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How do I protect young viewers?

The site contains thousands of artwork of varying content. Some contain adult content.

The site follows and supports the Internet Content Rating Associations guidelines for labeling content. All artwork is rated by the artist and the ratings viewable by web browsers and software developed to protect younger viewers.

If you are concerned about a child hearing or seeing adult content you should, at minimum, turn on the browsers parental controls. Or (recommended) purchase parental control software.

Every work has content ratings built into it. The Internet Explorer browser has built into it content controls. You can preset the parental controls from the browser by entering the content advisor in Internet Explorer. After the controls are set your child will be able to freely browse the site but will not be able to view content that is rated higher then what you set. Artwork is ranked from 1-4 for violence, sexual content and language (one is less - four is more). You can, for example, set "3" for language but "2" for violence.

In addition, the site has an adult section which requires viewers to agree that they are over the age of 18 and not offended by adult content. This protection is in addition to the content advisories.

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Artist Questions

How do I know if I'm doing well?

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Your   Rating		As soon as your first work is commented on you will have a rating. This is the simple average of all your works. You can see the exact rating (for example 3.32) but other visitors will only see the number of stars earned (in this example you would have three). Stars are shown in your signature and on your profile.
Your   Rank		All artists that qualify (have two posts and have commented on other work) are ranked. How well you rank is a clear measure of how you are developing as an artist. There are rankings for the year as well as an all time ranked artist listing. So each time you post watch your ranking. It will go up or down based on the comments written on your work. If you comment on other artists work you may see a slight rise in your ranking since your popularity will grow on the site.
Recognized		The Recognized Ribbon is another goal for artists. When you release a work it shows up only on the available release art page or the available release photography page. Music will only be added to the major listings if they make the grade. To be considered your work must have fifteen comments and must receive very good ratings by reviewers. When your work earns a ribbon the ribbon appears next to it and on the page where it is displayed. In addition, if your work continues to do well it may be selected for our "All Time Best" listing.
All-Time Best Recognition		Work that is recognized may achieve this status if the reviews continue to be strong. Each night work that has been recognized is reviewed for this status based on the reviews written during that day and in the past.

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What are certificates and how do I use them?

First, let's look at the base question.

What Are Certificates

Certificates are used to encourage FanMusic.com reviewers to review your song. The first certificate you will place on your work is called a "Base Certificate". A base certificate places your song on the available release page. It also offers a base amount of member cents and points to reviewers.

That leads to the question: what are member cents? They are the FanMusic.com currency that is used to buy these certificates. So if you write reviews you can earn member cents. You can use those member cents to buy a certificate for your own work.

The available release page is sorted by member cents rewarded. The works that offer the most member cents to reviewers are listed higher on the page. So the song rewarding the most amount of member cents is in the first position. The work that is offering the next most is listed second - and so on.

Now your base certificate does reward member cents. But not much. So you will likely want to reward more. To reward more member cents you use a "Member Cent Pump Certificate" This certificate simply increases the amount of member cents your work rewards. Each use will normally move it higher up the listing bringing it to the attention of more reviewers.

That's really all there is to it. First, add a base certificate, next use bonus certificates (normally the member cent pump) to raise that position to a level where it will receive notice.

And how do I use them? - the details

There are two steps to using a certificate.

1. Get one with member dollars. Write reviews to earn member dollars or buy them here.
2. Use the certificate. Simply view your song and click the "Promote This" button on that page.

There are the two primary driving factors for reviewers.

• Points
• Member Dollars

Points	Each time a reviewer writes a review he or she earns points. Points earned will upgrade a members signature. In addition, they are used to track a reviewers place on the ranked reviewer listing.
Member Dollars	Purchases of certificates on FanMusic.com are made using member dollars.

The base number of points and member cents paid to a reviewer is very small (2 member cents and 1 point). Artists use certificates to place their writing on page one of the available release page and offer reviewers bonus member cents and points. The member cents rewarded by the work also determines the placement on the first page of the available release page. The more member cents offered - the higher on the list a work will be shown.

