General Questions

Technical Issues

Log in Questions

My Website Questions

My Media Questions

Copyright Issues

My Favorites

My Tools

Rate and Review Questions

Music Charts

My Podcast

What is BeatBuggy?

Launched in 2005, BeatBuggy Inc. is the world’s first and most popular online music production community that completely embraces the new music-led digital environment. We give signed and unsigned producers, composers, beatmakers the chance to showcase and sell their work to a worldwide audience by allowing members the opportunity to legally download the best music tracks for their projects.  With BeatBuggy, members can search, audition, buy or license, and download music for their creative projects without ever leaving their home. 

Who Should Use It?

BeatBuggy service is available to anyone who is looking for lyrics, beats, instrumental, or soundtracks for their particular project. Typical members include music producers, writers, artists, engineers, DJ’s, mixers, multimedia professionals, graphic designers, record labels, managers, web developers, video game designers, radio and television stations, advertisement agencies, and corporations. 

Besides music productions, can I sell commercial music and soundtracks on this site?

We recommend being diverse as a producer and branching out to produce commercial music, multimedia, on-hold, etc.  You want to position yourself in ways that let you increase the value of your production and your personal net worth.  That means getting involved in ventures that provide steady income.

What’s in this for me as an artist on this site?

As an artist on BeatBuggy, you have the same resources as producers on BeatBuggy.  You can sell your songs, set up a personal web space, upload videos, and much, much more.  We do not take a percentage of sales.  You keep 100% of the profit!

Furthermore, using BeatBuggy to find beats, instrumentals, and mixes will expose you to different musical styles.  Most producers have a particular style and when you work with only one or two producers, you limit your style of your music.  BeatBuggy allows you to work with thousands of producers, giving you unlimited exposure to a variety of musical styles

You can create a legitimate album or demo to give to record companies or to sell yourself.  A lot of artists do not have the resources to use original beats and they end up using instrumentals off of another artist’s single.  BeatBuggy is now your resource for original tracks.

What should I do next after I finish my signup?

When you are done with the Sign Up process, BeatBuggy will send and email containing your login information.  You will also find a link in your email, you must click on it to verify that it's your email address.  Once you verify your email address... Welcome to BeatBuggy.com!

How much does it cost?

Basic membership is totally free and you can upgrade your membership at any time. We offer several optional VIP accounts that are fee-based. We highly recommend using those options, as they work wonders for your promotion. But if you're satisfied with the basic services, you don't pay a dime.

How much are the paid accounts?

There are set prices for our VIP platinum and diamond accounts.  When you pay for 3 or more months at a time you get a discount. The current packages are:

VIP Platinum Account $5.95 ($5.95/month)
VIP Diamond Account $9.95 ($9.95/month)

How can I pay for a paid account?

We currently only accept Paypal payments for our VIP accounts.  Paypal accepts Visa, Mastercard, Discover Card and American Express. You can also hook up a bank account to a Paypal account and pay with an electronic check.

You buy BeatBuggy VIP subscriptions through prepayments of either 1 month, 3 months or 6 months. If you want to continue the service after your subscription has ended, you may purchase an additional 1 month, 3 month or 6 month subscription.

Can I cancel?

You can easily cancel your membership anytime, online, 24 hours a day. There are no cancellation fees.

What Is Paypal?

PayPal, owned by eBay, is a global online payment system. Paypal is a convenient, easy-to-use, and secure way for individuals and businesses to send and receive money online for goods, services, charitable donations, and so forth.

How do I sign up for a Paypal account?

Go to http://www.paypal.com, click "sign up" and select Premier Account or Business Account and fill in the appropriate fields. To send money you will need to enter either a credit card or bank account.

How do the shopping cart works?

You can add tracks to your shopping cart by clicking on the “track title” on the store page of the member’s web page.  When it goes to the detail page, click on the "add to cart" link.  This will add the track to your cart and display the shopping cart page.  From that page you can either go back to the store to browse/buy more, checkout, or you can remove items from your cart.

