MELEE

WHAT IS A MELEE?
The name for a member of the Alterhit community who is not an artist or a label. It is also the term for a members friend network.

WHAT IS A MELEE ACCOUNT
An account for music listeners, buyers and fans to interact with the artists and labels that showcase music on alterhit.

HOW DO I CREATE A MELEE ACCOUNT?
Press the log in/sign up tab on the navigation bar. Press sign up. Go to Welcome. Select ''start a M?l?e account'' and follow the very simple instructions.

SCENES

WHAT IS A SCENE?
A scene is a group of people on Alterhit who have decided to come together and form a community within Alterhit.

WHAT IS A NOTABLE?
A notable is the leader of a scene.

CAN A NOTABLE MAKE MONEY?
A notable earns 10% of all income generated from music sold within their scene.

HOW DO I JOIN A SCENE?
Press the join button on the scene's homepage. The notable receives a join scene request in their scene inbox which they can accept or refuse.

HOW CAN I START A SCENE?
Click on the scenes tab in the navigation bar. Then press the start a scene button at the foot of the page and then follow the instructions.

HOW CAN I INVITE PEOPLE TO JOIN MY SCENE?
Press the invite button on an artist, melee or label page. They will be mailed a join scene invitation which they can accept or refuse.

WHAT IS A CIRCLE?
A circle is formed when two scenes become friends.

HOW CAN I BECOME A NOTABLE?
There are two ways to becoming a notable. The first is by starting a scene. You can also take over a scene that is already in existense by challenging the current notable. To do this you must start a revo.

CAN I BE NOTABLE OF TWO SCENES?
Currently this is not possible but we're working on it!

WHAT IS A REVO?
Revo is short for revolution and is the method used by scene members to decide that a scene's notable should be changed.

HOW DO I START A REVO
Start a revo by pressing the revo button on the scene homepage. You need 25% of the scene to agree by voting that a revo is a good idea.

CAN I START A REVO WHEN I AM NOTABLE OF ANOTHER SCENE?
Yes

CAN I BE NOMINATED FOR NOTABLE WHEN I AM NOTABLE OF ANOTHER SCENE?
No. Alterhit cannot currently allow members to be notables of two scenes.

HOW CAN I BECOME NOTABLE OF A SCENE WHEN I AM ALREADY A NOTABLE?
You will have to give up the leadership of a scene before you can take over another.

HOW DO I LEAVE A SCENE?
Press the leave button on the scene homepage. If you are a notable Your leadership will be passed onto a randomely chosen member.

HOW DO I VOTE IN A REVO?
When the revo button is pressed a random selection totalling 40% of a scene are mailed asking them if they think an election for a new notable is a good idea. At this stage not all the scene will be mailed.

HOW DO I KNOW IF I'VE BEEN SELECTED TO VOTE IN A REVO?
You will have a message in the ''revo alerts'' section of my messages.

HOW IS A REVO SUCCESSFUL?
If 25% of the scene (from the 40% mailed) agree that an election to vote on a new notable is a good idea, then one is started.

WHAT IS AN ELECTION?
An election is held to decide who the new notable will be. Elections take place after a revo is successful.

WHO GETS TO VOTE IN AN ELECTION?
The entire scene gets to vote for who they want to be notable.

HOW DO I VOTE IN AN ELECTION?
You will have a message in the 'revo alerts' section of my messages asking what you wish to do.

HOW LONG DO ELECTIONS LAST?
Elections can last up to 24hours.

HOW DO YOU WIN AN ELECTION?
You must have the most votes after 24 hours. You can win an election before that time by having an unbeatable majority.

WHAT HAPPENS IF THE CONTENDER WINS THE ELECTION?
They are the new notable of the scene.

WHAT HAPPENS IF THE EXISTING NOTABLE WINS THE ELECTION?
They remain as the notable of the scene.

CAN I NOMINATE SOMEONE OTHER THAN MYSELF TO BE THE NOTABLE OF A SCENE?
Yes you can do this by starting a revo in the normal way and proposing someone else to lead when given the option.

IF I AM A NOTABLE AND I LOSE AN ELECTION, DO I LOSE ALL MY MONEY?
Any money you have already earnt from the scene is yours. Any new revenues from the scene are the new notable's.

ARTISTS

WHAT IS AN ARTIST ACCOUNT?
An artist account is one created by a person or persons who would like to play and/or sell the music they create to the other members of the Alterhit community.

HOW DO I CREATE AN ARTIST ACCOUNT?
Press the log in/sign up tab on the navigation bar. Press sign up. Go to Welcome. Select ''start an artist account'' and follow the very simple instructions.

