Brutal Noise :: Services :: Distribution :: FAQ's
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Brutal Noise supplies your music to thousands of retail outlets, including every major digital music service, online CD retailer and traditional CD retailer. Here some answers to your questions. What does Brutal Noise do? IF I JOIN BRUTAL NOISE Will record stores carry my CD? What is a DMS? Do I need to register a UPC bar code for my CD before I send it to Brutal Noise?
Brutal Noise is an-exclusive distributor-for-hire that:
Brutal Noise is not:
We automatically register all Brutal Noise releases with the All Music Guide, the most comprehensive online database of CD releases. The All Music Guide and most of our distribution partners use "Brutal Noise" as a default label name because we are their unique point of contact for all Brutal Noise-distributed releases. If you would like to update your label information on AMG and our partner sites, send an email to ar@brutalnoise.com and we’ll send them an update. Does Brutal Noise offer discounts to labels that want to distribute several different releases?Yes! If you're interested in distributing more than five releases through Brutal Noise, please contact us at ar@brutalnoise.com for discount information. What credit cards does Brutal Noise accept?We currently accept VISA, Mastercard, American Express and Discover through Pay-Pal, the leader in online secure transactions. Will record stores carry my CD?If you choose our Digital and Physical Global Distribution option, Brutal Noise will make your CD available to record store chains and mom-and-pop record stores throughout the United States. If a fan goes into a record store to buy your CD and it's not on the shelf, that store can special-order your CD through one of Brutal Noise's one-stop distribution partners: Alliance, Baker & Taylor, Super D or Arrow. Otherwise, in order for a record store to stock your release, their in-house buyer needs to know that there is a demand for it. We strongly encourage you to contact buyers at individual record stores and send them a "one-sheet" description of your release. Will online retailers like Amazon.com carry my CD?If you choose our Digital and Physical Global Distribution option, Brutal Noise will list your CD release with over fifteen online retail partners, including Amazon.com, BestBuy.com, CDUniverse.com, CDNow, Borders.com and many others. Will digital music services like Apple's iTunes carry my music?If you choose either of our two Distribution Options, Brutal Noise will use the industry's leading digital encoding company to encode your music and send your tracks for sale to over 35 digital distribution partners, including iTunes, Napster and Rhapsody / Real. Can you guarantee that all of Brutal Noise's distribution partners will carry my music?All of our distribution partners reserve the right to refuse to carry any particular release, so we cannot give you a 100% guarantee. But those exceptions are rare. Digital Track DistributionAll of our DMS partners are committed to carrying the entire Brutal Noise catalog. Due to the time-consuming nature of encoding and delivering tracks and track information to meet the specifications of many different DMSs [imagine converting your entire CD collection to MP3, multiplied by several thousand], some DMSs are further along than others in adding our catalog. Online CD RetailersAll of our major online CD retail partners are committed to carrying the entire Brutal Noise catalog. Traditional CD RetailersTraditional record stores will carry your CD if they know there is a demand for it. See "Will record stores carry my CD?" for a full explanation. Will Brutal Noise promote my music to help me boost CD sales?Although Brutal Noise offers unprecedented sales and exposure opportunities, we do not promote individual releases. However, we have partnered with companies that can help your promotional and marketing efforts. Are there any annual renewal fees?No - you pay a one-time set-up fee per release for Brutal Noise distribution. Once your release is registered with Brutal Noise, you can add other releases anytime for the same one-time-fee setup. Can I allow a record label to distribute my Brutal Noise-distributed physical CD?Brutal Noise physical distribution agreement is non-exclusive, so you will always have the freedom to sign a record label contract that provides distribution through outlets outside of Brutal Noise. Can I leave at any time?When you join Brutal Noise, you sign an agreement that grants Brutal Noise exclusive online distribution. Iif you still want to discontinue your Brutal Noise agreement, you will need to submit a written termination request that states why you want to remove a particular release from Brutal Noise distribution. If Brutal Noise approves the termination request, we will notify all of our partners, all unsold product will be returned to you (if applicable) and after a full quarter without receiving physical returns (if applicable), any payment due will be rendered. After you've received my music, how long does it take for your distribution partners to make it available for purchase?Here's a step-by-step description of what happens after we receive your music:
