MyScoreStore.com

Frequently Asked Questions

1. MyScoreStore basics

   MyScoreStore is an online market for written music. Composers and publishers can use the MyScoreStore platform to upload and distribute their written music worldwide (including cover art, sample pages, and audio clips). Music can be offered for a price or for free. Consumers are able to select sheet music and print it directly from the MyScoreStore website.

2. I would like to publish music online. What can MyScoreStore offer me?

   MyScoreStore offers you an easy and secure way to sell your music to a global market, while greatly reducing your production and distribution costs. We use advanced technology to safeguard your product and personal details from piracy.

   Please refer to Publishing for more details on how to upload and sell your music through MyScoreStore. Sign up today to start selling through MyScoreStore immediately.

3. How does MyScoreStore finance its platform?

   MyScoreStore is able to run the platform with fees from music sales. When you upload music for sale, you set your own price. You receive 80% of the revenue from every sale, while MyScoreStore retains 20% in fees for the use of our platform. If you do not sell any copies of your music or decide to offer your music for free (€0), there are no fees due to MyScoreStore. In other words, we generate income only if you do.

   Read more about how you will receive your earnings from MyScoreStore under Payments.

4. Who is able to publish through MyScoreStore?

   MyScoreStore is an open platform accessible to both individual composers or arrangers and publishing houses. If you have the intellectual property rights to a piece of music, you are free to publish it at MyScoreStore. For more information on determining ownership of intellectual property, see the Intellectual Property Rights section below.

5. Is MyScoreStore more appropriate for small- or large-scale selling?

   Whether you want to sell on a small- or a large-scale basis, MyScoreStore offers you the opportunity to sell or distribute your music optimally. Everyone, from an individual uploading two pieces for sale to ten customers to a publisher uploading 5,000 or more titles for sale to a mass audience, can benefit from using our platform. Since there is no startup or general fee for using the platform, there is no downside to uploading even a single work for sale at MyScoreStore. The 20% fee is charged only when your music is sold, so you incur no costs in offering your music for sale.

   On the other hand, publishers may wish to use our service for selling larger catalogues. We can offer them many features that will help them with their sales. These features include separate sub-sites dedicated to a specific company's music and additional support for higher volume uploads. Please contact info@myscorestore.com for more information about tailored solutions or specific requests.

6. If I want to sell a musical work at MyScoreStore, how do I get started?

   Firstly you need to register create your unique account. After providing the required details you are ready to upload.

   Music can be uploaded from your account. You will need to upload a graphical file containing your score (see the graphical requirements section for more on the specific formats that may be used). Ensure to fill out all mandatory fields that describe your music. If you wish, you may include cover art and a sound clip. You can also upload a text file to accompany the work (containing, for example, a description or any additional comments).

7. What are the graphical requirements for an upload?

   The work you upload should be easy to print on the customer's own computer. We therefore strongly advice only to use most commonly used file formats, namely .pdf (Adobe Acrobat), .ppt (Microsoft Powerpoint), .doc (Microsoft Word) and the .jpg., .gif and .bmp graphics formats.

   Your works may be converted into such formats in several different ways. For example, you could:

   1. use a scanner to save either printed or hand written music in the Adobe® Acrobat® "Portable Document Format" (PDF)

   2. use a scanner to save the music in another graphics format like .jpg or .bmp

   3. export the file from music-notation software in a graphics format like .jpg or .bmp

   We aim to offer customers a consistent format that will meet their expectations. While converting your music into such formats, please bear in mind the following layout guidelines:

   1. The A4 format (210×297mm. or 8.3×11.7 inches) is strongly preferred since it is supported by most customers' printers

   2. Please use standard page margins

   3. If you scan in a hand-written score, please make sure the writing is legible

   4. If you use music-notation software to create your score, please do not upload source files (unless intented so and clearly described at uploading) but instead convert your scores into a standard graphics format before uploading

   5. Avoid the use of colors, since most customers will have standard black-and-white printers. Nuances in color may therefore be lost in the printing process

   We also ask that you be very explicit in notifying customers of any deviations from these guidelines in the free text accompanying your file. For example, while it is permissible to offer a full-colour score in A2 format, customers buying the score should be made fully aware of the deviation from the usual layout before they purchase it.

