FAQS

How do I create a Music Xray?

Go to www.musicxray.com and click on the “Upload a Song” button in the top header. That will take you to a page where you can sign up or log in if you already have an account. If you don’t have an account you can sign up using your Facebook, Google, OpenID, Yahoo, Flickr or AOL account credentials. You can also click on “classic login” which will enable you to create a new username and password directly with Music Xray if you prefer.

Once you have created an account you will be taken to a page where you can upload an MP3. Read the page carefully and click on any of the instructions to reveal an explanation of each step.

If you already have an account and have previously created Music Xrays, when you log in you will be taken to your most recent Music Xray. If you would like to create another Music Xray, click on the MENU button at the upper right of your song’s Music Xray and select “create a new Music Xray”.

What does “Public” and “Private” mean on each of the modules?

You will see that each module can be set to “Public” or “Private”. “Public” means that anyone can see the contents of the module when they visit your song’s Music Xray. “Private” means only YOU can see its contents when you are logged in. Keep in mind that the music industry professionals you submit your song to (and anyone else for that matter) will only be able to see the modules you set to "Public". This includes the song player. The song player must be set to "Public" in order for others to hear your song. Don’t confuse “Public” and “Private” with “Open” and “Closed”

What does “Open” and “Closed” mean on each of the modules?

You will see that each module can be set to “Open” or “Closed”. “Open” means that the module will open automatically when the Music Xray is loaded onto the page. In other words, its default setting is “open”. When a module is set to “Closed” it will be closed by default when the Music Xray loads. You can set them however you prefer but the most attractive way to present a Music Xray is with all of the modules set to “Closed” by default except the “Image” module, which should be set to "open".

Don’t confuse “Open” and “Closed” with “Public” and “Private”

Why would I want to make some of the modules “Private”?

When modules are set to “Private” they can only been seen by you when you are logged in to your account. You may not want to share all of the information you have on your song with others. The more information you share the more likely a song will be matched to a specific opportunity. For example, if you do not set the “Lyrics” module to “Public” it will be impossible for your song to be found based on its lyrical content. However, you may want to gather all of the relevant analytical data about your song but you may not want your song to be heard yet. In that case, you can set the “Song Player” module to “Private” and no one will be able to hear it. You may wish to set your “Market Demand Scores” module to “Private” if they are not flattering or you do not believe they are accurate.

What does each of the modules do?

The following is a list of currently available modules and their finctions:

-Song Info: Basic metadata - you can add custom fields and you can even insert links such as to your MySpace page or to your iTunes or Amazon pages. Notice the play count field in this module.

-Song Player: This is your song player. You must set it to “Public” for others to play your song. Otherwise, only you will be able to play your song when you are logged in to your account.

-Worldwide Mentions: This module helps you monitor your market traction. You enter the phrase you would like to have tracked (usually your band name or song title or a combination of them both) and the module will show you a series of graphs (it can take 24 hours for the graphs to begin to populate with data). You can toggle between the graphs by clicking the dots above the graph headers. You can monitor Twitter mentions, P2P traders for your song and blog mentions.

-Lyrics: This is where your lyrics go. Be sure to include them. It will help music industry professionals find your song based on lyrical content.

-Songwriter Notes: This is where you write your liner notes, how and why you wrote the song etc.

-Image: This is where your image goes. Having an image is important and it appears next to your song title in search results on Music Xray.

-Youtube video: This is where you can insert a video for your song or an interview with the artist etc. Just enter the URL to your YouTube video.

-License: This is where you choose the kind of license you would like to have for your song. You can choose between a couple different creative commons licenses or you can choose to reserve all rights. Be sure to include your email address so interested parties can contact you.

-Artist Info: This is where you put your bio and background information.

-Artist Statistics: This is where you enter the URL address for your MySpace page. The graphs will track your number of comments, friends and views. It can take 24 hours for the graphs to begin to populate.

-Download: This is the module that allows anyone to download your song if you choose. You can also choose to set a password (which you can change as often as you'd like) and then only people you give the password to can download the song. In order for downloads to work your "Download" module must be set to "Public".

