How do I get started?
Step 1 :  Register on the front page of the website.  Registration is free and will only take a moment.  We need to know who you are, how you want to get paid.  Registration includes agreement to the contract, so read it carefully.  It is as basic as we could make it, but feel free to contact us with any questions.
Step 2 : Fill out an album submission form, send in 3 copies of the CD or CDr, pay the set up fee once we invoice you and we'll get things moving from there!

Do I have to have a full CD?  Can I use a CDr?
Any content submitted on CD with a barcode and artwork can be considered an album, whether one song or twenty.  You can use a CDr as long as you have artwork and all the appropriate information; title, artist, song listing, publishing, etc…  Our suggestion is to use a service like Kunaki to create a one-off CD with a real bar-code.  If you need a bar-code, we can assign one to your album for a fee of $20.00.

Can I upload my songs?
Our agreements with some of the retailers require that we have physical CDs we can send to them for set up purposes, so we do not offer the option of uploading tracks to our server directly.

Where do I find the forms?
The contract can be found while signing into the website as a registered user.  After registered you will find the link to the album submission forms.  This is also where you will find information about your account, your link to submit news about your album, and the Paypal button to submit the set-up fee.

What are the fees for and how do I pay them?
The fees cover our expenses associated in setting up your digital distribution.  Coming from an independent record label background, we are very good at keeping expenses as low as possible and we pass that benefit on to you by keeping our costs low.

Once we receive the set up CDs or CDrs we will senyou an invoice via email.  Once you receive it you will be able to use Paypal or a credit card to complete the transaction using the link provided.  If you'd like to pay by check, please email us to let us know.

The normal set-up fee is $24.00 per album submitted for digital distribution.

How does the 100% Guarantee work?
We are so certain that you will make money with your digital distribution that we guarantee it.  At the end of one calendar year from your set-up date as recorded in your home area of the website, if any given album has not made at least the amount paid as a set-up fee, we will refund the difference.

For example, if you paid $24.00 to set up and album and only generated royalties of $19.00, we would refund the difference of $5.00 to you.  This guarantee applies to any active release in the Gestalt Digital catalog.

You ask for 3 CDs, do you also sell physical CDs?
The 3 CDs are all used in the set up of your content with the retailers.  At this time we do not provide any outlets for the sales of physical CD, though we will in the future.

Do you promote my album?
No, but we will help you promote.  We do this by offering a 10% discount on services offered through our sister company, Phantom Power Promotions  We want you to be successful and we are willing to back it up.  Please check the "Promote Your Songs!" tab for more information.

When does my music show up in the stores?
Every release submitted should be available within eight to ten weeks of submission date.  Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee when this will be because we have no control over the content once it has been submitted to the music stores.

When do I get paid and how?
We disburse royalty payments for digital distribution on the 15th day of every month.  Each music store has its own system of payment; monthly, quarterly, etc, but once we have received payment on your behalf, we will disburse 95% of that amount on the 15th day of the month following.  Payments are not disbursed until the total amount owed on your account for all submitted albums is greater than $20.00 or after your account is closed.  Often the first payment does not arrive until 60 days after submission, depending on how the submission date corresponds with music stores timelines.
 
Our preferred method of disbursing payments is Paypal.  Paypal is free and easy to set up and provides a fast and secure way to receive and send money.  Paypal payments will be received much faster than payments sent through the mail, will never be mishandled by the post office, and give an extra level of payment history for your records.

If you do not wish to use Paypal, we can disburse a check by mail but it will entail a $0.50 fee charged as a reduction in payment.

Please note that royalty payments greater than $1000.00 will need to be paid as certified check by mail rather than by Paypal.

Do I lose ownership of my music?
It is not necessary for a digital distribution agreement to take any part of the ownership of your music.  You simply grant us the ability as your exclusive digital distribution company to use the images and content you supply in an effort to sell your music for you.

Why is the digital distribution exclusive?
As in any distribution model, there can’t be more than one distributor bringing the same item to the same store.  This would cause confusion as to who the store should pay, resulting in delays and hassles in receiving your own payments.  Further, most stores will actually remove the album from their store until the confusion is resolved.

How will I know when my songs are available on iTunes and other stores?
Unfortunately, at this time the stores do not typically notify us when your songs become available.  Typically, the content is available within 8-10 weeks.

Do I have to have a UPC or Barcode to have my album digitally distributed?
Yes. UPCs (or barcode numbers, also sometimes referred to as SKUs) are required by every major music store. It is the universal method by which various companies and organizations are able to uniquely identify a product. If you don't currently have a UPC, that is fine. We can provide you with one for only $20.

What are UPC and ISRC codes?
A Universal Product Code (UPC) is a unique group of numbers that are exclusively associated with your release. If you already have a UPC then inform us when you send the CD, if not, we assign one to your album for a fee. Each one of your songs needs its own unique International Standard Recording Code (ISRC) code to keep track of how many copies it has sold. Again, if you already have ISRC codes then inform us when you send the CD, if not, we will assign them free of charge.

What if my album has explicit lyrics?
This is not a problem, but you must notify us so that we can pass the information on to the retailers.  Some retailers will delay or pull content that had explicit lyrics and they weren't warned.

What if my album has cover songs?
Albums with cover songs are treated the same as any other, but you must obtain the appropriate rights and permissions yourself and assure us that you have done so.  You can check with the following for more information; ASCAP, BMI, SONGFILE & The Harry Fox Agency.