It's important to note that all song will receive reviews. When you first release your writing a complimentary certificate is placed on it. It's an excellent certificate. It offers bonus member cents and five points to each reviewer. It also offers a random chance at winning a certificate. The drawback is that it expires shortly after two reviews are written. So if you want more then two reviews you'll likely need to add additional certificates.

As stated, all base certificates place a song on page one of the available release page. But remember that the more member cents offered to reviewers the higher it will be placed on the listing.

Songs at the top of the listing will usually receive fifty or more reviews. Work at the bottom of the listing receive around six reviews. So artists can expect more reviews the closer they are to the top of the listing.

We recommend starting with the Treasure Chest Certificate. Next, purchase the Artist Weekly. This certificate does a terrific job of advertising your work in the forums and other places on the site. In addition it offers ten bonus points and member cents. Next, you can control your position on the listing using the Member Cent Pump certificate. It will move your writing higher on the listing.

Click here for a full listing of certificates. Make purchases with your member dollars. You can earn member dollars by writing reviews or purchasing them here. To use a certificate simply view your work and click the promote it button that looks like this: .

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How do I sell my work?

When you post your song the site will ask you if you wish to sell it. You can also put work that is already posted up for sale from your portfolio by clicking the "Sell It" link.

When you specify that you wish to sell a song you simpy enter the price. It will immediately be made available on the site as a work for sale.

If a song is sold, the amount you charged is placed in your PayPal account. This is a commission free sale. FanMusic.com does not take a percentage. When the funds settle you can request that PayPal write you a check or have the money electronically placed in your personal account.

When a song is sold PayPal will contact you with the sale information including the buyers name, e-mail, and mailing address. It is the responsibility of the artist to send the product. That is normally done by emailing a high quality song file to the buyer.

Work that is Recognized is placed on our For Sale Listing and category listing. FanMusic.com offers these works special preference since they are recognized by the site.

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What is a Lock and Key certificate?

This certificate allows you to setup a artists workshop for a song that you post. It includes a private room with a forum. The posting and workshop area is only available to members that you invite (by sending a key). They can help you with the song until you mark it as finished. At that time it will appear as an available release available for comment by the public.

You use the Lock and Key certifiate when you post (not after you post like most certificates). Once used, your song will be available from your lock and key workshop area in your portfolio. A link brings you to the private team room that you can use to send members keys. It is also recommended that you use the private forum in this room to welcome your reviewers. If there is something in particular that you are looking for help on you can request it in the forum.

It is easy to release a lock and key work after the workshop work is finished. The work will appear as an entry on the available release page no matter how much time was spent editing it under lock and key. All the comments that were written under lock and key will be still be available from the comment page but only to the artist. Comments made under lock and key will never an impact an artists rating or ranking. Members that commented while it was under lock and key can comment again when it is public.

Click here to buy a Lock and Key workshop certificate with your member dollars.

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How do I get ranked?

The final top five ranked artists will receive this trophy.

The site ranks all members that have posted two songs. The rank is based on the ratings of the work posted. At FanMusic.com every member is ranked. The top five for each category receive special recognition.

To be ranked, an artist needs to post two songs. Rank is primarily determined by looking at the artists overall rating (based on the reviews on his or her work). How well an artists work is received is also considered. For this the site looks at the number of reviews an artist is receiving.

At the end of the year the top five ranked artists rewarded trophies based on their position for the year. One way for an artist to measure his or her skills is to compare their placement on the listings to other artists.

Top Ranked Artists Listing

For details on your ranking check your profile.

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Should I reply to the comments made on my songs?

Yes! If you reply your reviewers will know that you are reading the comments. If they don't see replies they are not likely to comment in the future. A quick "thanks" goes a long way. You can also contact them via private messages but those are private and others will not know you are reading the comments. So for specific questions feel free to send a private message but we recommend doing this only after you replied.

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What type of songs are supported?

