SPARTACUS is based on artists’ rights. Independent artists and those wishing to regain independence can now take complete control of their lives.
SPARTACUS is not a music retailer, distributor or aggregator or social network. It is a space for all songwriters and musicians to sell their work directly to the public, without any middlemen.
Now, more and more leading artists see the future of music as one in which the creators have complete control over their works, from recording to distribution, with no more walls between them and the public. And no one between them and their money.
SPARTACUS never takes any of the artists’ earnings. For a minimal £4 a year, songwriters and musicians can join our platform and sell all their works in digital format directly to the people who love music and believe, like the rest of us, that the future belongs to those who create it.
SPARTACUS is always free to music buyers.
We also take every possible measure to protect creators’ legal rights. Every song offered for sale is checked for true copyright ownership before it is made available to the public.
Who is Spartacus?
We are all Spartacus!
FOR BUYERS
Buying music has never been easier or more ethical. Starting on our Home Page, music lovers can use the Search bar, or click on any song in our top-sellers Spart Chart, or in our Latest Additions streamer, or click on the Buy This Song Now when something playing on our Radio Spartacus rocks your world. Or you can click on the song title or artist’s name in our Raves column. Any of these steps will take you directly to the song you want in the Musician’s selling area. Once there, finding more wonders is as easy as clicking on a song or Cd of your choice. Where the artist has allowed, you can first listen to a sample by clicking on the red play button besides the song title. You can buy what you love, and fill up your cart while looking for more artists starting once again on our Home Page. Any time you are ready to finish browsing, you can click on the shopping cart and complete your total purchase. First-timers will be asked to create a Spartacus account before setting your Payment Preferences. Remember: Musicians, too can set up their own Buyer’s account to purchase music!
EMBED SPARTACUS
You can support the music and spread the word by embedding a Spartacus link into your own your website or social networking site of preference. Simply follow the instructions at the bottom of your Buyer’s page.
FOR MUSICIANS
Musicians and songwriters can build independent, global careers by joining Spartacus. We offer artists worldwide the opportunity to control their own work and finances, trading directly with the public.
Once you create an Artist’s account, you can immediately upload your individual songs and Cds, and you can even create a new Cd (a Discus Spartacus) directly online. Once your music is uploaded, you can easily upload your Logo, Graphics, Cover Art, glowing Reviews or other vital texts to complete your selling area. You can always set your own prices on Spartacus! We take none of your sales income.
When uploading your music to Spartacus, you will have to fill in certain information. Many independent artists are confused and even frightened by what they’ve heard are legal requirements to selling their music. Do not be intimidated by wild folklore; as you’ll see, some of the selling hurdles are truly not mandatory. Of course, we recommend that you always check the laws in your country. Here are some clear explanations of the fields:
ISRC
The ISRC (International Standard Recording Code) is a code assigned to each recording. It does not copyright your song, it only acts as a registration number for each any every recorded version of your song. However, the ISRC is not required by law in most countries, and does not grant any rights. The ISRC code is often necessary for commercial broadcasting and licencing music in many countries. At present, an ISRC is required by the Billboard Charts and Nielsen SoundScan to track sales and plays for royalty collection purposes. If you do not have or want an ISRC number for your song, don’t worry: we have you covered with our own Spartacus Numbers.
SPARTACUS NUMBER
We will assign a Spartacus Number to every song you wish to sell through Spartacus. This number will register your ownership of that recording in our systems, and will serve to track your sales.
UPC
A UPC (Universal Product Code) is a bar code assigned to products for sale, in this case for a Cd. It is not legally required in most countries for digital sales. However, it is necessary for sales of physical Cds, and it is necessary for your Cd or album to participate in the Billboard Charts and Neilsen SoundScan tracking, as well as many retailers and distributors. If you wish to follow the Billboard/Soundscan requirements, you will need a UPC for your digital Cd and a separate UPC for your physical Cd. These same rules also require ISRC codes for each track on your Cd. If you do not have a Cd or a UPC, that’s cool because you can build your own Cds directly on Spartacus.
DISCUS SPARTACUS
This is a Cd you can create for sale right here and now. No studio costs, no mastering costs, no nothing. Just compile the songs you want in whichever order you like and you have an original Discus Spartacus. To avoid the hassle of buying a UPC, we also provide a Discus Spartacus Number to register your ownership and track your sales.
LABEL
If your songs or Cds are legally owned by a record lable (even if it is your own label) you must include the name of that label here. This is for purposes of copyright and earnings distribution.
PRICE
On Spartacus, you can set any price you like. We never take a cent of your sales income. Zero. So the profit is all yours.
RADIO SPARTACUS
This is our Home Page streaming radio, where we play songs from our Spartacus artists. The streaming is randomly generated and not curated so we give everybody an equal chance at exposure. Users can see the name of each song being played, and can click on Buy This Song Now, which will send them directly to the song for sale in the artist’s space. Check YES to grant us legal permission to include your song in our Radio Spartacus streaming!
URL
Inlcude the correct address of your own web page and we will provide a direct link to it on your Spartacus seller’s site. Fans can buy your music on Spartacus and then go to your own website to see your tour schedule, bios, join your mailing lists and even hire you.
EMBED SPARTACUS
Follow the instructions on your profile page to embed Spartacus into your own web page and fans will be able to buy your music with a single click. Simply embed our logo in your website or social networking site of preference and start selling through Spartacus. This works with band websites, Facebook, and everywhere embedding is possible.
PAYMENT PRFERENCES
Since we are just starting out, Spartacus is working with Paypal. For song sales, please be sure to set up your Paypal account in the Micropayments option in Business Accounts. This will save both buyers and sellers unecessary processing fees. Check the Micropayments limits to see if your price is within the allowed range. If you wish to set a higher price (for your Cds for example), you must set up another account in Paypal’s Adaptive Payments. Either way, your money goes directly to you. Spartacus does not touch it!