Artist FAQs

Choose where you would like to get paid:
1) straight into your bank account
2) onto a debit/credit card
3) into your Paypal account
4) into your Moneybookers account

Enter these details in Bank, found in the My Account drop-down menu.

Please note, out of these options Paypal charges you the highest transaction fee, and Moneybookers charges you the lowest transaction fee.
We recommend setting up a Moneybookers account so you can keep as much of your money as possible, although we like to accommodate your needs and so we make it possible for you to be paid in any of the above methods.

100 fans* will earn you around £1,000 / year
500 fans* will earn you around £5,000 / year
2000 fans* will earn you around £20,000 / year

The exact amounts will vary slightly, depending on which payment plan each fan chooses and on royalty rates.
*Calculations are based on each fan subscribing for a full year.

As long as there are always at least 3 approved downloadable tracks uploaded on your mBaSo then you will be paid every month.
(Within 14 days after each month end)

If you repeatedly drop below the 3 track threshold we may have to lower your account status to a bad credit artist.
This may result in your payments only being distributed to you quarterly.

If your account EVER drops below 2 approved downloadable tracks, it may become necessary for your account to be put in suspension, resulting in an interruption to your fans service.
It is your responsibility to avoid this at all costs, as it may result in losing your subscribing fans - an artist's most precious commodity!

Any remaining artist funds may have to be withheld indefinitely.

We have to ensure that all tracks offered as downloads to fans are of broadcast quality.

It is your responsibility to ensure that:

a) It is your own copyright, and does not infringe on any 3rd party copyrights (ie is not a cover or containing 3rd party samples)
If it does contain 3rd party copyright you must supply documentation (usually MCPS certificate) to show you have permission to release it commercially

b) It is a new exclusive track, i.e. has not previously been made available for purchase or download.
(acoustic versions, remixes and live tacks which your fans will find significantly different from previous tracks may be used, as long as you believe your fans will be getting value for money - ultimately they are the ones you want to satisfy and provide a fantastic service to, so that they keep subscribing and recommending you to friends)

You can have as many tracks as you like in the downloadable queue.

Therefore we recommend having as many more than 3 as you can, as this will ensure that your payments will never be delayed.

Most artists should aim to have 6-12 approved tracks in their download queue.

Having more than 12 is especially useful if you are planning to go on tour and will be out of the studio for extended periods of time.

Your download queue is the list of approved downloadable tracks, each waiting their turn for release to your fans as your monthly download.

Any downloadable tracks that you release through mBaSo can later be made available anywhere else you choose.  

However, this can only be done after the month that the track is available as your mBaSo download has ended .  You can still use the tracks for your next album / EP, or release it as a single.  As long as this is done AFTER the track's download month on mBaSo.  During the time it is your mBaSo monthly download, it cannot currently be or previously have been available for purchase or download

This is to ensure that your SuperFans are treated with exclusivity, to reward them for their loyalty and ongoing financial support of your music career.  

mBaSo is also the perfect way to fund the recording of your next album in advance, and ensure a certain level of sales before you even release it.

Broadcast quality is recorded quality that you would hear on the radio.  Generally this means that the track has undergone mastering.  Occasionally it is possible to get this quality on home recordings, although we recommend getting your tracks mastered so that fans will enjoy quality comparable to other tracks in their music collection.

To be successful on mBaSo, you need two key ingredients:
1) you need to write and record music regularly.
2) you need to have a reliable core to your fanbase.

mBaSo will empower you to create more of both of these key musical ambitions.  Before we begin, we need to ensure that you have a solid foundation on which to build your mBaSo.  The questionnaire helps us assess whether you are ready for your own mBaSo.

Your Spotlight Page has 3 Public Tracks that can be streamed by anyone.  mBaSo Fans can add these public tracks to their mBaSo Playlist, even if they are not yet subscribed to your mBaSo.  This allows them to get to know your music better before subscribing, and is a great way for you to reach new fans. They can also add you to their Wishlist.

On your Spotlight page there are basic stats about your mBaSo, plus City, Country, Genre, and links to your other Websites.  There is a short biog for you to write your best taglines, quotes, and summary of your music and career.

There is also a welcome video for you to talk to your potential subscribers and tell them what they will find on your mBaSo, why it's the best place for them to get your music first and support you on your road to success, as well as a chance to introduce yourself to potential new fans.

Story is a chance for you to tell your full biography, with all the details that you can't include in short press releases or website summaries.  Shorter biographies only allow an outline of the highlights to draw new listeners in.  But there is so much more to tell.  On mBaSo your Fans want to know more about you and get under the superficial layers and it's an opportunity to nurture your special relationships with your SuperFans.  Some ideas… tell them about your first instrument, how you got into music, the first record you bought, your favourite experience as an Artist …show them the people behind the music.