8. May I publish in a language other than English?

   MyScoreStore aims to serve a global market. We have therefore chosen English as the main language for our website. However, feel free to use other languages in both the music and the free text you upload. Please be aware that you may be limiting yourself to a local market by using a local language. There may, of course, be circumstances in which you wish to do so.

9. Will MyScoreStore edit my upload or content for me?

   MyScoreStore provides you with the tools to publish and sell your music online. However, MyScoreStore does not provide assistance in editing your content. You are responsible for the formatting, layout, and musical quality of your scores.

   If your music is not compliant with intellectual property rights (read the terms and conditions and see our Legal Requirements section below), or with the customer-notification policy outlined in the Graphical Requirements section, we reserve the right to remove your music from the online catalogue.

10. What are the legal requirements for an upload?

    In order to sell a score using the MyScoreStore platform, you need to own or otherwise have the rights to publish that piece. The following situations are ones in which you are likely to have the rights to a musical work (in case of doubt please seek legal consult):

    1. You composed the music yourself

    If the music is not derived from or based on pieces or all of an existing song and you have not sold the rights to that score, you own the rights to this new music and may publish it through MyScoreStore

    2. You did not write the music yourself, but have legally obtained the rights from the person or people who did

    If you have obtained these rights for a composition, you may publish it through MyScoreStore

    3. You composed the music together with one or more other people

    Once you have obtained the agreement of everyone involved in writing the piece, you may publish it through MyScoreStore. Regardless the size of their contribution, you need to have your co-composers' (and lyricists' etc.) permission for publishing through MyScoreStore

    4. You created an arrangement of a work in the public-domain

    Music in the public domain may be published by anyone. However, please note that one cannot treat someone else's arrangement of a public-domain piece as a public-domain work; this arrangement is again subject to the same intellectual property rights as if it were a newly written composition.

    Determining wether a work is in the public domain can be tricky. In case of doubt please seek legal advice.

11. How are intellectual property rights defined?

    As a general rule, if you are selling music you wrote yourself (new compositions), you own the copyright, provided that music is not based on and does not contain elements of protected music. Public-domain music may also be published freely (for more information on the definition of public-domain music, please see the Public Domain section below). Please bear in mind that an arrangement of a public-domain work is again subject to copyright by the arranger.

    Although MyScoreStore provides copyright-protection guidelines on this website, publishers are responsible for ensuring that they are acting in accordance with the law. The information we offer is intended to be a general guideline and not to replace legal advice. No rights can be derived from this information. MyScoreStore strongly advises publishers to work with a legal specialist in copyright law, or to review published guidelines, for example those from the United States Copyright Office (www.copyright.gov) or the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) (www.wipo.int) on relevant definitions and generally accepted practices.

12. What is music in the public domain?

    Music in the public domain is defined as music that is generally considered common cultural and intellectual heritage that anyone may use, whether for commercial or non-commercial purposes. Unfortunately, there is no universal legal definition of the conditions for public-domain status; an item may be public domain in one jurisdiction but not another . As a rule of thumb, the copyright on a published work expires when the following two conditions are met:

    1. The work was created and first published before 1923, or at least 95 years before January 1 of the current year, whichever is later;

    2. The last surviving author died at least 70 years before January 1 of the current year.

    For country- or jurisdiction-specific legislation, MyScoreStore strongly advises sellers to consult a specialist in copyright law. We also strongly recommend reviewing guidelines as those published by the US Copyright Office (www.copyright.gov) or the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) (www.wipo.int).

13. Who is the legal publisher of the music I offer on MyScoreStore?

    MyScoreStore is merely a service provider and an agent for the sale of your music. By registering and uploading your music for online distribution, you are declaring yourself the legal publisher of the works.

14. Does MyScoreStore require me to give up my copyright?

    Publishing through MyScoreStore does not mean that you have to relinquish the rights to your music. However, by accepting our terms and conditions, you grant us the right to distribute it.

