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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
We’ve tried to anticipate most of the questions you might have about FreshReleases.com in this section of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). If you can’t find the answer to a question you have, please feel free to email us at: customerservice@freshreleases.com and we’ll reply as soon as we can. CHOOSE A CATEGORY: Audio: Shopping: Affiliates: AUDIO ABOUT THE AUDIO CLIPS ON FRESHRELEASES.COM The Audio clips you will find throughout our website were created so you, the Christian music fan, can listen to professionally selected and edited song clips from all of the albums for sale in our store before you buy. We want you to have as much information as possible about each album so that before you spend your hard-earned money you can make an educated decision. We create all of the audio clips ourselves with you in mind, and encourage you to listen to as many as possible. We have acquired the necessary licenses from ASCAP and BMI (the companies who protect the publishing copyrights to almost every song ever produced) to be able to offer you quality legal audio clips. You never need worry whether or not any of the music you find on FreshReleases.com breaches copyright or trademark guidelines - we’ve already taken care of that. LISTENING TO THE MUSIC The song clips are offered in several different formats to ensure that you are able to sample the songs at the highest possible sound quality - Real Audio, MP3, and Windows Media. If you do not have Real Player installed on your system download the FREE Real Player Basic at Real.com. You can also click on the graphic link in the "Downloads" section of FreshReleases. If you need an MP3 player, we have also provided links to several FREE MP3 players in the "Downloads" section of FR. MusicMatch Jukebox is our personal favorite, but you may use any player you wish (you will also find a couple of other MP3 players further down in this section under Recommended Players and in the "Downloads" section). For the Windows Media clips you will need the Windows Media Player, which can be downloaded from WindowsMedia.com (also a link in the "Downloads" section). Real Audio The Real Audio samples will provide an immediate (after a few seconds of buffering) streaming Real Audio version of the song clip, provided you have the latest version of Real Player (version 8 at the time of this writing). It will give you a good idea as to what the music sounds like, but the quality is not all that great. MP3 Clicking on any MP3 sample will begin the process of downloading an MP3 file of the clip. The sound quality is much better as it is near CD-quality. Depending on the configuration of your system and browser, it may automatically begin downloading the file as soon as you click the MP3 button. On other systems, a box may pop up asking you if you want to "Open this file" or "Save this file to disk." Choosing the "Open this file" option will begin the download, and playback will begin automatically once the file download is complete. If you choose "Save this file to disk," the file will be downloaded to the directory you specify, and you will need to double-click on the file once it is downloaded to begin playback. Windows Media The Windows Media clips are similar in quality to the MP3 clips. The only difference is they will download and automatically begin playing provided you have a current version of the Windows Media Player. How to Choose a Clip If you have a broadband (Cable or DSL) connection to the Internet you should always choose the MP3 or Windows Media clips. Your download time will only be a few seconds and the audio quality is far superior to the Real Audio clips. If you have a regular dial-up connection to the Internet, we recommend using the Real Audio clips to save time. You can still download any of our MP3 or Windows Media files - they just take a bit longer. To give you an idea how long it will take, if you have a 28.8k modem, it will take you about 2 minutes to download a clip that is 400k (about the average size of our MP3 and Windows Media audio clips). If you have a 56k modem that is actually connected at 56k, your download time will be about half that. LIQUID AUDIO Liquid Audio is a more recent and more complicated technology than the other types of audio clips. We cannot create Liquid Audio files like we can the others, so all of the Liquid Audio downloads you find in the Downloads section of FR are provided by Liquid Audio themselves. FreshReleases.com is an affiliate partner with Liquid Audio, and that is why we are able to bring you exclusive promotional downloads as they are made available. These promotions are always offered for a limited time, so if you see one make sure you take advantage and download it immediately! Liquid Audio tracks are created with the highest quality audio available, so you will hear the songs in absolute CD quality. One feature of Liquid Audio files (and the reason that the record labels like them so much) is that they can be programmed to timeout after a certain amount of time on your computer. Generally, after you download a Liquid Audio file to your computer, you will be able to listen to it for at least 30 days. After that it will no longer work. Occasionally you may be given the option to purchase a track. Once you purchase a track, you can keep it forever, burn it onto a CD, or whatever. To download and play any song in the Liquid Audio format you need to have the latest version of the Liquid Player installed on your computer (currently Liquid Player Six also available through a link in the Downloads section of FR). All you have to do to download any Liquid Audio track is click on the ‘download’ link and if your player is installed, it will download and begin playing automatically. RECOMMENDED MP3 PLAYERS There are several FREE MP3 players available on the web, and most of them get the job done just fine. All the players will help you record, store, and play your MP3 files. Some have extra features that you may or may not be interested in. Many of the