I'VE CREATED AN ARTIST ACCOUNT, WHAT NOW?
Now you can add information about yourself. Upload photos and music and even customise your page. See My Alterhit.

WHAT DO THE ICONS ON MY ARTIST HOMEPAGE MEAN?
Message Me - Any messages sent to you by othe users appear in your mailbox. Add Me - Users press this to send a request to join your melee.

HOW DOES AN ARTIST APPEAR ON A LABEL'S HOMEPAGE?
Either artist or a label can request an affiliation by pressing the affiliate button on either's homepage. The person requesting sends a message which appears in the recipients inbox asking whether they agree to the affiliation.

HOW DO I DELETE MY ACCOUNT?
Go to My Profile. Click My Account. Select Delete Account.

HOW DO I AFFILIATE WITH A RECORD LABEL?
Press the affiliate button on an artists homepage. They will receive a message asking whether they agree to the affiliation.

WHAT DOES AN AFFILIATION WITH A RECORD LABEL ALLOW ME TO DO?
When you upload a new single, you can choose to divert funds to an affiliate. For example your record company might be responsible for colleting the monies from the sale of a particular single and you can have the money earnt from that single sent directly to them.

LABELS

WHAT IS A LABEL ACCOUNT?
A label account is one created by a label that would like to showcase the artists that it has on it's roster.

HOW DO I CREATE A LABEL ACCOUNT?
Press the log in/sign up tab on the navigation bar. Press sign up. Go to Welcome. Select ''start a label account'' and follow the very simple instructions.

HOW DOES AN ARTIST APPEAR ON A LABEL'S HOMEPAGE?
Either artist or a label can request an affiliation by pressing the affiliate button on either's homepage. The person requesting sends a message which appears in the recipients inbox asking whether they agree to the affiliation.

HOW CAN I DELETE AN ARTIST FROM A LABEL HOMEPAGE?
Select the artist in My Profile and press delete.

HOW DO LABEL'S EARN MONEY?
By having a divert set by an artist for a particular track. By earning a % from the sale of a single/album for which an artist has issue them with a certificate.

CAN LABELS UPLOAD MUSIC?
No. Only artists can upload music.

WHAT ARE THE GIGS THAT APPEAR ON A LABEL'S HOMEPAGE?
These are the forthcoming shows for their affiliated artists.

GENRES

HOW DO I FIND MUSIC OF A CERTAIN GENRE?
Go to genres. select a genre from the left had navigation bar. artists of that genre will tile on the right hand side.

HOW DO I FIND A SINGLE, ALBUM OR ARTIST WITHIN A CERTAIN GENRE?
Go to genres. select a genre from the left had navigation bar. Select a sub genre from the central navigation bar. Select single or album or artist. The selection type from that genre will tile on the right hand side.

CAN I SELECT A GENRE FOR AN INDIVIDUAL TRACK?
Yes. Do this when you upload a single.

CAN I CHANGE THE GENRE FOR A PREVIOUSLY UPLOADED SINGLE?
Yes. In the My Music section of My Alterhit. Go to Singles and press the spanner/edit icon next to the single to be edited.

HOW DO I SET A GENRE?
An artist sets a genre when the open their Alterhit account.

HOW DO I CHANGE MY GENRE?
Go to My Account in MY Alterhit. Your genre will be diplayed. Choose a new one from the dropdown bar and press update.

GIGS

HOW DO I SEARCH FOR GIGS?
Go to the gigs section of Alterhit. Choose the dates to search between. Press search and a list of all the artists touring will come appear. Or go to an artists homepage and see the shows they are doing there.

WHY HAVE SOME MELEE GOT GIGS ON THEIR HOMEPAGE?
They have pressed the I'm Coming button next to an artists page.

WHAT IS THE I'M COMING BUTTON?
A logged in Alterhit member pressing the I'm coming button will indicate that they are going to attend a forthcoming event.

WHERE CAN I SEE WHO ARE GOING TO A GIG?
Go to that gig listing and you will see a list of people that have said they are attending the show.

HOW DO I REMOVE MYSELF FROM A GIG LIST?
When logged in, press the On Second Thoughts button next to the listing.

HOW DO I SUBMIT A NEW GIG?
As an artist, select the create gig button in my gigs and follow the instructions.

HOW DO I EDIT A SUBMITTED GIG?
As an artist, select the gig to be edited in my gigs and edit the information.

MY ALTERHIT

WHAT IS MY ALTERHIT?
This is the place where you can find out information about your account and customise your page amongst other things. The heading titles within My Alterhit are fairly self explanatory and will give you an idea of what everything does.