    Please note that if you have no legal rights to the piece you are publishing, granting MyScoreStore the rights to distribute it is a violation of intellectual property rights. In uploading music to our platform, you are acting as a publisher. It is the publisher's obligation to educate himself/herself about the legal implications of his/her actions. MyScoreStore is simply a service provider that cannot and will not be liable in issues involving intellectual property rights.

15. What do I do if I discover a violation of intellectual property rights on your site?

    Should you find any piece in our catalogue whose sale in violation of intellectual property rights, we ask you to report it to us immediately. Please send your notification to legal@myscorestore.com, stating the work's title, publisher and catalogue id. Without exception and with immediate effect, the music in question will be taken offline and the seller of the work informed of the violation.

    Please note that in an effort to resolve the issue of ownership, we will provide full transparency to the parties and legal entities involved. We therefore cannot guarantee anonymity of the plaintiff.

16. How do I remove music from MyScoreStore?

    You can delete a piece (or make it temporary invisible in store) from your unique account at any time. Please note that both do not remove the music from the dashboards of customers who have already paid for it. Customers will always be able to access a copy of their purchases.

17. Can I distribute my music both through MyScoreStore and other channels?

    Although we are confident in the high quality of our platform and we welcome your entire business, we do acknowledge that you might have reasons for using several channels or partners to market your music.

    We do not ask for the exclusive right to service your business. However, you may want to ensure that any existing contracts with other publishing companies, retailers, or distributors do not exclude you from distributing through MyScoreStore. Should there be clauses that forbid you from publishing through another channel, we strongly advise you to revise your agreement before you start selling through MyScoreStore. As with intellectual property and copyright issues, you are the best judge of your situation, and are fully liable for compliance with your other legal obligations.

18. Can I link my website to MyScoreStore?

    Absolutely! In your unique account, on the "My Profile" tab, you can find your personal link. You can copy this link onto your own website. Visitors to your website who click on this link will be redirected to a listing of your music offerings on the MyScoreStore site.

    We also have options, such as dedicated pages, for individual companies or larger-scale publishers. Please contact us at info@myscorestore.com to learn more.

19. How much does it cost to use MyScoreStore?

    In principle, the use of MyScoreStore's services is free. There are no startup or general fees for uploading and distributing music using our platform. We do not earn any revenue until and unless you do.

    If you use MyScoreStore's platform commercially, i.e. selling your scores for a price, a service fee of 20% is applied to your total revenue. For example, if you upload a piece of music, set its price at €10 and subsequently sell 100 copies, your piece would generate €1,000 in sales. At payout, you would receive 80% of the revenue from those sales, or €800.

    Please note that if you do not sell any copies of the work or decide to offer your music for free (€0), you will not have any revenue and will therefore not pay any fees to MyScoreStore. Uploading scores for sale at MyScoreStore is therefore a no-risk proposition.

20. How often will my earnings be transferred to me?

    Payout occurs quarterly, in the first few days of January, April, July, and October. The threshold for payout in a given period is €100. If your earnings in a given quarter are less than €100, the amount due to you will carried forward and the payout of your earnings postponed to the next quarter.

21. Who is responsible for paying royalty fees and the like?

    Since MyScoreStore is a service provider and you are the publisher of the work offered on our platform, you are responsible for any third-party fees due. For example, if you are a member of an organisation that collects royalties from music sales, you should coordinate your contributions directly with that organisation. MyScoreStore will provide you with reports detailing your sales and revenue to aid in that process.

22. Who is responsible for income tax?

    As the publisher of the music, you are responsible for your own tax declarations and payments. MyScoreStore is not involved in that process, although we do provide you with reports detailing your sales and revenue that can be used for filing purposes.

23. How secure are my personal details?

    MyScoreStore protects your personal data by maintaining separate secure servers for the product and payment data. We work with experienced partners (Ogone, Aduno, and the Zürcher Kantonalbank) to ensure the security of online transactions. We employ both solid fraud management and effective revenue collection. Furthermore, all interactions between you and MyScoreStore containing personal information are subject to security protocols. We protect your product and data with continually updated security technology.