FREE players will play your MP3 files in "near CD quality" and offer an upgrade to "CD quality" for around $29.95. Unless you are an audiophile or have great speakers hooked up to your system, the sound difference will not be very noticeable. So we recommend starting with the FREE player, and upgrading later if you so desire. Here are a few of the players out there, with brief descriptions of each, and links to the sites where you can download them: MusicMatch Jukebox: Download Now This is our favorite overall. MusicMatch Jukebox, as an MP3 player, operates as well as any other out there, with basic controls presented in a clear, functional layout. The appeal of an all-in-one like MusicMatch Jukebox, is access to its extensive assortment of music and media related functions within one consistent interface: Recorder, Music Library, Player, etc.. And it looks nice, too. Sonique: Download Now It doesn't take long to see why Sonique ranks among the most popular players available. Its sleek, windowless interface is immediately striking and truly adds to the listening experience. It's a high-quality player that should serve all your basic MP3 playing needs, especially with a recently improved MPEG audio decoder. It has 3 different view modes, and there are many 'skins' available to customize the look even further. Definitely wins the prize for best-looking MP3 player! Real Jukebox: Download Now One of the more popular MP3 player, Real Jukebox Basic comes together with the full version of Real Player. So once you have downloaded the Real Player for the streaming audio clips, you don't even have to download another MP3 player. Real Jukebox works very well with all MP3 files, and is fairly easy to use. Winamp: Download Now Another widely used player is the venerable Winamp player. It's been around since the first mp3 players showed up and instantly became a popular choice. There are hundreds of custom "skins" created for the Winamp player which you can find all over the web. It's not the most user-friendly player, but it get's the job done and features an attractive equalizer that's fun to watch and experiment with. HAVING PROBLEMS? Sometimes, even when everything appears to be set up correctly, nothing seem to work right anyway. Here are a few common problems people have encountered, and some possible solutions. 1. Problem: Nothing happens when you click on the Real Audio buttons. Solution: this means you do not have a functioning version of Real Audio's Real Player on your computer system. Go to http://www.real.com and download the latest FREE player. Install it on your system and try again. It should work just fine. 2. Problem: When you click on a Real Audio sample, it takes more than 10 or 15 seconds to buffer, then during playback your Real Player stops frequently due to "network congestion." Solution: This generally means that your Internet connection is not fast enough to handle the streaming data. You may be having problems with your phone line, or the site may just be extremely busy. You can keep trying to see if it works better after a couple minutes, but if you still have problems, you can always download the MP3 or Windows Media file. 3. Problem: You have downloaded and installed the latest version of Real Player, and have experienced success playing clips in the past. However, when you click on the Real Audio samples, the Real Player says "connecting" forever and never gets to the "buffering" stage, and/or you receive an "unable to connect" message. Solution: This could mean that the servers are simply too busy to handle another song clip, because so many other people are checking out other clips. Try again a little bit later. Or, it could also mean that the Real Player is not configured properly. Sometimes, through no fault of your own, Real Player may just stop playing streaming audio clips. Check to make sure you have the latest version. If not, go to http://www.real.com and download it. If you do have the latest version, try reinstalling it. That will reconfigure the proper settings and should correct the problem. (Note: some people have reported that every time they restart their computer, they have to reinstall RealPlayer to regain the proper configurations). 4. Problem: "Network congestion." Solution: This happens occasionally when streaming the Real Audio clips. It can be very frustrating, but often unavoidable. This simply occurs when your modem or other Internet connection is not able to handle the streaming audio data at a constant rate. You can try again during a less busy time on the internet (usually late morning and evenings are the busiest), or you can just endure the occasional interruptions. Audio technology on the web is improving, so a day is coming when this problem will disappear forever. Hooray! 5. Problem: After you click on the MP3 button, your computer downloads the clip, but when it is finished, nothing happens. Solution: This means that your computer is configured to automatically download this type of file to a certain file folder on your hard drive. Try downloading another MP3 file and find out where your computer is storing them. Then, when you find them, just double-click on the file and it should begin playing. 