FAQ 

Q. Streaming or download donations. Which is more lucrative? 

A. As we all know, streaming services don't pay very much. Most streaming services pay one penny for every 100 plays. That means you must get a huge amount of plays to earn a significant amount of money. 

Download donations, on the other hand, come in much larger amounts, but in most cases they are few and far between. Donations usually come from friends or fans of someone who worked on a project. That's why it is important to bring as many of your fans and friends into our public Facebook group as possible. This is where new releases are first announced. Although it does happen on rare occasions, don't expect download donations from people who don't know you. Here are some statistics: The smallest donation received to date was $2.00. That's double what a fixed price download would have been. The largest donation we have received to date was $200 for one download. The average donation for downloads is $5.00.   Some downloads are made without making any donations.  This is rare, but does happen.

If you have lots of supportive fans who are familiar with your music, this can be very lucrative. If you need help on how to build a supportive fan base, you will get educational materials in our private group and in our Release Team Newsletter.  You will have access to both when you become a label team member. 

Streaming services can be lucrative with a little work. The money comes in smaller amounts at one time, but it can be more consistent and grow as more people become aware of your music. Thanks to our artist “Sullie”, who has some stream team experience, we now have a Spotify stream team. If you can afford a few minutes a day to start your playlist, play it through at least once, record the stats and post them into a group chat to prove you have played the playlist, the Spotify algorithm will suggest your music to more people and more playlists. With a little consistency your streaming audience will grow and so will your earnings. 

If you have music on streaming services through our label I highly recommend you join our stream team by clicking here or going to the “Mutual Artist Support” tab on our website. In today's new music industry we need to develop as many income streams as possible with growth potential to get closer to earning a living from what we do. 

Streaming can grow over the long term. Download donations are larger amounts over the short term. It certainly doesn't hurt to work on building both.
 

Q. How are you a “Not For Profit” business? 

A. We operate mainly on a volunteer basis, as with a non-profit, but our tax obligations are the same as a “For Profit” business.

This is how we operate: 

When someone downloads a song and makes a donation or the song earns revenue on streaming services, the label splits revenue into equal shares for each job performed. Each person who worked on that project gets paid an equal share for each job they did. The Label is considered one job and receives one equal share. The entire label's share gets reinvested into the growth of the label and it's artists. 

When someone makes a donation to the label (not through downloading a song) the entire amount becomes the label's share. It gets reinvested into continued growth to help all of our artists grow with the label. 

If you would like to donate to the label click the donate button you find at this link:  https://musicforworldpeacerecords.com/home

If you would like to download a song and make a donation to the people who worked on that project click here: https://musicforworldpeacerecords.com/music-releases

Q. Does your label give advances? 

A. Our current budget doesn't allow for advances. Artists that produce income for the label give us the ability to create budgets. We hope to have a budget for advances to our top income producing artists in the future, but our current budget is allocated to advertising, streaming and renewal of our web hosting. 

Q. Do you have a newsletter I can subscribe to or a mailing list I can join?

A. Yes. You can sign up for our mailing list by clicking here and you will receive our Patron Newsletter on the 9th of each month.  We also have a “Release Team Newsletter”, which doesn't require a subscription, but is only sent to our people who worked on one or more of our releases.

Q. Which company do you use for distribution?

A. CD Baby.

Q. What territories do you distribute in?

A. All countries that have unrestricted internet access.

Q. What does your label do for artists? 

A. Our label is run by musicians, songwriters and producers and is for musicians, songwriters and producers. Our people think of our label in the same way they think of a band they are in. Each team works toward the success of their own team as well as the success of the label.  The label works toward the success of itself as well as the success of all of it's teams.

We offer worldwide digital distribution to our artists with limited, but growing, promotion.  Most of the promotion is primarily left to the artist and their team. 

Team work makes the dream work.  We help artists build their teams. The label is one member of that team.  The success of the project and/or how much money it makes is never guaranteed, but is the direct result of the efforts of each team member.

In our private Facebook group, our artists have access to educational material to help with their art, craft and business. 

The success of our label is dependent on the success of our artists and the success of our artists is dependent on the success of our label. When everyone is working together to help each other success is inevitable.  In the same manner, our mission is to get everyone in the world to work together for world peace.

Q. What are your submission guidelines? 

A. Our first requirement is that your song must have lyrics that address the topics of peace, non-violence, anti-war, or the teachings of religious prophets without sounding like a religious song. Listen to our artists to get a general idea of what we are looking for. 

You may submit one song link only, through our submission portal. Do not attach music files unless instructed to do so after sending a link. If we feel that your song will help us with our mission we will offer you a contract and/or ask to hear more of what you have. If your song is close, but in need of further work we will give you feedback on what you need to do to get it released. If your song is totally off topic you won't hear back from us. 

Before submitting completed songs, be sure to read our submission requirements.

Q. Why do you want songs with religious prophet teachings to sound non-religious?  Don't you like worship or gospel music?

A. The idea is, if it sounds like a religious song, the only people who will listen to it will be religious people of that particular faith.  That is literally "Preaching to the choir".  They are already aware of the message of peace taught by their iconic prophets.  We want everyone to hear the message and not reject it just because it is Christian, Buddhist, Muslem, etc.  There are many peace teachings in religion that are overlooked by each denomination.  We want everyone to listen and learn, regardless of their beliefs.  In this case, we need to get the message of peace to those who need it.  

Q. How do your people on your label get paid? 

A. Each contract will be different, based on the number of people in our private group who worked on the song, but generally everyone who worked on a project will get an equal share for each job performed.