24. How can I improve my sales on MyScoreStore?

    We believe the internet brings transparency to the market in providing customers with easy access to information on quality and pricing. Moreover, customers are able to search more easily and find exactly the music they are looking for.

    MyScoreStore aims to maximize these advantages. They are not only good for the customer, but bring opportunities for the publisher. For example, MyScoreStore can provide you with information on supply and pricing in the form of comparative pricing reports, reports on market trends, and much more . Also, by knowing exactly what your customers have been searching for and buying, you can tailor the selection of products you offer. As a publisher you a free to use these reports to your advantage.

    You can also influence the information the customer receives about your product. For example, the musical scores offered at MyScoreStore will receive ratings based on popularity (as indicated by the silver, gold, and platinum stars). For most music, customers will use indicators such as popularity to assess the quality of the scores and to inform their purchase decisions. It therefore may be an idea to raise the popularity rating of your piece by offering it for free for a short initial period.

    Finally, you may want to consider including previews and a sounds clip of your composition. By providing a more detailed impression of your music, you'll improve the transparency for the customer and increase the likelihood of sales.

25. How do I register?

    Registration occurs in two levels. To get started please complete basic registration first. All fields are mandatory. Please ensure you provide us with complete and accurate details. The username you provide automatically become your login ID. If you log in from more than one country, please provide us the country from which you most frequently log in.

    Basic registration enables you to purchase music on MyScoreStore. To be able and publish music we need to verify a few more details. In your unique account, please go to the "My Account" tab to fill out your further details. Your bank details are required for publishing since when you upload and sell music, we need to know where to transfer your earnings. To avoid errors during payout, please be as accurate as possible.

    All details you provide will be stored on a secure separate server. These details provided will not be shared with third parties except under limited and necessary circumstances (please read our privacy statement for full details). Of course, you are able to unsubscribe from MyScoreStore at any time, at which time such details will be erased.

    Please ensure you read and acknowledge the terms and conditions. The terms and conditions are not irrelevant legal small print! It is a binding legal document between you and MyScoreStore as well as the customer who will purchase your music. Breach of this document and the legislation it describes may have serious legal and financial consequences.

26. What should my password be?

    You are free to define your own password. However, passwords that have the following characteristics are more secure:

    1. use a combination of upper case and lower case letters

    2. use at least 6 characters

    3. use a combination of letters and numbers

    Please bear in mine that passwords are case sensitive: "LOGINID", "LoginID" and "loginid" would be considered different passwords by our server.

27. I can't log in. What should I do?

    For log in you require both username and password. If you forgot either your username or password, please go to lost password and enter your username or email. An email will be sent out to you providing you with a new log in combination. Naturally your username will not change with this. If you do not receive the password email in a timely fashion, please check your email program's spam filters for the message.

    As you enter your login and password, keep the following in mind:

    1. Passwords are case-sensitive. Check your Caps Lock key to make sure it is off; then try your password again.

    2. Watch for incorrect spelling and typographical errors.

    3. MyScoreStore can onlz send your password to the email address attached to the account.

    Should there be any further difficulties please email info@myscorestore.com

28. I already have a publisher account, but would like to purchase music. Do I need a customer account as well?

    No, one account will allow you to both make purchases as well as publish music.

    Note however that for publishing we require additional details like your full name and address, and your bank details.

29. My question is not listed. What do I do?

    If you have not found the answer to your question in this list, please contact us at info@myscorestore.com. We'll try to respond promptly.

30. Can I use MyScoreStore's logos on my website?

    Absolutely! Help us spread the word about MyScoreStore by using one or more of the following logos and buttons on your website. When using these logos and buttons, please bear in mind the Visual Identity Guidelines.

• 

  Ein Strauss A...

  (dwsolo)

  Romantic
  Duet

• 

  Bluff Harbour...

  (anna1962)

  Jazz
  Piano

• 

  Trio For Flut...

  (Mark Vigil)

  Classical
  Trio

• 

  A Siberian Tune

  (ilska23)

  Contemporary
  Flute