6. Problem: You have successfully downloaded an MP3 clip, but when you try to play it, nothing happens or you get an error message. Solution: This probably means you do not have a functioning MP3 player on your system. If you are pretty sure that you have (or had) one, try reinstalling it if you can find the setup file. Otherwise, visit the Downloads section on FreshReleasese.com and go get one! 7. Problem: During playback of either the Real Audio, MP3, or Windows Media song clips the sound is bad and/or distorted. Solution: You may have the volume slider on the Real Player, Windows Media Player, or your MP3 player too high. This may cause certain speakers to distort. Find the volume slider and pull it down to a lower level with your mouse. That should take care of the distortion. If it still doesn't sound very good, get some new speakers! SHOPPING SHOPPING OVERVIEW We are very selective in what we carry in order to bring you the highest quality, spiritually enriching, and most relevant music items on the market today, and at GREAT prices! By keeping our overhead extremely low, we are able to be among the lowest priced retailers of Christian music on the Internet, and we aim to stay that way. In addition, our customer service is second to none. We treat each customer as if he or she were the only one, and we will treat you the same way we would want to be treated. YOUR SHOPPING CART Anytime you click on a "Buy" button next to an item, it will be automatically added to your shopping cart. You will also be shown the entire contents of the cart, and the current subtotal of your purchase. You can remove or change the quantity of any of the items at any time. Just make the change and hit the "update" button to see the updated totals. To continue shopping, you can: Once you have added 1 or more items to your shopping cart, a smaller version of your shopping cart and it's contents will be present at the bottom of the left column of any page your are viewing. The contents of your cart will remain the same until you add to it, check out by purchasing the items, or leave the site entirely. You are never obligated to buy anything. ORDERING ONLINE By Credit Card FreshReleases is proud to offer the convenience of online shopping! You can buy anything on the site from the comfort of your computer keyboard with either a MasterCard or Visa credit card. There is no need to worry about giving your credit card number to us to purchase your order - we never even see it! We use Authorize.net to process all credit card transactions. They are one of the most widely used and respected companies for online transactions and all the credit card information you submit is SSL encrypted and secure. Your transaction is either approved or denied on the spot based on the card number and personal information that you enter during checkout (your name and address must be exactly the same as the name and billing address for the credit card you are using). By Check or Money Order If you do not have a credit card or simply prefer not to use one, we also provide the option for you to pay with a check or money order. To do so, put items in you shopping cart as you normally would. Underneath the "Continue Shopping" and "Checkout" buttons in the shopping cart, you will see a link to print out an order form. Click on the link, print out the form, fill it in with the items you wish to purchase and their prices, and mail it to us with a check or money order payable to FreshReleases.com. Our address (also listed on the form) is: 424 Church Street Suite 1310 Nashville, TN 37219 SHIPPING AND DELIVERY All domestic orders are shipped via USPS First Class or Priority Mail. If you live in the United States, you can expect to receive your purchased items within 5-7 business days, although most orders are received in 4-5 business days. If your order is placed during normal business hours, it is normally processed and packed within 24 hours of receiving it, and 95% of all orders are shipped within 24-48 business hours. We will contact you if there will be any delays with your purchase due to back orders. Canadian and international orders will take a bit longer. We ship via USPS for most international orders, and the prescribed time frame for shipping is generally 5-7 business days, depending on the country. International orders are generally shipped at the end of the week, so if your order is placed on Monday, it may take a few days longer than if your order was placed later in the week. If you do not receive the items you purchased within the aforementioned time frame, please contact us with your order number and we will investigate the matter. **Please note that "Pre-Order" items will not be shipped until the Release Date. SHIPPING CHARGES Our shipping charges are the lowest in the business, and unless you live in Tennessee, you don't even have to pay any sales tax! To make it easy for you to figure out, we have developed a shipping charge chart based on the dollar value of your purchase before taxes and shipping. Here is the breakdown:
*Note: the added tax for Tennessee orders and the extra shipping cost for international orders may not show up until late in the checkout process. LOW PRICE GUARANTEE We guarantee that you will not find any product on our site at a lower total cost anywhere else, whether in stores or on the Internet. That is our promise to you. If you do find something at a lower price somewhere else, by all means BUY IT! No need to feel bad about not buying it from us. We want you to get the lowest price on your purchases, and we've tried to make sure that FreshReleases.com is the place you'll find them. But if we can't do it, that's our problem, not yours! RETURN POLICY We will accept returns or exchanges only in the event of damaged or defective products. This does not, however, apply to cracked CD jewel cases. We promise to pack your purchases with the utmost care, but due to mail handling, an occasional jewel case may sustain a crack or two. To return a product: 1. Send an email to customerservice@freshreleases.com and explain the problem. Please include the order number from your email receipt. Let us know your name and what you are returning, and whether you would like to return, replace, or exchange the item. 2. Repack the product just as you received it and return it to us at: FreshReleases.com Attn: Returns 424 Church St. Suite #1310 Nashville, TN 37219 3. We will process your return immediately upon receipt and notify you via email. AFFILIATES In business as in life, we believe that strong relationships are one of the most vital aspects of our existence, and an important key to success. For this reason, we have developed an Affiliate Program that is second to none. If you believe in our purpose and mission, are excited by the quality of our site and our products, and have a website of your own, we invite you to partner with us by becoming an Affiliate member of FreshReleases.com. Our Affiliates earn the highest commissions of any online music store (up to 10%), and receive