If you click the checkout button, an order summary will be shown, with a button that you click on to take you to paypal.  At the paypal screen, you login with your email and password and verify the amount (just as you would when you normally use paypal for any payments) and then when you finalize the payment, it takes you back to the thank you page.

Once you have paid for a beat, there are links that you can click on to download the beat. 
You can only click on the link 3 times (this gives you a couple of tries in case the first download fails for some reason), and the track has to be downloaded within a period of 24 hours (and from the same browser window).  This protects the beat so that a person cannot buy a beat and then send the URL of the beat to all of their friends to download – only the person who purchased the beat can download it

How do I receive money for my sale?

You receive 100% of the profit for all sales.  All sales are conducted separately of BeatBuggy.com, meaning that BeatBuggy.com does not handle or keep track of payments.  Again, we suggest that you use paypal for accepting payments.

Does my material have to be registered for a copyright to be on BeatBuggy?

No. However, it is good to register your material. A direct link to the Library of Congress (http://www.loc.gov) is included here and within the BeatBuggy site to assist in this process.

Can I sell other people's tracks on BeatBuggy?

Absolutely not! If you try to sell tracks which infringe any copyrights at all we will cancel the account, notify the original copyright holder and take legal actions.

Can I transfer the downloaded track onto my iPod?

You can put the track on your iPod just like any other standard mp3 file.

How do I become a featured Producer/Artist on the homepage?

This is your opportunity to get the exposure you dream about! Promo Ads are available on a "first-come, first-serve" basis to members who have an account with BeatBuggy.  There are 6 spots available, and space is purchased one week at a time. Signing up for a Promo Ad will ensure you a spot on our homepage as one of our Featured producers or artists.
 
Do I keep the rights to my music?

Absolutely!  You keep all rights to your music, as well as 100% of the profits.

What's a browser?

A browser is the program that you use to look at web sites - your "window" to the internet. It could be Internet Explorer, it could be Netscape Navigator, it could be AOL, it could be another program. When we ask you to "type or paste an address into your browser window" we need you to type in, say, www.beatbuggy.com, into the area where you normally see the address of the web site that you are looking at. This address is also called the URL.

What hardware do I need?

You need a computer! In order to listen to MP3 files without major processing difficulties, you will need one of the following computer processors or equivalent: Pentium or PowerMac. In addition, your computer should be equipped with a sound card and speakers. If you don't have speakers to playback music, then the sound card typically contains a headphone jack where you can plug in your headphones.

What software do I need?

You need an audio music player. An audio music player is a software application that enables the user to listen to audio files saved on your computer.

For people using Windows operating systems, we strongly recommend downloading MusicMatch Jukebox. MusicMatch Jukebox is the world's first personal jukebox - a digital audio player, recorder and database all in one easy to use software program. And they offer a FREE downloadable version!

How do I perform a site search for a member or track?

If you go to the top right of the home page, and enter your search terms into the search box, and click the GO button, it will search the database for any matches.

I'm already a member. Where do I login?

If you go to the top right of the homepage you will find the 'Log In' link. It will take you to the login pag

I can't log on?

Sorry you're having problems logging on. Please check through the following list of possible solutions:

• Did you get your confirmation email when you registered? If not, you probably didn't enter your correct email address when you signed up and you'll need to register again.
• If you did get the confirmation email, did you click on the URL (the web address) in the message? If not, you need to go do this.
• If you did get the confirmation email but you've lost it, then try to log in and we'll send you a new one. Then go check your email and wait for your invitation back to the site.
• Have you forgotten your password? If so, you need to click on the “Forgot your password?” link on the log on page. 

Where can I change my username, login email, and password?

My Account page allows you to keep track of your user activity. You can update your personal information, review your account details, modify your e-mail address, change your password, review your profile, and upgrade your membership.

I haven’t received my activation code?

Please make sure that you entered your email correctly and that our email is not blocked by your spam filter.  If all fails, you can email us at info@beatbuggy.com.  Just make sure that you send the email from the same account that you used to sign up. We can then activate your account manually. Please note that this can take up to 48 hours.

What is My Website?

My Website page allows you to create your website on BeatBuggy. Here is your chance to let members and potential customers know all about you and your music.

