional and have uploaded content that exemplifies the highest quality AudioMicro has to offer.  If you would like to be considered for featured artist status, please contact us.

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How does AudioMicro advertise?

The AudioMicro engineering team focuses much of its time and energy on Google optimization of keyword searches.  In this day and age we feel that it is time very well spent, and will result in increased sales for our artists as our platform continues to grow.  In short, all sales are generated by Google organic search engine optimization.

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What % of the subscription packages goes back to the composers?

Approximately 35% of every sale, whether it is $1 or a $500 package, goes back to the artists. Exclusive artists receive approximately 50%. It is simply divided and paid out based on the amount of downloads for each artist – i.e. downloads are “pro-rated” and the subscription is divided up correctly among the artists.

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Tips for selling on AudioMicro

Tagging:

Creating tags is one of the most important elements to generating more sales. Tags are what connect the buyer to the seller, and a large, clean amount of tags on an audio track are key for establishing that connection. Don’t be afraid to tag. AudioMicro requires a minimum of 3 tags but we highly encourage you to add more.  Our internal stats have shown that users and tracks with a lower number of tags (5 or less) will sell less than a user with a high number (10 or more).  Here are some specific points to keep in mind when tagging:

 

*  Specificity- Be specific in your tags. Tag the genre, the instruments, the emotions, or any other unique vocabulary you feel represents your track the best. For example, don’t just type “guitar.” Put “electric,” “acoustic,” or another adjective in front of it. The more specific your tags, the less competition you have in someone’s query results page

 

*  Tag your feelings- Tagging adjectives that describe the emotion of the track is very important. Buyers will often use these adjectives in their search queries. This method also separates tracks that are within the same genre but evoke different feelings. For example, under the heavy metal genre, there may be one track with tags such as “anguish, loud, earthshaking,” while another heavy metal song could be tagged with “uplifting,” or “triumphant.” Same genre, different tones.

 

*  Tag your vision- Matching musical and visual ideas together is what makes music for media so important. If you feel your track represents a specific image in your head, chances are there are other people who would agree with you, and would purchase your track to help them bring that image to life. If you feel your track would be perfect for someone making a mountain climbing video, tag “mountain climbing.” If you feel like your piece would fit ideally with images of kids playing soccer, tag it.

 

Filling in your Description:

On our website, it’s optional for you to fill in a description with your uploaded track. We do, however, highly encourage that artists write brief but detailed descriptions for their tracks. Unlike tags, the description allows the artist to freely describe their track using complete sentences. This is where the artist truly sells the track. Convince buyers that this piece is perfect for their project. Descriptions will only reinforce a buyer’s decision to pick YOUR track out of the other thousands on AudioMicro.

 


Selecting a genre and sub-genre:

Choosing an accurate genre and sometimes sub-genre will allow your track to be discovered more often. As mentioned before, specificity is key to boosting sales, so it might be wise to choose a sub-genre in order to highlight your track even more. AudioMicro has thousands of sub-genres for users to choose. 


A note about loops:

If you’ve created a loop, we encourage you to check the “loop” box in the track upload form. Again, this is for your benefit as it helps to organize our files, which will give your tracks a better chance at discovery. Also, when you upload a loop, make sure to add at least one revolution of the loop itself in the recording. Buyers will want to hear the loop in action, so it wouldn’t be as effective to simply upload a 6-second loop without the sound actually looping.

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How do you calculate royalties?

 

For sales subsequent to April 1, 2012 (Dollar Based System):

 

The Dollar Sales History section of your My Account page shows you how many dollars worth of your tracks were licensed each month.  To calculate your monthly payout, we use the following formula:

Payout = amount paid by the client in dollars (typically $34.95 for music tracks and $4.95 for sound effects) x 94% (because we subtract 6% for credit card and PayPal merchant processing fees - yep - they really are as high as 6% when you add them all up) x 35%. 

 

This ensures that 35% of the net cash that we receive each month is paid out to you when your content is licensed. 

 

 

For sales prior to April 1, 2012 (Credit Based System):

 

For downloads prior to April 1, 2012, when we were on a credit based syste, the Credit Sales History section of your My Account page shows you how many credits worth of your tracks were downloaded each month.  To calculate your monthly payout, we use the following formula:

Payout = Average price per credit that month (typically $2 to $3 or so) x Number of credits of your content purchased that month x 50%. 

 

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Why do none of my tracks have a price?

Question:  I just noticed that none of my tracks have the number of credits listed for potential buyers. Can you correct this?

 

Answer:  To prevent unauthorized use of the platform (e.g. purchasing your own material), you will not see the credit pricing appear next to your own tracks while you are logged into the site.  You will only see prices next to tracks by artists other than yourself.  Please logout and locate one of your tracks and you will see the tracks as they appear to our buyers.  No worries...this is not a bug.

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How to I become an AudioMicro Artist?

To become an AudioMicro Artist to sell your music on our website, please visit http://www.audiomicro.com/application AFTER creating a basic account, and complete the application process.

In order to be considered for artist status, you must thoroughly complete the application process and provide links to other places we can hear your music. Be sure to upload a valid ID and to make it clear that you sell original production music that you have created.

If you receive approval to become and artist, you can begin uploading your music which will still need to be approved on a track by track basis by our editors.

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What is micro stock?

 

Microstock Music is a concept rooted in the photography industry. What defines a platform as a micro stock photography company is that they (1) source their images almost exclusively via the Internet, (2) do so from a wider range of photographers than the traditional stock agencies (including a willingness to accept images from "amateurs" and hobbyists), and (3) sell their images at a very low rate (anywhere from $1.00 - $10) for a royalty-free image. AudioMicro takes the same idea and applies it to the music industry. Anyone can upload his or her music, and then, it can be bought at a very low rate (as low as $1 per track). Through this, the artist has the ability to get his or her music out to a large group, and due to the low price, more buyers are attracted.

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