Q. How long does it take for world-wide distribution to take affect?

A. We like to allow 1 month from the time we release it for download on our website.   At that time your music will begin to appear on major platforms like iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, Amazon.  The remaining platforms will release your music at random times in the weeks following. 

Q. How do you promote the music of your artists? 

A. We promote our releases on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.  On Facebook we announce each new release in our public group.  We also look for opportunities to mention our team members, such as birthdays, anniversaries, release on digital streaming platforms, etc. and post a link to their work.  On Twitter (X) we do a "Song of the day" post as we rotate through each release on our website, Spotify, and YouTube.   In addition to each song page on our website, we have a page for each team member, with a bio, a list of their work with the label, and links to work they did outside of the label. 

Q. What if I want to invest in my own advertising?

A. Artists may invest in their own paid advertisements at their own discretion as they would if they were promoting themselves or their band outside of our label.  This is not required, but is encouraged for anyone with the budget to do so.  Artists may also use our Meta Business Suite for a label sponsored ad paid for by the artist.  Co-op ads are sometimes available with the label, depending on the budget at the time.

Q. If I pay for my own advertising, what should I focus on?

A. That will depend on your goal.  Digital distribution platforms will probably not recoup your investment, but will help you get known throughout the world and grow your fan base.  Getting donation based downloads from our website will result in slower world-wide recognition and growth of your fan base, but will result in more money in a shorter period of time.  That money may be reinvested into additional advertising with the same or different goals.  If you are new to Facebook ads and want to run some, we can help you prepare and run your ad through our Meta Business Suite.  It will show up as a “Sponsored” ad.

Q. How much will it cost me to have my song released on your label? 

A. Traditionally no record label should charge you to release your music.  However, constant changes in the music industry have made it next to impossible for Major labels and many indie labels to show a profit.  Out of desperation many are resorting to 360 deals, and some are even requiring artists to put up a substantial amount of money as a guarantee that they will perform their contract obligations.  Back in the day we referred to these labels as "Song Sharks".  Today it is becoming common practice.

We go by the long standing rule that says a legitimate label won't charge you for releasing your music.  However, if you had a song produced and recorded outside of our private Facebook group, and didn't do it all yourself, you probably paid a bundle of money for your finished product.  Some masters have been known to cost anywhere from a few thousand to a few hundred thousand to produce.  With the small payouts resulting from the changes in the industry it is next to impossible to recover that kind of investment.  However, if you think of your investment as a marketing expense with a branding intent, then it has served it's purpose and may, over the long haul, result in some profit.

If your song meets our criteria and can help us with our mission, you don't pay to get a release, but you do get paid when the release generates revenue.  If your song needs a co-writer or producer or any type of engineer, you may collaborate with anyone in our private group who possesses the skills you need. You will not be charged any up-front fees, but will share the profits with everyone who worked on your project.  That means everything you make will be clear profit, even if it's only a few dollars.  The people who help you will be contributing sometimes thousands of dollars worth of their time and expect you to participate in post-release promotion to help them earn back some of the monetary value of their work.

Q. What if I want to hire someone from the private group to help me with a project that is not for release on your label? 

A. The people working on projects for our label do so voluntarily for a share of profits, but they also do what they do to earn a living. If you choose to hire someone from our private group for a non-related project, you may do so by paying the rates that they charge their clients outside of our private group. 

It is advised that before paying for the services of someone in our private group that you first do a project for release on our label with them. That way you get to see how they are to work with before hiring them. You both get to sharpen your skills and earn some profit by doing the volunteer work with each other, and you get a “try before you buy” scenario.

Q. Some people I know were offered a 360 deal.  That sounds like the best possible deal a label can offer.  What is a 360 deal?

A. Back in the day of vinyl and CD sales, most major labels were able to profit from royalties alone.  When streaming was introduced it changed the game and the majors could no longer profit from music sales.  They had to make changes in order to survive.  These changes included a 360 deal, which meant that the label got a percentage of everything the artist made, whether it be royalties from sales, downloads, streaming, touring, small local gigs, endorsements or licensing.  Some even went as far as taking a portion of ANY money earned by the artist, even if they had a side job flipping burgers.  A 360 deal is the best possible deal......for the label, but one of the worst possible deals for the artist.  They are legitimate major label deals, but f you are offered one, please consult an entertainment attorney before accepting.

Q. Do your contracts include 360 deals?

A. No.  We try to be as fair as we possibly can to our artists without being unfair to our label.  360 deals often result in bankruptcy of the artist.  Our goal is to help our artists make money while they help us achieve world peace through their music.  We work together as a team to help each other.  That is what the world needs to do to achieve world peace.  Imagine if everyone in the world organized and worked together toward peace.

Q. Can I see a sample contract?

A. Yes.  We have two types of contracts: A collaboration agreement for working with other Music For World Peace team members and a master owner contract for master owners who have already paid everyone who participated in the master or has agreed to pay everyone who worked on the project from earned revenue.  Due to recent changes in the industry we are constantly revising our contracts.  Click the “contact” link in the footer to request a sample contract in the message box.

Q. Who retains the rights to my song when it's released.

A. During the term of our contract the label has exclusive rights to the use and licensing.  Upon termination of the agreement all usage and licensing rights revert back to the owner of the song or master recording (depending on which type of contract you are signed to).  During the contract period splits are shown on the split sheet with an equal share for each job performed in a collaboration and for a finished master 34% to master owner, 33% goes toward and advertising budget for the song and 33% goes to the label, all of which is used for label growth.

Q. What happens to my song when my contract is terminated if the song was a collaboration?

A. The rights to the song would go to its creators.  The master recording would then be available for lease of purchase.  Revenue from that transaction would then be divided according to the split sheet in your contract.  If the song was submitted to us as a master all rights will go back to the master owner.