Why won’t my photo upload to my website?

You may upload up to ten photographs that will appear on the "photos page" of your website.  The photographs for your photos page should be a JPEG image, saved with a resolution of 72 DPI (dots per inch) and should be no larger than 300 pixels wide or 300 pixels high. 

How do I add or edit weblinks?

From My Website page, click “Edit Weblinks” link which allows you to enter the name, description and URL of the weblinks that you want to have on the links page of your website.

How do I post message board topics?

From the My Website page, click "Edit Message Board Topics" which shows the current topics and allows you to add new ones.  You can regulate the topics, and members can post messages under your topic.

How do I add shows/events to my web page?

If you have signed up to the artists account you have the ability to add shows/events to your web page.  From the My Website area, if you click on “add shows/events”, you go to a page which allows you to list/add/delete shows/events. 

What is My Media?

My Media allows you to manage your media.  You can upload your beats, songs, instrumentals, and videos so other members can hear and review your material.

How do I upload a beat?

Go to the My Media area.  Then click the link that says, "Upload Beats". This will take you to the Beat upload page, which will guide you through the uploading process.  Note:  Please select the genre and sub genre before select or enter any other information.

I'm having trouble uploading my track?

• Some people who have had trouble uploading have solved their problem by following these suggestions:
• Are you using a web accelerator? If so, please try temporarily disabling it and see if you are then able to upload.
• Some users have had uploading problems while using the AOL Security Edition. They were able to upload using Internet Explorer instead.
• If you are using an ad blocker or pop up blocker, please temporarily turn it off and try uploading your song again. Sometimes software like this comes pre-installed on your computer, and if so, you may not be aware that it is there. Please check closely through the software that is installed on your computer, and turn off any blockers.
• Are you using a cable modem? If so, try power cycling it. (That means turning it off or onplugging it, and then turning it back on or plugging it back in again.) If you have any type of external modem, try power cycling it.
• Security / privacy programs such as Norton Internet Security, SpyBlocker, Zone Alarm, etc. have been known to create uploading problems for some users. Please try temporarily disabling any such software, and try uploading your file again.
• If you are behind a firewall or a proxy server, please make sure that it is configured so that it will allow for files to be uploaded.
• Try repairing or updating your browser installation. Better yet, make a clean installation by first uninstalling your current browser and then reinstalling the latest version.

What genre should my song be uploaded to?

There is really no hard and fast rule regarding this. One suggestion is that you try to match up your track to a genre provided as best you can. For instance, if you upload a country song into the metal category, most likely the people who choose to review metal will not review your song as favorably as the metal song they were expecting to hear, thus most likely reducing your chances for reaching a higher chart position.

For Sale / Not for sale setting?

The "for sale / not for sale" link on "My Beats" page (the page that you get to from the “My BeatBuggy” area by clicking on the "Beat Listing" link).  This column shows whether a beat is for sale or not. You can click on this link to "toggle" the status back
and forth between "for sale" and "not for sale".  If a beat is marked as "for sale", then it will appear on your webpage and can be purchased by a member.  If it is marked as "not for sale", it will not be shown on the store page.

Beats / videos upload stats and upgrade links?

Your beats/videos stats are available in "My Media" area to give you a summary of what 
the beats & video disk usage is for your account, and give links to upgrade your account if need be.

When I upload a track, what should I enter in the Copyright box?

When you upload a track, you should enter the name of the person who owns the copyright in the Copyright box. This is probably your name if you wrote the song. You can also enter the year that you produced the track. Your copyright information might look like this:

Credits:  Jane Dough, 2006

Can I upload a track with samples?

BeatBuggy does not permit copyrighted audio samples to be uploaded without prior written permission from the copyright holder(s). Tracks determined by BeatBuggy to be "pirated" recordings will be deleted immediately and the artist page will be subject to permanent deletion.
 
Can I upload a remix?

No. The only exception is if you have the written approval from both the owner of the original recording and the owner of the underlying musical composition. Tracks determined by BeatBuggy to be “pirated” recordings will be deleted immediately and the artist page subject to permanent deletion.
 