The rest is up to our distribution / encoding partners. In our general experience:
ABOUT WORLDWIDE DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION A DMS is a "Digital Music Service." DMSs sell digital music files for streaming, downloading, or physical CD burning (or a combination of these three) over an Internet connection. All of Brutal Noise's DMS partners have obtained their music files legitimately, through direct agreements with artists, labels and distributors. DMSs are not file-sharing or P2P [peer-to-peer] services; all of them charge users a fee to access your music, whether through a subscription, pay-per-song or pay-per-album structure. Visit our individual Digital Distribution Partners for details on how each service operates. Why do I need to deliver five physical CDs to Brutal Noise if I just want digital distribution?We use one CD to encode your music into a digital file format, which we then distribute to our DMS partners. We send one CD to the All Music Guide, the world's most comprehensive online database of CD releases. We submit one CD to our in-house A&R team - Brutal Noise always keeps its ears open for emerging talent and helps it grow. The remaining two CDs are filed in Brutal Noise's archives as back-up copies. What is encoding / burning?When we "encode" your music, we transform the digital information stored on a physical medium [a CD] into an intangible digital file format [MP3, for example]. Different DMSs offer customers different audio formats for your individual tracks. Brutal Noise's partnership with the music industry's leading digital encoding company insures the highest quality of encoding and delivery. "Burning" is "encoding" in the opposite direction. Digital information stored in digital files [like MP3] can be "burned" onto physical CDs for playback on everyday CD players. What is an ISRC?ISRC stands for International Standard Recording Code. Similar to the way a UPC identifies a physical recording, the ISRC is likely to become the new industry standard for identifying digital audio and video recordings. Encoded directly into the fabric of individual digital tracks, ISRCs are permanent 12-character digital fingerprints that identify recordings for royalty payments and track administration. Some of the major DMSs require that ISRCs are assigned to tracks before they make them available. How do I register ISRCs for my tracks?Brutal Noise is one of only a handful of companies that have been given permission from the RIAA to assign ISRCs. If you haven't already received ISRCs from a third party, Brutal Noise will assign ISRCs to your tracks, free of charge, and register them with the RIAA [Recording Industry Association of America] and IFPI [International Federation of the Phonographic Industry], as part of our regular service. If you're a current Brutal Noise artist or label, we've already assigned ISRCs to your Brutal Noise-distributed releases, unless we have received a response via email instructing us otherwise. Current Brutal Noise artists / labels: you can view your ISRCs in your Artist & Label Area [coming soon]. What if I already have ISRCs for my tracks?If you already have ISRCs for your tracks - whether you obtained them yourself or they were assigned to you by a third party on your behalf - you must include the codes when adding a new release to Brutal Noise. Similar to a bar code, ISRC codes are likely to become an industry standard; they identify individual tracks and streamline accounting on your behalf. The codes assigned to your recordings are yours, so no matter how you obtained them, you should use them universally with all of your distribution partners. What does it mean that my songs are available on a 'track-by-track' basis from DMSs?Every DMS offers streaming, downloading or burning music on a "track-by-track" or song-by-song basis. Some services allow users to burn digital files onto physical CDs. How much do I get paid if my songs are streamed or downloaded? What's the payment / cost breakdown?Each DMS differs in the way it prices your music - some are subscription services and others are pay-per-stream or pay-per-download services. Likewise, DMS payment methods also differ. As a loose rule of thumb, subscription-based services calculate the percentage of times your music has been downloaded/streamed/burned against total subscription income to determine payment. Some services pay Brutal Noise monthly, others pay Brutal Noise quarterly. But whatever the