HUGE discounts on any advertising they do with us and any of our related websites (currently CMCentral.com and CMBlast.com. BECOMING AN AFFILIATE Becoming an Affiliate of FreshReleases.com is quite simple. All you have to do is visit our Affiliate Program section. On the main page you will find our Affiliate Agreement. Read it through and then click on the "Login or Register Here" link at the top of the page. You will be given the opportunity to enter all of your information required to become an Affiliate. To comply with IRS revenue reporting requirements, you will be required to provide your Social Security Number, or if you are registering as a company your Federal Tax ID Number, so be sure you have those handy. Once you have registered, we will email you your password for logging into the Affiliate Program where you can create your own links and check your personal statistics any time you wish. LINKING TO FRESHRELEASES.COM As an Affiliate of FreshReleases.com, the way you earn income is through customers who click over to FR from your website and then make a purchase. To ensure accurate tracking, your Affiliate ID needs to be embedded into the links you place on your website, so it is extremely important that the links are correct. For this reason, we STRONGLY RECOMMEND that, unless you are very experienced and feel comfortable creating your own links, you use the links created within the "My Links" section of the Affiliate Program exactly as they appear. This will ensure that your links are tracked accurately and you earn credit for every click and purchase made by customers who arrive at FR via your website. Once you have registered as an Affiliate and received your password via email, you may immediately login and begin creating links. You can choose to use any of the banners and graphic links we have created to display on your website, or you may decide to link to any artist or album directly via text or album graphic links that we provide. Or you may decide to use BOTH. There is no limit to how many links you can include on your website - the more you use, the more effective you will be. Banners To place a banner on your site, simply choose one or more of the banners you see displayed in the "My Links" area of the Affiliate Program under the "Create a Banner Link" section. Each banner has a corresponding code box that contains the correct HTML code you will need to use on your site. Your Affiliate ID is automatically embedded in the code as long as you have logged with your email and password. Simply copy the code from the box and paste it into the HTML on your website wherever you would like the banner to appear. The more links you create on your website, the more opportunities your visitors will have to click over to FR and start earning you revenue! Artist and Album Links Offering your visitors the opportunity to view and purchase some of the best and latest CD’s that Christian music has to offer can enhance the appeal of any website. In order to offer you the ability sell albums directly from your website without having to worry about handling the payments and shipping aspects of running a store, we have provided a way for you to place album graphics and/or text on your website that link directly to that artist or album on FreshReleases.com. To do so, simply click on the "My Links" button once you have logged in to the Affiliate Program with your email and password. From the drop-down menu, choose any artist that FreshReleases.com has listed. Once you have selected an artist, you will be able to select the artist or any of their albums to which you wish to create links. At the top you will notice "Artist Link" with a text box below it that contains HTML code. If you wish to place a text link on your site to that artist on FreshReleases.com, simply copy and paste the code from that box into the HTML code of desired area of your site where you want the link to appear. Just below the code box you will see an example of how the link will appear on your site. Visitors who click the artist link from your site will be taken to the artist’s page on FreshReleases.com which will list all the albums available for purchase from that artist. If you select a specific album, you will be given the opportunity to choose from a text or graphic link for each album. Below each HTML code box you will see an example of how the link will appear on your site. You may use whichever suits you best - simply copy and paste the HTML from the box into the desired place on your site. If your are skilled at HTML, you may also edit any of the links to appear the way you want them to on your site. However, do not change the URL that contains your Affiliate ID. Doing so could mean you will not get credit for sales from that link. GETTING PAID We have tried to make this function of the Affiliate Program as user-friendly as possible. As payment for driving traffic and customer to FreshReleases, you deserve adequate compensation. That’s why we have developed the most generous commission structure in the business that rewards you more as you send more customers. You will receive a fee based on the Net Selling Price of all items shipped on any order received as a result of a click-through from any of your Affiliate links and shipped by us. The Net Selling Price is the unit price paid by the customer not including costs for shipping, handling, taxes, returns, or other charges incurred by the customer beyond the sales price of the item(s) purchased. Your fee will start at 6% of the Net Selling Price, and increase as follows: Once your unpaid fees have reached $50.00 or more, you will be given the option to request a check from FreshReleases.com for up to the total amount of unpaid fees posted to your account. If no request has been made, or if your unpaid balance does not exceed $50 by the end of the calendar year (Dec. 31st), a check will be mailed to you during the first week of the New Year for the total amount of unpaid commissions that have been posted to your account. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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