Please note, not only are you responsible for obtaining all necessary permissions, licenses and consents prior to posting any content to BeatBuggy, you may be held liable for any and all costs and expenses (including legal fees) incurred by BeatBuggy as a result of your unauthorized use of copyrighted materials.
 
I'm a DJ, and I want to upload my remixes. They are for promotional use only. Is that OK?

No, it's not OK unless you have permission from the copyright holder to use the copyrighted material in your remixes. You may see promotional remixes being made at other places, but with regard to our web site, you cannot upload any material that is copyrighted without permission from the copyright holder.

 Where can I get information about copyright, sampling, etc.?

sounduser.com:  Introduction to Sampling
ASCAP.com:  General Information  FAQ  Sampling
The Harry Fox Agency:  General Information  FAQ
SongFile:  Purchasing a Mechanical License
RIAA (site has lots of info):  Information on Licenses and Royalties

I've found some offensive/copyrighted material...?

BeatBuggy does not condone the uploading of any material that is considered defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. If you encounter any material that violates this policy, whether it is a song, image or printed word, please inform us via our feedback feature from our drop help drop menu.

What is My Favorite?

By using your My Favorites page you can not only keep track of producers and artists, but also manage your wishlist, and public and private playlist, review beats, rate viewers, and set your beat preference for your reviews.

What is a Wish List and how do I use it?

A wish list is simply a list of tracks you are currently interested in buying or listening to. You can set a rating for each beat, raise/lower it, delete it, and sort the list by several different parameters: title, genre, rights, etc.

What is Track Producers?

This allows you to keep up-to-date with news and new releases from your favorite members.  On the producers/artist's home page, there is a "track producer or track artist" link.  If you click this, it will add the producer/artist to your tracking list.

What is a playlist and how do I add tracks to it?

The Playlist is a reflection of your musical tastes. Think of a playlist like a compilation tape, made up of tracks from beatbuggy members.  Members from around the world will be checking out your playlist to see "what you're into" so if you want a fair representation, you'll only add the tracks that you truly like.

When you hear a track that you like, you can click the link “add to my playlist” and it will be automatically added to your Private Playlist.  You can then come to “Playlist section” on “My BeatBuggy” and move beats from their Private Playlist to your Public Playlist. 

What is My Tools?

”My Tools” page allow you to access and create your press kit, mailing list manager, and newsletter manager. This resource is a great way to increase your visibility in a fast and inexpensive way.

How does the Mailing List Manager work?

The “Mailing List Manager” makes it easy for you to communicate with your customers and visitors-and keep them coming back!  The “Mailing List Manager” displays the names/emails of the visitors who have signed up for your mailing list.  You can edit, delete, enable/disable emails addresses in this list.  If an email address is disabled, any mailings that you do will not go to that person, they will only go to enabled subscribers.

What is the press kit feature for?

The press kit feature allows you to give gatekeepers at distributors and stores, radio, the print media and live venues an easy to read glimpse of what other industry people have to say about you.  The press kit is for you to send out to prospect that are interested in working with you.  To access the press kit feature, simple go to “My Tools” section, and click on “press kit manager”. 

How does the Newsletter manager work?

Sending newsletters to your subscribers keeps you regular in touch with them.  You subscribers will think of your music first when it’s they are looking for someone for their music project or when a friend asks for a recommendation. 

Under "My Tools" is the "Newsletter manager".  This link takes you to a page which lists all members that are currently on your mailing list.  From there, you can edit/change a newsletter, delete one, create a new one, or preview a newsletter to see how it will look when it is mailed out to your subscribers list.  You can also see when a newsletter was created, if it was sent, when, and how many subscribers it was sent to.

How does the review system works?

The goal is for BeatBuggy members to vote on songs, beats, and instrumentals based exclusively on how it sounds.  When you review a track, you don’t know what the member looks like, or his or her name.  Afterward, your review will get reviewed by an unknown member to make sure your being fair about your review.