Songs that you wrote are accepted. Also songs that you created that are in the public domain (such as Bach, Beethoven, etc..). You can place your songs as stand-alones or organize them in records.

Multi-Artist records allow any artist on the site to add a track to it. These are often used for competitions or special topics since they organize work well.

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How do I convert a song into a record?



1. Create a record
   
2. After you create the record the site will prompt you to either A) add your first entry or B) add existing work to the record. Choose the second option.
   
3. From your portfolio locate the work you wish to add to the record.
   
4. Click the "Add To A Record" button. Select your record from the list.
   
5. The site will bring you to the edit screen. Specify a track number and save it.
   
6. Continue at step three for each work that you wish to add to this record.
   
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What do I do if I get an unfair comment?

Generally, nothing. Everyone will receive what they feel is unfair reviews. You are posting to the general public and not everyone will enjoy your work. The site strongly encourages tough and honest comments even when a reviewer disagrees with the majority of the reviewers. While FanMusic.com reserves the right to remove any content, it rarely does so.

But there are protections built into the site. For example, your artist average (shown in red stars) is not a simple average. Like competitive events (such as figure skating) the highest score and lowest score are not included once a song has received ten comments.

If you feel a member is being unfair you have the option to to mute that member. View that members profile and click the "Mute" button. Members that are muted do not have the ability to contact the artist that muted them and can not review or buy their work. Only three members may be muted by an artist in this fashion.

But the best protection you have against unfair ratings is to have a large number of reviews for each song that you post. That gives the site more information to use when calculating the number of stars to show for your work. It also uses these comments when determining your overall artist ranking.

Your overall artist rank is calculated not just by looking at the averages of the comments on your work (although that is the largest factor) but also by looking at your popularity and by looking at the individuals that commented on your work. That said, the more ratings you receive the more accurate your rating will be. "Unfair" ratings are a negligible factor in both an individual rating as well as an artist ranking when an artist is supported by many comments.

Lastly, reviewers should be aware that all comments are made in public. The large majority of artists and reviewers read these public comments. The community as a whole will be aware of the reviewers that are not rating honestly.

The only time you should contact a site administrator is if A) a review is a personal attack or B) a review to your work is a clear "revenge rating". A "revenge rating" is a comment that is written by another artist to "pay you back" for a negative review. Even if no action is taken the site will track complaints of this nature.

Post with confidence that everything that can be done to make your artist ranking accurate, is done. The site is aware of the nature of a public system on the internet and was built to support it.

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What type of music can I post?

All forms of music are welcomed (a band recording, vocals, instrumentals, etc...). Anything that you have created can be posted. But it must be something you (or your band) have written and created. The only exception is music that in the public domain. Please click here for information on public domain music. If not in the public domain, it must be an original work that you have created. So you can not share a Whitney Houston song since you did not write it. It must be something that you (or your band) have written and recorded.

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Can I delete something I posted?

Yes, edit it. The last question on the edit screen is "Release Mode". Select "disabled". That will remove it from public view.

Any comments you received on a disabled work will no longer count towards your artist rank or rating. It will remain in your portfolio as a disabled work (so only you and the site admins can see it). At this point you have the option to release it again or to delete it permanently.

Disabling a song is useful for something that you released and immediately regretted doing so. It gives you time to edit it without anyone being able to review it. But keep in mind the original release date stays the same.

A work can never be "reposted" again. Even heavily modified work can not be presented as new. This rule is for the benefit of our reviewers (so they don't listing to a "new" song to find that it is just an edited work) and to keep the "playing field" fair.

But since disabled works are treated as "deleted" by the site it is an excellent way to "wipe out" past mistakes.

Note:

If your work is part of a contest do not disable it. It will remove it from the contest.

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If I post my work here do I lose rights to it?

No. You retain copyright to your works.
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How are the nominees for the Song of the month selected?

The host of the site selects between five and ten works that have earned good ratings from reviewers to be a part of the voting booth. The members of the site determine the winner.

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