Downsides of Tunecore and SNOCAP

[gsilbers]

im checking out SNOCAP and it seems pretty good but they dont mention a lot of things.

anyone using this services and have had a good experience? bad?


what do u guys think of these services in general?

[gsilbers]

no one knows about these? really?

for being so many threads about record industry going down and stuff i think poeple should be a little more aware of these types of companies.

[n8tron]

I haven't used either service, but I've looked into them a bit. snocap takes a pretty large cut of each sale, but you get nice myspace integration, so if thats your thing it might be worth it. Tunecore looks really good if you want to sell on itunes and such. I like the fact that they don't take a cut of each sale, instead just offering a setup fee and yearly fee to keep your music on the service. 2 album sales though just about pays for the yearly setup. So its really two different business models. Again I haven't used the service, so I don't know how their service is.

[Meriphew]

Originally Posted by gsilbers

no one knows about these? really?

for being so many threads about record industry going down and stuff i think poeple should be a little more aware of these types of companies.

Then why don't you know?

[Schmeckitup]

Take a look at the Nimbit OMC service as well. They pay out more than Snocap, and the store (which can be installed on any site, including MySpace) can also be used to sell merch, display (snd sell tickets for) tour dates, and includes email signup. I've had Nimbit hosting my site for a little over a year, and I'm quite happy with their services. Their online sales also include split points for all items, so everyone can get paid at the same time. Also - if you use their $50 a year service (the OMC is free for artist-uploaded mp3s), they service to iTunes and Rhapsody and don't take any middleman fee or %.
This is starting to look like an ad. Sorry about that - I'm a very happy customer, and I wish Nimbit had the marketing muscle that Snocap does, as they seem to offer more and better services, as well as paying out more.
And so on
g

[n8tron]

Schmeckitup,

thanks for the info on that company, I checked it out, they seem to have it together in a great way for the artist.

Alot of the team graduated from berklee rather than a business school... maybe that has something to do with it.

[gsilbers]

Originally Posted by Schmeckitup

Take a look at the Nimbit OMC service as well. They pay out more than Snocap, and the store (which can be installed on any site, including MySpace) can also be used to sell merch, display (snd sell tickets for) tour dates, and includes email signup. I've had Nimbit hosting my site for a little over a year, and I'm quite happy with their services. Their online sales also include split points for all items, so everyone can get paid at the same time. Also - if you use their $50 a year service (the OMC is free for artist-uploaded mp3s), they service to iTunes and Rhapsody and don't take any middleman fee or %.
This is starting to look like an ad. Sorry about that - I'm a very happy customer, and I wish Nimbit had the marketing muscle that Snocap does, as they seem to offer more and better services, as well as paying out more.
And so on
g

not at all, your post is informative specially if u had expericen with them.

maybe you wrote this article later but i checked both sites and looks like nimbit takes a bigger chunk than snocap for 10 cents or so.


so hows the checkout part of nimbit? do people buy the songs there with confidence?
for me thats the thing, i dont see people giving away the crredit card info on snocap or nimbit that easily unless they are aware of them and have an account. they donnt seem to use paypal either.

[over-man]

From what I can find, Snocap takes $.39 cents from each sale, while Nimbit takes 20% ($.20 for a .99 cent track). I've done some research on the various distributors before, and Nimbit looks like the best to me. The web app is slick, easy to use, and they pay out more than anyone else. They don't even take a cut of music sold on iTunes, Rhapsody, etc.

[YUGA]

Yeah 20% percent commission is very fair. IMO SNOCAP charges too much.
That said, SNOCAP seems to be recognized well by many myspacers. They're officially partnered with myspcae and some major artists sell music using SNOCAP (chemical brothers etc.), while NIMBIT is rather unknown and so i'm not very sure if people trust this company...

[over-man]

At this point its definitely a bit of a crap shoot, but you never know until you try. I'm working with a band right now on a multi-media package built around their new EP. We'll have a new website with Nimbit integrated onto a page, a backdoor w/ bonus live DVD and audio from a concert for those who buy a CD, and lots of merch. The presentation will be slick, the band is phenomenal, and we'll see where it goes from there.