-Opt-In: If you "Opt-In" your song will be included in a searchable database so that music industry professionals can find it. Our search engine is not yet operational but it will be soon. It is best to Opt-In unless you do not want professionals to be able to find your song if it matches criteria they are seeking.

-Share: This module provides an embed code, your Music Xray’s unique URL and various share options so you and your fans can help virally spread your Music Xray. Your Music Xray can be embedded in blogs and websites. It cannot yet be embedded in MySpace.

-Survey: In this module, you can devise a series of questions (is the guitar too loud? Does this song sound like a hit? Should there be a saxophone solo? Does it need more cowbell? Etc.) and then you can send the URL to the Music Xray around to your friends, fans and people whose opinion you respect and ask them to answer the questions you pose. The feedback can be very rewarding and is delivered back to you via email.

-Comments: This is where fans and friends can leave comments about your song. You can choose to moderate the comments (i.e. approve them before they appear to the public) or you can set it so they appear automatically as soon as they are posted (un-moderated).

Will new modules be added to the Music Xray? >

Yes. You will be notified by email each time new modules are added.

How can I show off my Music Xray?

You can show off your Music Xray in many ways. You can Tweet, Facebook, MySpace and Blog your song. In the “Share” module of your Music Xray you can see both the permanent URL as well as the embed code for your Music Xray. You can Tweet the URL, post it to your Facebook page or status, link to it from MySpace or embed your Music Xrays in your blog or band website. Encourage your fans to do the same. The sleek way Music Xray showcases your song makes it fun for friends and fans to share.

What’s this about a Music Xray having its own URL?

Just like a YouTube video, each Music Xray can be viewed while embedded in another site or it can be viewed with its own web address. That web address is called a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) and usually starts with http://www... You will find the URL for your Music Xray in the “Share” module. It’s usually also visible in the navigation pane of your browser. This is an example of a URL for a Music Xray: http://www.musicxray.net/xrays/1569/public

What is a song survey and why would I want to conduct one?

To conduct a song survey, set your Music Xray’s “Survey” module to default “open” and devise some “yes or no” questions about your song (Is the guitar too loud? Does this song sound like a hit? Should there be a saxophone solo? Does it need more cow bell? Etc.). Then, you can send your Music Xray’s URL to your friends, fans and people whose opinion you respect and they can answer the questions you pose. The feedback can be very rewarding and is delivered back to you via email.

How do I delete a Music Xray I’ve created?

You can delete a Music Xray you’ve created at any time. However, use caution. Once you have deleted a Music Xray it cannot be reversed and if want it back you will have to create it again from scratch. Additionally, your Music Xray will also be deleted from everywhere. If it has been embedded in other websites, is linked to from anywhere or if it is pending review, critique or consideration for any opportunities you’ve submitted to, it will simply vanish.

You should consider alternatives to deleting your Music Xray, such as setting the player to “Private” thereby making it impossible for anyone to play your song except you when you are logged in to your account.

How can I submit my Music Xray to industry professionals and gatekeepers?

Go to http://www.musicxray.com/x where you can submit your Music Xray to many industry exposure opportunities. You will find free and submission fee-based drop boxes for everything from production deals, major & indie label A&R departments, contests, sync licensing opportunities and even mass distribution opportunities, like having your song exposed to thousands of people all at once via Twitter songwriting community tweets. Artists spend years of their lives and thousands of dollars just to get their song in front of some of the opportunities we make available immediately and at a fraction of the cost.

Why Do Some Industry Professionals & Entities Charge Submission Fees

Labels, top producers, sync agencies and music supervisors receive thousands of submissions – sometimes thousands per week. Under the old system, these submissions in CD format piled up on the desks of A&R directors or got lost in email in-boxes. Many entities will simply not accept unsolicited material and only take submissions from people they know. More often than not, unsolicited submissions do not get listened to and they end up in the trash.

Music Xray changes that because we make it easy for professionals who accept submissions to effectively manage them. Additionally, we enable them to charge submission fees. These submission fees help the entities pay their overhead which enables them to screen more music. On Music Xray, if there’s a submission fee the artist knows their song gets listened to.

