snocap and myspace

[imagineaudio]

New partnership that allows you to set up an online store and sell your music directly on myspace. They are pushing the "record it tonight, sell it tonight" mantra.

I'm still reading through the print, and they do ask you for a credit card when signing up, though they say it's just for verification.


soncap's website (http://www.snocap.com/join/store/ms/?cid=0258f5d7-20fc-4ee6-af28-ba2526a597d2)

discuss.

[Cosmic Pig]

Sounds like they're trying to keep up with IAC. (http://iacmusic.com/)

The record it and sell it thing sounds like an evil marketing ploy for bands new to the net. Most can't give it away on the net much less sell it.

It's that secret hope that their tunes have some indefinable magic that will get them past crappy structure or playing or lack of promotion. All they have to do is get it on the net and they'll be "discovered". Musicians don't like it when you tell them good music is definable. And many people in the biz pay their bills using that secret hope. Urg. Awareness is the end of innocence.

Cos.

[chall]

If you want to sell your stuff on myspace, wouldnt the simplest thing be to just open a paypal account and add a buy it now button to the page?

[imagineaudio]

If you want to sell your stuff on myspace, wouldnt the simplest thing be to just open a paypal account and add a buy it now button to the page?


Well, that would never work. No third party corporation would make any money off you. Plus, it would just be too easy. :lol:


Seriously, though, they must offer some digital distribution on other sites or something.

It makes me a little uneasy that you can't preview their "Agreement" without entering your credit card info, very shady.

Also, I sent them an email requesting to read their "agreement" and received an auto-reply asking me to see the FAQ. Useless.

[vanityaffair]

please note: snocap was founded by shawn fanning and his right-hand-man in the original napster. something fishy HAS to be going on...

[Bob Olhsson]

...It's that secret hope that their tunes have some indefinable magic that will get them past crappy structure or playing or lack of promotion. All they have to do is get it on the net and they'll be "discovered"....Trading on this wannabee fantasy is known as song sharking. Modern day gear pimping is a close relative. "Your vocal only sucks because you didn't buy an exotic enough mike preamp..."

I see they charge you .49 a download...

[imagineaudio]

Well, they finally responded to my request for their "agreement."

It's pretty damn ugly, I think.

5. PROCEEDS AND FEES: We shall maintain a unified account (a “proceeds account”) into
which we shall deposit net proceeds derived from sales of Digital Masters and against which we
shall debit all fees payable by you to us, including:

a) Annual Network Fee: Starting with the second year of the Term, you agree to pay to us annually the sum of thirty dollars (US$30.00) as your network fee. We shall have the right to charge the annual network fee to your bank account or credit card, or by such
other reasonable means as determined in our discretion, including PayPal.

b) Transaction Fees Applicable to SNOCAP Retailers: For transactions occurring through a Retailer that is not a SNOCAP MyStore, we will debit your account with a transaction fee
(“Transaction Fee”) equal to the greater of Fifteen percent (15%) of the wholesale price payable by each Retailer for sales of your Content or ten cents (US$0.10).

c) Transaction Fees Applicable to SNOCAP MyStores: For transactions that occur through
SNOCAP MyStores, we will debit your account with a transaction fee (“MyStore Transaction Fee”) of an amount equal to:
(i) For single Downloads: Forty-Five Cents ($0.45) for each single song Download of
your Content that occurs through SNOCAP MyStore(s) to End Users;
(ii) For album Downloads: Forty Cents ($0.40) for each full-length song embodied in an Album when Downloaded as an Album to End Users in the United States;
(iii) For all other transactions and for Downloads occurring outside of the United States
for which SNOCAP is paid in a currency other than U.S. dollars; an amount equal to 40% of the retail selling price of the transaction concerned, but no less than the local
currency equivalent of Forty-Five Cents ($0.45) for each single song Download or Forty Cents ($0.40) for each full-length song embodied in an Album; and
(iv) For the avoidance of doubt, you, and not SNOCAP or its designee, shall be responsible for setting the retail selling price, subject to your obligation to pay the MyStore Transaction Fee; and

d) Payment to You: During the Term, we will deposit into your proceeds account all of your net proceeds received by us, less our applicable fees (as described herein), on a monthly basis, no later than forty-five (45) days following the end of each calendar
month. We will hold payment until the following month if the total amount due to you isn’t more than fifty dollars (US$50.00). Our accountings will show, in reasonable detail,
the name of the Artist, the name and quantity of your Digital Masters sold during each month and for sales through a Retailer, the identity of the Retailer, together with the
applicable wholesale price and total net proceeds payable for your Content. For sales through SNOCAP MyStores, we shall not be obligated to provide the identity of the host
of any particular SNOCAP MyStore.

e) Additional Services: If you request that we provide, or we determine in good faith that it is reasonably necessary for us to provide, additional services to you relating to any breach
by you of this Agreement or any other act or omission by you that results in errors or a need for reworking, or other services we don’t customarily provide in the normal course of its business, we will notify you that we intend to render such services, and will charge you our standard rate price in time and materials for such additional services.


If any one wants to see the agreement in all it's glory, I'd be more than happy to pass it along.

[GilesReaves]

I would be quite interested in reading the entire agreement. I've got plenty of catalog I could/should be selling on line, but not for $0.54 per single.

[Azraphael]

Something doesn't seem right about this. Maybe I'm just pessimistic, but this looks like another attempt to fleece the indie bands.

Particularly:

b) Transaction Fees Applicable to SNOCAP Retailers: For transactions occurring through a Retailer that is not a SNOCAP MyStore, we will debit your account with a transaction fee
(“Transaction Fee”) equal to the greater of Fifteen percent (15%) of the wholesale price payable by each Retailer for sales of your Content or ten cents (US$0.10).

I find it interesting that they word it "transaction" and not "download". This reads to me like the artist would owe SNOCAP 15% of wholesale for every unit sold at a local store, or at shows, etc. There's the obvious question of "how would they find out if I sold it elsewhere", but within the letter of what I read above, the artist would be on the hook for those fees.

I don't know what the best online distribution method would be, but I don't think this is it.

Cheers,

Dave

[Bob Olhsson]

Silicon Valley is all about fleecing "content providers" in the name of "exposure."

Record labels are bad enough but at least they pay advances and sometimes even a few royalties.

[bunnerabb]

Maybe I'm just pessimistic, but this looks like another attempt to fleece the indie bands.

...


http://www.picvault.info/images/537026255_ya_think.JPG

[dwoz]

What I like most about this is that it APPEARS that (may be covered elsewhere in the agreement...) artists get no access whatsoever to the downloaders themselves. No list of users that downloaded. For the most part, not even much of a list of actual retailers that "shipped" product.

dwoz