[gsilbers]

Originally Posted by over-man

From what I can find, Snocap takes $.39 cents from each sale, while Nimbit takes 20% ($.20 for a .99 cent track). I've done some research on the various distributors before, and Nimbit looks like the best to me. The web app is slick, easy to use, and they pay out more than anyone else. They don't even take a cut of music sold on iTunes, Rhapsody, etc.

my bad. i read the amount minum u sell a track has to be 49 cents.

[gsilbers]

so can you copy and paiste the html code of snocap as u can in nimbit?

seems a great idea.

[Lek]

i haven't signed up with snocap because of some weird things i read in the contract, have you read the entire thing? I'm having a musical lawyer friend check it out.

for instance in letter 1a -- look at the last line about how they are allowed to do things with your music EVEN AFTER termination of the contract

a. Reproduce and convert your Content into Digital Masters, including creating "Acoustic Fingerprint(s)" of each Digital Master (and the Composition embodied in each Digital Master) for all of your Content, storing that Acoustic Fingerprint and your metadata for that Acoustic Fingerprint in the SNOCAP Registry, and to use that Acoustic Fingerprints and your metadata to provide Services to you or to others, even if this Agreement has ended

and do you really trust this ---

h. You grant to us and our designees the rights to use and publish, and to permit others to use and publish, the name(s), trademarks, approved likenesses and approved biographical materials of you and all persons rendering services in connection with your Content, in connection with our or our designees’ Exploitation of your Content and Artwork, as well as in connection with us and our Services.

how bout this - they can have your work performed without any royalties, and don't have to ask you

d. Reproduce and publicly perform any Composition embodied in a Digital Master derived from your Content (including any and all "server" or "ephemeral" copies), it being understood and agreed that we will not be obligated to account and pay mechanical royalties to you, all such sums being included in the wholesale price set by you;

and finally in number 3 --

we are the sole owner of all data we observe or collect during or after the Term as part of providing the Services, including Acoustic Fingerprints, transaction data, file-share requests, file transfers, search requests, other shared materials, customer geographic and demographic information.

don't think i like this...

[dissolva]

Originally Posted by Lek

i haven't signed up with snocap because of some weird things i read in the contract

don't READ, just SIGN, kid... you want to be a STAR don't you?

here's an interesting chart:



now if I could just figure out 20% of $1 million... thumbsup

[GYMusic]

Originally Posted by Lek

i haven't signed up with snocap because of some weird things i read in the contract, have you read the entire thing? I'm having a musical lawyer friend check it out.

for instance in letter 1a -- look at the last line about how they are allowed to do things with your music EVEN AFTER termination of the contract

a. Reproduce and convert your Content into Digital Masters, including creating "Acoustic Fingerprint(s)" of each Digital Master (and the Composition embodied in each Digital Master) for all of your Content, storing that Acoustic Fingerprint and your metadata for that Acoustic Fingerprint in the SNOCAP Registry, and to use that Acoustic Fingerprints and your metadata to provide Services to you or to others, even if this Agreement has ended

and do you really trust this ---

h. You grant to us and our designees the rights to use and publish, and to permit others to use and publish, the name(s), trademarks, approved likenesses and approved biographical materials of you and all persons rendering services in connection with your Content, in connection with our or our designees’ Exploitation of your Content and Artwork, as well as in connection with us and our Services.

how bout this - they can have your work performed without any royalties, and don't have to ask you

d. Reproduce and publicly perform any Composition embodied in a Digital Master derived from your Content (including any and all "server" or "ephemeral" copies), it being understood and agreed that we will not be obligated to account and pay mechanical royalties to you, all such sums being included in the wholesale price set by you;

and finally in number 3 --

we are the sole owner of all data we observe or collect during or after the Term as part of providing the Services, including Acoustic Fingerprints, transaction data, file-share requests, file transfers, search requests, other shared materials, customer geographic and demographic information.

don't think i like this...