HOW DO I UPLOAD PICTURES TO MY GALLERY?
Within My Alterhit, select My Profile, Go to My Gallery and press upload new photo.

HOW DO I SET MY PROFILE PHOTO?
Go to My Gallery within My alterhit and press the ''set as profile photo'' button beneath the photo you wish to select.

I HAVE SELECTED A PROFILE PHOTO AND IT HASN'T BEEN SET?
Try refreshing your browser window. Do this by pressing the browser refresh icon or pressing CRTL R.

HOW DO I COMMENT ON A PHOTO?
You will need to be logged in. In the gallery section of the homepage, press view all. select the picture you wish to comment on and press add comment.

HOW DO I DELETE A PHOTO COMMENT I HAVE MADE?
Find the comment and press the delete button next to it.

WHITE IS BORING, CAN I ADD A BACKGROUND TO MY PAGE?
Yes. Go to My Profile, My Look and Feel.

BUT WHAT DOES ALL THAT CODE MEAN?
You need to have a basic understanding of CSS and HTML to customise your Alterhit pages.

SINGLES & ALBUMS

WHAT IS A SINGLE ON ALTERHIT?
A single is a single track uploaded by an artist onto Alterhit.

WHAT IS AN ALBUM ON ALTERHIT?
An album is a collection of singles that have been uploaded onto Alterhit by the artist.

HOW DO I LISTEN TO A SINGLE?
Press the play button on any alterhit player.

HOW DO I UPLOAD A SINGLE?
Only artists can upload singles. Log in. Select MY Alterhit. select my music. Select singles. Press Upload a new single. Follow Instructions.

HOW MUCH CAN I SELL A SINGLE FOR?
Choose how much to sell a single for when you upload a new single.

CAN I MAKE A TRACK AVAILABLE FOR FREE DOWNLOAD?
Yes. Make it free when you upload the track.

WHEN UPLOADING A SINGLE WHAT DOES DIVERT FUNDS MEAN?
If you are affiliated with a label, you can choose to send all or a proportion of any revenue from the sale of that single directly to the label.

HOW DO I CHANGE THE PRICE OF A SINGLE I HAVE UPLOADED?
Go to My Music within My Alterhit, select Singles and press the spanner icon. This allows all the single's features to be edited.

HOW DO I CHANGE A SINGLE'S ARTWORK?
Go to My Music within My Alterhit, select Singles and press the spanner icon. Go to the track artwork section and browse for a picture and then press the upload button.

HOW DO I CREATE AN ALBUM?
In MY Music, Singles, upload all the singles that you wish to comprise that album. Go to My Music, Albums, select create a new album. Enter all the summary information. Press let's do it. Select which singles will comprise the album, press update tracks. Upload artwork, click I'm Finished.

DO SINGLES ON AN ALBUM APPEAR IN MY SINGLES?
They do not. They are now part of the album.

CAN SINGLES FROM AN ALBUM STILL BE PURCHASED INDIVIDUALLY?
Yes. Select the album. Click the Buy button next to the single to be purchased.

DO INDIVIDUAL TRACKS FROM AN ALBUM STILL COUNT TOWARDS SINGLES CHARTS?
Yes.

HOW DO I EDIT INFORMATION FOR AN ALBUM I HAVE CREATED?
Go to My Music select, albums and then press the spanner edit icon.

EARNING MONEY, GETTING PAID & CASHING OUT

HOW CAN I EARN MONEY ON ALTERHIT?
There are 3 ways:
By selling music as an artist
By selling an affiliated artist's music on your label homepage.
By selling an artist's music in your scene shop as a notable.

HOW DOES AN ARTIST EARN MONEY ON ALTERHIT?
By uploading their music and selling it to the Alterhit community.

HOW DOES A NOTABLE EARN MONEY ON ALTERHIT?
By receiving cedrtificates from artist allowing them to sell music in the scene shop. Any music sold will earn a commission of at least 10%, possibly more depending on how generous the artist is feeling.

HOW DOES A LABEL EARN MONEY ON ALTERHIT?
By having an artist divert their income from sales of a particular single or album to that label.
By receiving a cerrtificate from an artist which includes a share of profits from sale of the album or single associated with the certificate.

WHERE CAN AN ARTIST SEE HOW MUCH MONEY THEY HAVE EARNT?
Go to MY Alterhit. Go to Money I've Made.

WHERE CAN A LABEL SEE HOW MUCH MONEY THEY HAVE EARNT?
Go to MY Alterhit. Go to Money I've Made.

WHERE CAN A NOTABLE SEE HOW MUCH MONEY THEY HAVE EARNT?
Go to MY Alterhit. Go to Money I've Made.