Every track is heard by at least 5 unknown members, and each opinion is made in complete isolation (i.e., the reviewers have no knowledge of what the other reviewers have said). Once the track has been reviewed by 5 unknown reviewers, it will then be added to the music charts.  Meanwhile, the reviewer that reviewed your track would be rated by three unknown members to check if the review was good or bad.  We feel that using this approach removes bias and makes the scores more decisive.

We hope that by implementing a Review System that we can eliminate tracks from reaching the charts unfairly.  On other music sites anyone including the person uploading the track can vote on a track as many times as they want too.  Many of the tracks move up the charts by way of popularity and friendship votes on those other sites.  Our review system gives producers and artist at beatbuggy.com the opportunity to review their peers and offer feedback and recommendations.

It’s not fair, how did I get a bad rating and review?

Your track is reviewed by 5 unknown members.  They don’t know who you are or what you look like.  However, if the member that is reviewing your track has a poor review score, their review does not count towards the music charts.  You are only getting ratings and reviews by members who are average reviewers or better.

Somebody copied and pasted a review twice on my track?

If you receive a duplicate review, please contact us at info@beatbuggy.com. 

How do I Rate a Track?

We simply ask you seven anonymous yes or no questions before your review.  They are:

    Did you enjoy this track? Yes or No

    Did you like the track structure?  Yes or No

    Did you like this track arrangement?  Yes or No

    Does this track have long term appeal?  Yes or No

    If this song were available for sale, would you buy it*? Yes or No

    Would you like to add this song to your BeatBuggy Playlist*?  Yes or No

Each question is worth one point except for the last two, which are worth three points.

How do I become an expert reviewer?

To become an expert reviewer you must write detailed reviews giving the member great feedback on their track.  Your reviews of tracks are the strength and essence of BeatBuggy.com.  You help decide which member gets to the top of the charts, gain recognition, and get discovered.  To become an expert reviewer, you must maintain a review rating score of 90% or better.

What happens if I have a poor review rating me as a reviewer?

If you have a poor reviewer score your reviews of tracks or rating of reviewers will not count towards to charts.  If a member is rated as a poor reviewer, their reviews will have absolutely no impact on the overall rating of tracks in the charts.  This ensures that reviews submitted by the better reviewers will determine the placement in the charts.

What is the Music Queue?

The music queue is the page that comes up when you logs-in to BeatBuggy.com.  The music queue will display the randomly selected and unknown assigned tracks. Depending on your account, you will be required to review and rate a specific number of randomly selected tracks.  You will be allowed to skip the review process, depending on your account

Designating tracks to the review system?

Depending on your account, you can upload and designate tracks to the review system.  Every track that is uploaded and designated for the review system will be reviewed and rated by 5 different unknown members. 

Why is it taking so long for ratings and reviews?
From time to time there may be a time gap between when you submit your track and when your track starts getting reviews. This is because there are other tracks that are in line ahead of yours waiting to be reviewed.  We prefer that people do not skip over doing reviews that way tracks can move through quickly.

Can I redo my track after it has gone through the review system?

With the VIP’s account, you have the option of updating/enhancing/redoing a track after it has been reviewed through the review system.  This provides you with a chance to improve your track and resubmit to the review system again.

Why can't I see what score a reviewer gave me?

Our goal is to keep the review system unbiased as possible.  We want reviewers to feel comfortable being completely honest on their rating and review.  This means that we let them rate and review in privacy.  However, with the VIP diamond account you can see the member’s names and ratings who participated in your review.

How do I review a track in a specific genre?

In the My Favorites section, you can select specific genres in which you would like to receive randomly selected tracks to review by click Beat Review Preference.

Can I submit a cover song or a remix?

Cover songs and remixes are not allowed in the review system.  If you come across a track that is a cover track or remix, please report this to the beatbuggy staff @ info@beatbuggy.com with the URL, title of the track, member name and genre.

How do I win a BeatBuggy Nomination?

You need two nominations to be considered for a special BeatBuggy award.  Depending on the category, the awards will be given to the member who has the highest producer rating as well as review rating will be taken into consideration.  BeatBuggy will have an award show in late fall handing out the winners of awards.

How do I review my reviews?