Which is why I haven't signed up with any of them. The contract is a little questionable. Once you sign, you can't "un-ring" the bell. Do you have an update?

[gsilbers]

hmm now im also interested in what your music lawyer says.

i think the part of mechanical royalties is wierd. they problably saying in that mechanical royalties from albums u physical sell or iligal copies made by poeple who buy the tune. cause whenever someone buys a song from snocap u get paid 60cents per dollar. that right there should be mechanical royalites.

then, performance rights its obvious they are not going to pay you everytime the song is performed. that a BMI/ASCPA thing. maybee they are basing things on the 30 sec preview?

and the publishing is that they can put your picture and album cover to sell the music. like when you see the album work in itunes store.

seems more of a contract of just taking a part of your music sold via them and make sure its not a record deal/contract. because you can still get a record contract/deal even if u are with snocap/tunecroe etc.

[Vinrockindie]

Of all of them on the chart, nimbit looks to be the best deal. However, on their site they don't show you the contract per se. Just the basics of what you get when you use them.

Also, as an unsigned artist, is it still desireable (too soon) to join ASCAP or BMI? Will this present a problem down the road should you sign a record deal?

[Schmeckitup]

To the best of my knowledge, there's nothing exclusive or rights-granting with Nimbit. You post, you sell...They have no rights to your material.
g

[Schmeckitup]

Also, as an unsigned artist, is it still desireable (too soon) to join ASCAP or BMI? Will this present a problem down the road should you sign a record deal?

It's never to early to register your songs. I would recommend ASCAP - they were started by writers, not the industry. Great people, and they pay more over time than BMI. BMI has more of a presence in the country world, and good people, too... ASCAP gets my personal thumbs up.

Reason it's not too early: Don't worry about getting signed. That particular teat has nearly run dry, and what's left is sour. Being an indie artist is where people will build their carreers from here on out - the big guys may pick you up after you have a story to tell on your own, but the days of big deals for new bands (or even reasonable deals) are over. TV and film are happy to license music from unsigned artists - if you own the master and the publishing, then they only need to make one call to license your music. ASCAP is how you get paid for that (especially if you're placed on something like an MTV show, where they pay no upfront licensing fees. Still, I have a friend who made about 40k in his ASCAP checks alone through MTV and VH1 "reality show" placements). The majors make it difficult and expensive to license, and indie artists have a great advantage. I keep seeing discussions that the days of the superstar are fading, and I say good riddance. There's a lot of small, good careers to be had, and more opportunity than ever for those willing to work hard. And so on...

[Vinrockindie]

Thanks for the reply. You hit on a lot of things that I was wondering about, and said them well.

I took a chance and signed up for nimbit last night. Setting it up and integrating it to my myspace page was very simple.

[Jay Kahrs]

I don't know much about Snocap but I don't like 'em much...

Somehow... nobody's really sure how... a Snocap download got added to one of my artists myspace pages with their whole first record at .99 download per song...

It might not be too bad, but the band is trying to BURY that record from their career because it's almost 10 years old... an entirely different thing.

We can't figure out how to get rid of the Snowcap download machine... nor can the bandleader ever remember signing a contract with 'em unless it was piggybacked onto something else from years ago... some kinda corporate aquistion...

Not too kool no matter how it's sliced.

[Schmeckitup]

I found a store installed without my consent on my MySpace page as well. It took poking around, but it can be removed by going to: Account Settings / Profile Settings / Uncheck Display Music Store.

[Oliver Chesler]

Hi Everyone,

Funny I recently made a blog post about what I personally did for selling MP3s online. There maybe some good info in it for you:
wire to the ear » Blog Archive » The easybe.com MP3 store for your own website.

You can see what I think of Snocap.

[Protools Guy]

Originally Posted by Oliver Chesler

Hi Everyone,

Funny I recently made a blog post about what I personally did for selling MP3s online. There maybe some good info in it for you:
wire to the ear » Blog Archive » The easybe.com MP3 store for your own website.

You can see what I think of Snocap.

Hey Oliver - Thanks for this. It looks like a very good deal.
All the best...