WHEN CAN AN ARTIST REQUEST THEIR EARNINGS?
Provided that an artist has earnt at least £20 they can request that their earnings are paid. Earnings are paid on the last day of every month.

HOW DOES A NOTABLE EARN MONEY?
Music sold within a notable's scene earns them 10%. For example a £5 album will earn them 50? and a £1 track 10?.

CAN A NOTABLE SHARE REVENUE WITH AN ARTIST? WHAT IS KICKBACK?
Yes. A notable can offer to split their 10% with an artist. This is called kickback. It is up to the notable to choose the level of kickback they offer to an artist.

WHEN CAN A NOTABLE REQUEST THEIR EARNINGS?
Provided that a notable has earnt at least £20 they can request that their earnings are paid. Earnings are paid on the last day of every month.

HOW DOES ALTERHIT PAY EARNINGS TO A NOTABLE?
UK labels - Via bank transfer or via paypal.
Outside UK labels - Currently Via paypal only.

HOW DOES A LABEL EARN MONEY?
A label does not directly earn money. Rather it's artist's earn money. However an artist can choose to pay a portion or all of it's earnings directly to the label.

HOW DOES AN ARTIST PAY MONEY TO A LABEL?
An artist can divert their earnings to a label. They can choose to divert 0-100% of their earnings to the label. They do this in their label divert part of their account section.

WHERE CAN I SEE WHAT PAYMENTS I HAVE RECEIVED?
The Money I've Made section of My Account contains this information. My Credit account shows the transaction in a little more detail.

HOW DO I CASHOUT?
Go to MY ALTERHIT, My account and select take cash out.

WHEN CAN AN ARTIST REQUEST THEIR EARNINGS?
Provided that an artist has earnt at least £20 they can request that their earnings are paid. Earnings are paid on the last day of every month.

WHEN CAN A NOTABLE REQUEST THEIR EARNINGS?
Provided that a notable has earnt at least £20 they can request that their earnings are paid. Earnings are paid on the last day of every month.

WHEN CAN A LABEL REQUEST THEIR EARNINGS?
Provided that a label has earnt at least £20 they can request that their earnings are paid. Earnings are paid on the last day of every month.

WILL AN ARTIST RECEIVE THE SAME MONEY IF THEY SELL A TRACK ON A SCENE AS THEY WOULD ON THEIR HOMEPAGE?
Yes, an artist is never out of pocket selling music in a scene. Alterhit splits it's 20% commission with the scene notable.

DEPOSITING MONEY / ADDING CREDIT

HOW DO I DEPOSIT CASH?
Go to MY ALTERHIT. Go to MY credit account. Select Add more credit. Choose how much credit to add. Press add more credit. You are taken to an external site called Worldpay, where your payment will be processed.

WHAT IS WORLDPAY?
Worldpay is a respected payment service provider which will validate your credit/debit card details.

IS PAYMENT ON ALTERHIT SECURE?
Yes. 100% We do not record your credit card details and we work with secure recognised international financial bodies.

WHEN I HAVE DEPOSITED CASH WHERE DOES IT SHOW UP?
Go back to your account and go to my credit account. There you will see the money that you have deposited.

ALTERHIT FEES & COMMISSION

IF I SELL A TRACK FOR £1 WHAT WILL I RECEIVE?
60¢

HOW IS THE SALE BROKEN DOWN?
VAT (UK TAX) @ 17.5% = 15¢
Bank Charges @ 5% = 5¢
Alterhit Commission @ 20% = 20¢

WHAT IS ALTERHIT COMMISSION?
Alterhit's commission is 20% of gross sales.

WHAT IS ALTERHIT COMMISSION FOR MUSIC SOLD IN SCENES?
Alterhit will take 10% of gross sales and the notable of the scene will take 10% of gross sales.

DOES AN ARTIST EARN LESS IF HE SELLS HIS MUSIC IN A SCENE?
No

WHAT IS VAT or VALUE ADDED TAX?
This is a tax levied by the UK government on all sales. Alterhit is a UK registered company. We are VAT registered. This means that 17.5% of all our sales revenue must go to the lovely people at Her Royal Majesty's customs and excise. This is a big chunk of cash that we are obliged to pay to HM Government to stay legal.

I AM NOT BASED IN EUROPE WHY DO I PAY UK TAX (VAT)?
Alterhit has been developed on a tight budget. We are working toward developing a system that will geographically determine you and your customers location and tax you accordingly but this kind of system is a few releases away. Until then everyone is taxed in the same way.