Go to "Beat Reviews"  in the "My Media" section of “My BeatBuggy”, you can click on the link to take you to see the reviews that have been given to your tracks and to the reviews that you have given to others' tracks.

Can I resubmit my track to review system?

You can resubmit a track to the review system.  If a beat has finished the review system cycle, you can then click on the edit link and re-upload a new version of the track, the beat is marked as "re-uploaded" in the database, which then the "Reviewed" status changes to a "resubmit".

If you click on the "resubmit" link, this will resubmit the track to the review system.  Effectively, this marks all previous reviews for that track as "ineffective" (does not affect the charts), and wipes the slate clean for that track as far as reviews is concerned. After a track is resubmitted to the review system, it has the same rules applied to it:  it will stay in system until it has been reviewed 5 times.

I don't like the review someone gave me?

This is a public site, and there are all types of people that use it. While some people may like your music and say very nice things, some people may dislike your music, may not be nice, and may make shallow or irrelevant comments. With this in mind, you cannot have reviews removed from rating score just because you don't like them. This is all part of being at a public site, and you need to choose for yourself whether you want to participate in this type of thing. Everyone has gotten an unfair review once or twice, so please just take it in stride. You can trust that most people know an unfair review when they see one, and they don't pay attention to them.  Again, reviews are rated by unknown third parties, not the member who you reviewed, so it is unlikely that you were unfairly rated because of a critical review.

Sometimes a reviewer will go too far, and the review should be removed. If you have received a review that is obscene, discriminatory or viciously attacking, please use the Feedback forum on the help drop menu to send a message to our support staff. Please make sure to include the address of the page that contains the review.  Sometimes someone is up to no good, doing things like leaving bad reviews on all the top beats, impersonating another producer, starting review wars, or generally being a jerk.

How do the charts work?

Each chart is a list of all the beats in a genre, ranked based on 5 unknown reviews.  When a track is reviewed, it may move up or down and may cause other tracks to move as well.
Each track goes through 5 reviews before being added to the charts.  The review system ensures a level playing field for all tracks

I uploaded a track but they are not being entered into the music charts?

You music designate track for the review system.  To designate the track for the review system

Charts for Specific Genres?

The Music Charts initially comes up showing the Top 25 Music chart for All Genres. That means that all of the tracks on the site are used together in calculating the chart. However, you can use the genre drop menus to select a specific genre, or sub-sub-genre. This will filter the chart down to more and more specific types of music.

Top Producers Chart?

For each producer, we take the Average Rating for each of his or her tracks, add them all together, and divide by the number of tracks. That gives us the Producer Average Rating. (We do not include tracks that have not yet received any reviews.) We make the Top Producers Chart by ranking all producers according to their Producer Average Rating. You can also view the Top Producers chart for specific genres of music.

Top Artists Chart?

For each artist, we take the Average Rating for each of his or her tracks, add them all together, and divide by the number of tracks. That gives us the Artist Average Rating. (We do not include tracks that have not yet received any reviews.) We make the Top Artists Chart by ranking all artists according to their Artists Average Rating. You can also view the Top Artists chart for specific genres of music.

Top Reviewer Chart?

For each reviewer, we take the Average Rating for each review written, add them all together, and divide by the number of reviews. That gives us the Reviewer Average Rating.  We make the Top Reviewer Chart by ranking all reviewers according to their Reviewer Average Rating. You can also view the Top Reviewer chart for specific genres of music.

Average Rating for a Beat?

The Average Rating for a beat is simply that average of all of the ratings the track has received in its reviews. We take the number of votes from each review, add them all together, and divide by the number of reviews.

What is Podcasting?

If you're new to podcasting or haven't heard the term before, a podcast is basically an Internet-based radio show in the form of an mp3. People from all walks of life are creating their own podcasts on a variety of topics—from business to comedy to music to politics—and in a variety of formats such as talk radio, interviews, poetry readings, and music playlists. As with any other mp3, you can listen to a podcast by simply downloading it. Although podcasting takes its name from the iPod, you do not need an an iPod to listen to a podcast, or to create one.