Live is a place to list not only your Live Gigs and Shows, but also details of any radio/TV appearances, or webcasts.  Any event your fans might want to know about.

In your Backstage 'Music' Tab, fans can stream and listen to 'BackCatalogue' Tracks and add them to their mBaSo playlist.  This is a place to add previously released tracks.

It is up to you how many of your previously released tracks you upload.  You have the option to upload all of your previous albums tracks.  This allows your mBaSo fans to stream any of your music from any device.  The ability to stream any of your Catalogue from anywhere is currently very popular with music fans.  This is an extra feature which some Artists choose to include in their mBaSo.  If you decide to offer this feature to your mBaSo Fans, you should mention this in your Spotlight Page welcome video, as an added incentive for Fans to subscribe.

You can also use your Backstage 'Music' Tab to showcase tracks, with rough studio tracks and mixes that you want to get feedback on, from Fans you trust.  Upload rough versions as BackCatalogue tracks, leaving them up for only a limited time whilst you are working on them, so that fans can get involved in the creative process and contribute to the direction of your music if you wish.
(Tip: Add 'contribute' to the track title so your mBaSo fans know they have the opportunity to get involved)

mBaSo gives you a private area to hang out with your SuperFans.  It is an opportunity to share content that you might not feel is appropriate for listeners hearing your music for the first time, but rather for Fans to whom you want to give access to the behind-the-scenes areas of your life.

For example, you can use the Videos to upload video diaries, inside the recording studio, the soundcheck before the gig, or the journey to get there.  It's a great opportunity to give your most loyal Fans more insight into your life, and to post material that might be more revealing about your music and creative process than on other public video sites.
(please note: It is your responsibility to ensure that all content uploaded is suitable for all ages, and does not contain inappropriate language, indecency or illegal activity.)

Yes.  You can sync your mBaSo with many of your other social networking sites (Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, etc) so that when you upload new content to mBaSo it sends a teaser line to those Feeds.

We strongly recommend that you link your mBaSo to your other social networking sites, which means a Teaser Line will get posted to that site every time you post new content on your mBaSo.  
This is crucial so that:

1) Your mBaSo receives maximum exposure to your non-subscribing fans and the wider world, to encourage more people to support you  and your music by subscribing so that they can access that juicy content they are currently missing out on.

2) You don't have to spend time updating multiple sites with your latest news as this is done automatically for you, and you can concentrate on making more music and rewarding fans that love your music enough to support you financially, whilst still reaching out regularly to the wider world and keeping your online presence buzzing.

Yes.  We include the costs of mass mailing your subscribing fans in our service, so it is FREE to you the Artist.  This is another benefit of mBaSo as it saves you paying for those expensive mass mailing services.  You may still want to continue an email list outside of mBaSo as a way of contacting your non-subscribing fans, but if you are charged per email address as many do, you can save on some of those costs.

We recommend only contacting Fans via Message once or twice a month.  If Fans are receiving too many emails they may opt out of receiving messages, so use your judgement about the appropriate amount of contact.  Fans who want to hear from you more often will log into mBaSo and talk to you there.

Yes, most of your Fans will receive an email when you post a new blog post, unless they have chosen not to.
Notifications about new videos, photos, live dates and BackCatalogue tracks however must be opted into by Fans.  They can choose to receive these as daily, weekly, or monthly updates.

In 'Chat' it is easier to browse and respond to the most recent comments from Fans as it lists only the latest comments without all the previous comments, whereas Feed includes all the comments for that content.  In Chat, on the left there are also links to your original content which you can click through to if you want to view the entire conversation in one place.

You can upload tracks exclusively for your mBaSo fans to listen and stream as 'BackCatalgue Tracks'.  Whilst this area is largely used for previously released material and exclusive audio such as radio interviews, rare acoustic versions etc you can also use this to upload tracks which are still works in progress.  You can then invite your mBaSo fans to give feedback on the track, perhaps choose between two mixes, or suggest other instruments, or different song structures.  On the 'Music' Player, each track has a link through to its own content page, with its own URL.  Here fans can write comments and have conversations about the track.

Any comments made by Fans in your Backstage Area can be deleted by you as the Artist.

Fans who subscribe to your mBaSo can send you private messages to your mBaSo inbox.  You can activate alerts which will also send you the message in full as an email.  If you would like to turn off private messaging from your Fans, so they only write to you via backstage comments, let us know through our contact page (hyperlink to contact page).