WHAT ARE TRANSACTION CHARGES?
The bank charges us money deposited in our account by customers. This rate is currently 5%. Hopefully Alterhit will get busier and transactions will increase. If this happens our charges will decrease and we will pass on these savings to our members.

CERTIFICATES & LICENSING YOUR MUSIC

WHAT IS A CERTIFICATE?
A contract issued by an artist allowing another user to sell their music.

WHO CAN CERTIFICATES BE ISSUED TO?
Alterhit members with label accounts and notables.

WHO CAN CERTIFICATES BE ISSUED BY?
Artists only. They have the power.

HOW DO I ISSUE A CERTIFICATE?
Artists, When logged in, go to my music and select certificates. Select ''issue a new certificate'' and follow the simple instructions.

WHO CAN REQUEST CERTIFICATES?
Notables or labels.

HOW DO I REQUEST A CERTIFICATE?
Log in and then go the artist's homepage. Click on the ''sell my music'' icon. Follow the instructions.

HOW MANY CERTIFICATES CAN AN ARTIST ISSUE FOR EACH SINGLE TO LABELS?
A certificate for a single can be issued to one label only. An artist cannot issue a certificate for the same single to more than one label.

HOW MANY CERTIFICATES CAN AN ARTIST ISSUE FOR EACH SINGLE TO SCENES?
An artist can issue a certificate for a single to as many scenes as they wish.

HOW MANY CERTIFICATES CAN AN ARTIST ISSUE FOR EACH ALBUM TO LABELS?
An album can be issued to one label only. An artist cannot issue a certificate for the same album to more than one label.

HOW MANY CERTIFICATES CAN AN ARTIST ISSUE FOR EACH ALBUM TO SCENES?
An artist can issue a certificate for a single to as many scenes as they wish.

CAN I REQUEST A CERTIFICATE?
Yes.

FOR HOW MUCH MONEY CAN I SELL A SINGLE/ALBUM, FOR WHICH I ISSUE A CERTIFICATE FOR?
You can choose how much to sell a track for when you issue a certificate.

WHEN I ISSUE A CERTIFICATE, DOES IT HAVE TO BE FOR THE SAME PRICE AS ON MY HOMEPAGE?
No. It can be for any price.

WHO CAN DELETE A CERTIFICATE?
The artist only.

HOW DO I DELETE A CERTIFICATE?
Artists, go to My Music, Certificates. Select the issued certificate and press delete.

SELLING YOUR MUSIC

WHAT PRICE CAN AN ARTIST SELL MUSIC FOR IN A SCENE?
An artist can set a price to sell music within a scene that can be more or less than the price on their homepage.

WILL AN ARTIST RECEIVE THE SAME MONEY IF THEY SELL A TRACK ON A SCENE AS THEY WOULD ON THEIR HOMEPAGE?
Yes.

HOW MUCH CAN AN ARTIST SELL THEIR MUSIC FOR ON ALTERHIT?
Artists are free to set the price at which their music is sold on Alterhit.

HOW MUCH CAN A LABEL SELL THEIR ARTISTS MUSIC FOR?
The artist chooses how much they will sell their music for on an affiliated label's homepage.

WILL AN ARTIST RECEIVE THE SAME MONEY IF THEY SELL A TRACK ON A SCENE AS THEY WOULD ON THEIR HOMEPAGE?
Yes, an artist is never out of pocket selling music in a scene. Alterhit splits it's 20% commission with the scene.

CHARTS & RANKING

HOW DOES AN ARTIST GET ON A PARTICULAR CHART FOR EXAMPLE THE ROCK CHART?
If an artist selected rock or a rock subgenre as genres when they opened their account they will appear in the rock chart.

WHAT ARE ALTERHIT CHARTS?
Alterhit charts display the total number of times an artists album and single has been played or sold.

WHAT IS A PLAYS CHART?
A chart comprised of the number of times a track has been played.

WHAT IS A SALES CHART?
A chart comprised of the number of times a track or album has been sold.

YOUR RIGHTS & MUSIC COPYRIGHT

WHAT KIND OF MUSIC CAN AN ARTIST SELL ON ALTERHIT?
An artist can sell any musical compositions that they have created on Alterhit.

WHAT KIND OF MUSIC CAN AN ARTIST NOT SELL ON ALTERHIT?
Alterhit members may not pass off or sell the music of others. Nor may they sell music that samples the music of other people unless such samples have been cleared with the relevent bodies. Members may not sell covers songs unless the original artist or their representative has given permission for their music to be covered and sold.

COPYRIGHT POLICY
Alterhit is strict about copyright and only permits artists and labels to upload content which they own the copyright for. Any violations will result in account suspension pending review.