Hideout Comp Series

[kopper]

Today I was poking around on eMusic.com when I came across those Little Steven's Underground Garage Coolest Songs in the World! comps. Actually, this was the first time I'd even heard of them... I knew he'd been doing this "Coolest Song in the World" thing for years now, but I just didn't know they had been comped. Looking over the track lists on these, I thought to myself, "Wow, these are what he thinks are the coolest songs in the world? Hell, the bands on the Hideout have better stuff than this..." and that's when the light bulb went off over my head! Why not put together a comp or two or sixteen of some of "the coolest songs on the Hideout"? Yeah! These would be digital download compilations only (no physical CDs to get pressed since anyone interested in having them on CD can burn their own CDs themselves if they want). We could make them available here on the Hideout for free and even put them up via TuneCore on eMusic, iTunes, Amazon.com and some other online stores for a nominal fee (selling them there; giving them away for free here). Plus, the songs would also get some spins on our various podcasts... probably more so than anything on Mevio's Music Alley. All I'd need would be some bands to submit material... and there are already a LOT of bands here.

HOW TO SUBMIT SONGS FOR THE HIDEOUT COMP SERIES:

1. First and foremost, you MUST have an account on this site to be a part of the Hideout Comp Series! It doesn't have to be a band page necessarily, but at least one band member must be a registered member here. (That's sorta the point of doing this, ya know... to showcase Hideout bands!) And furthermore, we'd appreciate it if you keep your account active here for at least a year after the comp is released (if we use your song). None of this join the site to submit the song, have it get approved/included on one of the volumes, and then delete your account. That's just not cool. And yes, a few bands have done this already.
2. Specs: Make sure your submission is in 16-bit WAV format, ripped at 1411 kbps (bit rate) and 44.100 kHz (sample rate). Sorry, we can't accept MP3s. And please make sure your WAV files are ripped from CD or a studio master. We don't recommend converting MP3s (especially low bit rate ones) to WAVs, or else the compression artifacts inherent in the MP3 will still be there in the WAV file.
3. It's helpful if you include BOTH the name of the band AND the song title in the file name of the WAV. Something like this: The_Evil_Eyes_Honey_Please.wav (that way I know what the song is and what band submitted it... all very helpful info to have when putting together a compilation album!).
4. We also prefer to have UNMASTERED songs. We can accept mastered songs, just know that if you have an unmastered version, please submit that instead.
5. When you've got your song ready to go, then go to the GRGPNK Soundcloud Drop Box and upload it there for us. Please enter your own email address under "Your Contact Info" and make sure you enable downloads under the track settings, too. And, please, JUST ONE SONG PER BAND!! (Originals only; no covers.)
   
6. Next, go to your email program (Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, Outlook, etc.) and send an email to me at [e-mail]. The email should include the following information: Band Name, Song Title, and Hideout Page Link - This way I not only know who submitted what songs, but how to connect the songs with their corresponding Hideout member accounts (also very important info for our comp series). Make sure you use the email address that you'll be checking most often, because, if your song makes the cut, you'll be hearing back from me in due time. So keep checking your email! NOTE: Please do NOT send me a message on Facebook, here on the Hideout, or leave a comment for me on my page. I need to keep this stuff organized, and I can't do it if people are leaving me comments and messages all over the damned place... EMAIL ME. That way I can keep it all nice and organized in one place so I don't go completely mad trying to keep on top of everything.
7. After you do all of the above, make sure you join the GRGPNK Records group here to stay on top of the releases, have access to the track lists for each comp, not to mention the download links.
8. IF YOUR SONG IS CHOSEN TO BE INCLUDED on one of our upcoming volumes, I will contact YOU. There is no need for you to keep bugging me about it or email me asking if I got the track. If you don't hear from me, that means your song didn't get selected. However, it may still get selected for a future volume as I keep ALL of these songs on hand, just in case. When I email you, I'll ask you to agree to our terms, which are copied below for you so you know what to expect:

Please be aware that by taking part and submitting music for this series, that you agree that you'll not recoup any money from sales. These comps will be released under a Creative Commons license (Attribution Non-Commercial/No Derivatives), meaning people will be allowed to copy and redistribute the songs as they please, as long as they abide by the Creative Commons guidelines (no modifications or commercial use will be allowed). If you belong to one of the Performance Rights Organizations like BMI, ASCAP or SESAC, you can still release your work under Creative Commons. Read this article for more info. Also, regarding mechanical royalties, if you belong to the Harry Fox Agency (a similar organization that collects mechanical royalties for musicians and other copyright holders), you agree to waive your mechanical royalties for the track submitted. You're making this agreement with the understanding that it is for promotional use only, that hopefully in return for your song appearing on one of these comps, that you'll get some good exposure out of it, and that any money made from sales of downloads from Bandcamp or through eMusic, iTunes, Amazon, Napster, etc. being funneled in through our TuneCore account will go directly towards paying for the distribution of more of these comps in the future, with any leftover money (if any) going towards supporting the GaragePunk Hideout.

[kopper]

Hey, if anyone has any opinions on what digital distribution service to use (i.e., TuneCore, CD Baby, etc.), please post 'em here: 

http://garagepunk.ning.com/group/recordlabels/forum/topics/digital-...

Thanks!