payment method, Brutal Noise always pays artists 50% of revenue received from the DMSs on a quarterly basis. Are there any costs associated with selling my music files?Brutal Noise uses a third-party state-of-the-art facility to encode your CD to meet the diverse specifications of each individual DMS. Brutal Noise pays a standard one-time encoding cost for each individual CD release. This cost is covered by your initial set-up fee. There are no additional costs associated with selling your music files via DMSs. Why do I need to earn a $10 minimum release balance before I get paid?We realize that minimum balances are annoying, but considering the thousands of releases in Brutal Noise catalog, it would be impractical for us to operate otherwise. We deeply appreciate your understanding and cooperation on this point. THE SILVER LINING:
Brutal Noise will withhold all payments until your release balance [or account balance, for those with over five releases] reaches $10. After it reaches $10, Brutal Noise will pay you quarterly for any additional earnings. How often does Brutal Noise pay artists and labels?Brutal Noise pays all artists and labels quarterly by cashier's check in US dollars only. ABOUT DIGITAL & PHYSICAL GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION Do I need to register a UPC bar code for my CD before I send it to Brutal Noise? No, we automatically assign and sticker each new Brutal Noise release with a unique UPC bar code, as part of our regular service. Brutal Noise also registers each new UPC with SoundScan, the record industry's sales tracking system that determines the Billboard music charts. What if I want to keep a UPC bar code that has already been assigned to my release?Because we are an exclusive distributor, we must assign all Brutal Noise-distributed releases a new barcode sticker so we can track and account for all CD sales and returns that occur through Brutal Noise. This is the only way to keep our accounting accurate and pay the correct amount due to you. Do I need to shrink-wrap my CDs before I send them to Brutal Noise for physical distribution?We recommend that you shrink-wrap your CDs before you send them to Brutal Noise. Otherwise, we will do it for you and charge your Brutal Noise account $.10 per CD. What is the difference between "online retail" and "traditional retail?""Online retail" refers to CD retailers that operate from websites like Amazon.com, CDNow.com and Borders.com. "Traditional retail" refers to physical brick-and-mortar record stores, like your corner independent store or chain store. How much does Brutal Noise pay me for each CD sold?Brutal Noise pays you 50% of the wholesale price that you select during the application process, minus costs related to shipping and inventory management (if applicable). Click here to see the wholesale price calculator. What costs are associated with selling my CD?There are three categories of costs associated with Digital & Physical Distribution. Inventory Management: $.25 per unit picking fee - The physical removal of a single CD to fulfill an order. Shipping: Digital Encoding Fees: We realize that minimum balances are annoying, but considering the thousands of releases in Brutal Noise catalog, it would be impractical for us to operate otherwise. We deeply appreciate your understanding and cooperation on this point. THE SILVER LINING:
We strongly recommend that you consult our wholesale price calculator to determine the minimum amount of CDs you'll need to sell through our distribution partners in order to receive payment for CD sales. What if my balance never reaches $250?If you've consulted our wholesale price calculator and conclude that the amount of CDs you'll need to sell in order to meet the $250 minimum release balance is more than you expect to sell in the long run, then Brutal Noise's Digital & Physical Distribution option might not be for you. Why does Brutal Noise hold a reserve of 25% of my earnings?This is a standard practice for most traditional distribution outlets. Since our one-stop partners and retail stores always reserve the option of returning unsold CDs, Brutal Noise must insure against this by withholding a 25% reserve. After two quarters, this reserve will be liquidated and you will be paid the withheld amount. How often does Brutal Noise pay artists?Brutal Noise pays all artists and labels quarterly by cashier's check in US dollars only. What is a re-order request?When your inventory runs low, our re-order department will send you a "re-order request" via email requesting more CDs. What is a return? What does it cost me?All physical retail outlets reserve the right to return CDs that remain unsold on their shelves. To account for this possibility, Brutal Noise withholds a 25% reserve of your earnings for two quarters, after which the balance is liquidated as a payable amount. |