Other professionals are offering services such as career coaching or song critiques and those submission fees are in exchange for the service and expertise being offered. Others may charge an entry fee for a contest in which case the money goes to pay judging panels and for prizes for the winners.

Artists may also note that many entities/professionals on Music Xray do not charge a submission fee yet there is still often a $4 service fee charged by Music Xray. The service fee is not charged by the entity accepting submissions but they can control whether or not it is charged. Many times they opt to have the submission fee charged because even though they do not want to take a submission fee and even though they may not be able to handle all their submission within 30 days, they want to avoid being flooded with more submissions than they can manage. This service fee was originally put in place as an option after some professionals noted they were having entire albums submitted to them or in some cases music that wasn’t even owned by the artists doing the submitting. The $4 fee works as a circuit breaker and enables these professionals to continue to effectively handle unsolicited submissions.

When considering the value of an opportunity to submit, ask yourself how much it would otherwise cost you to access the industry professional in question. We believe Music Xrays makes industry professionals available who otherwise may not be and we provide that access at a fraction of the cost it would normally require. Artists spend years of their careers and thousands of dollars building buzz and generating the traction required to attract the attention of many of the gatekeepers available on Music Xray.

I'm having trouble logging in

The song presentation packs operate as a separate application from our submission platform. Therefore, they each have their own log ins. When you are logged into one you are not necessarily logged into the other. We know this is confusing and we're working on it.

The song presentation packs enable you to either create a username and password directly with us or you can use a third party application (Google, Yahoo, Facebook etc...) when you create an account. We highly recommend that you use a third party account because it's less confusing.

The song submission platform only accepts third party log ins currently. You cannot log in using a username and password you created with us. 

Best Practice

If you created a username and password directly with us for your song presentation packs the best thing to do is to switch over to using a third party account and then use the same third party account to log into the submission platform.

To change your username and password for the song presentation packs to a third party account do the following.  

1. Log in here as you normally do: http://present.musicxray.com

2. Click MENU and then select "Associate 3rd party accounts"

3. Select the 3rd party account you want to use and follow the instructions.

Then, when you log in to the submission platform just use the same third party account.

How do I set up the Artists Statistics module on my Music Xray Song Presentation Pack?

For those of you who have not activated it, the Artist Statistics module displays all sorts of data about the artist and help you see your traction and progress at a glance.

However, YOURS MAY CONTAIN NO DATA and instead of seeing cool and informative graphs you may only be seeing a message that says, "Could not locate any information for the artist name supplied."

But you can change that and we HIGHLY recommend you do, especially if you are submitting songs to industry professionals or have some of your songs pending review. Any changes you make now will still be seen by professionals even though you've already submitted!

Here's how you do it:
1. Click here (if that link does not work, copy and paste the following link into your browser: http://nextbigsound.com/#add) and set up an account at Next Big Sound (requires only email address and a password of your choice).
2. After that, you should be taken to a screen asking you for the "artist's name". If not, go back to the link provided above once you've opened an account and are signed in.
3. Enter the artist's name. It will have to appear identically in the artist name field on your Music Xray song info module so if you have not entered your artist name and song title in your song presentation packs you have to do that too before the graphs will appear properly.
3. Then enter the URLs to all the pages it requests such as your MySpace page, your Facebook page, Twitter url etc...
4. Once that is finished your Artist Statistics module on your Music Xray should work just fine. Let us know if you have any questions.

Having trouble entering your artist name and song title in your Song Presentation pack?

It could be because you never claimed it after you uploaded it during the submission process.

Here's how you do that:
1. Find an email you were sent right after you uploaded your song from no-reply@musicxray.com. Check your spam folder too.
2. Click on the link that is provided in the email and then follow the instructions. You should be able to log in and make changes to your song presentation pack at that point.

Free Song to Opportunity (S₂O) Matching - beta

The new free Song to Opportunity Matching is in beta but all looks good! Here is how to use the system:

1. You upload your original music here.
2. We analyze the acoustic properties and mathematical patterns in your music.
3. We send you an email telling you if any industry professionals are currently seeking a song like yours. (What? How does that work?)
4. For as long as your song remains in our database (forever unless you remove it) we will alert you any time any professional is seeking songs with characteristics similar to your songs.