Please Read This Before Posting Songs

Although just about any sound format is welcome in this forum area, for best results please keep the following in mind.

1) We don't actually store your music on this website. To be able to listen to your songs, you'll have to post them elsewhere and provide a link to them.
2) Please use MP3 format. It's compatible with just about any computer and people like us Mac users won't scream in frustration when we can't listen to your weird .ru or m3u file.
3) Store your MP3's on your own server so that people can access it directly. Or in other words, when you post a link to your song, make it a direct link like this...

http://s93744050.onlinehome.us/mp3/Rocksplosion.mp3

... and not a link to a huge web page with dozens of lo-fi or partial sound files on a public page like this

http://www.zejo.com/audio%20search%20results.php?collectionid=359

That way, when someone wants to listen to your particular song, all they have to do is click on the direct link and it will load and start playing immediately.

Whatever you do, try not to post your songs on a web site that requires people to log in or register first.
(or at the very least, warn people ahead of time if it requires surfing around and registering to listen to your song).

* Some additional information on using your own server:
First of all, it's only $2.99 per month from services such as this one:

http://www.1and1.com/?k_id=6828651

(I actually found out about this place from a Guitar Tricks member .... a few years ago they were offering a 3 year free test of their service and I signed up and actually got free service. After a year I was convinced enough that I just signed up for the full package. I've tried other services but had varying levels of success... mostly problems with customer service and sites that constantly went offline. I only recommend 1and1.com because after 3 years I've never had any reason to doubt their professionalism and reliability.
.... and no I don't work for them.

This is the place I've been using for about 3 years now and never had a problem or ever had my own website go offline.
Basically the way it works is, you sign up for the service and you get 5GB of space to store all your own material. This can be anything from pictures to MP3's, to Videos to ..whatever you want.
You can also set up your own web page to store your songs and pics.

All the instructions for doing so are included with the package and it's extremely simple to set up.
The advantages are well worth the small cost.
First of all, you can get your own domain name.
So rather than giving people a long link like "http://www.soundclick.com/mywebpage94777383888787r or whatever...
you can do what I did and give yourself a web page that has your name included in it. ie, http://www.schmange.com

You'll also get 1000 email addresses that you can add of your own.
Everything from [email]webmaster@myname.com[/email] to [email]myname@myname.com[/email], to
[email]legaldept@myname.com[/email] or anything else you can think of to make yourself or your band look more professional.

You get an FTP address to upload all your files which makes things as simple as just dragging and dropping all your mp3's and picks onto the ftp window.
Then you design your own web page and add the songs to it.

To other people, you look 100 times more serious about your work because you actually have your own site.
You can also upload hi quality versions of your songs rather than the low quality versions that most of these third party sites force you to use.

Spend a little time designing your own page and you can also stream your songs so that they can't be blatantly downloaded, and then use a site like PayLoadz to add 'buy' buttons so that people can purchase your songs.

Other advantages... your own guestbook, pics of your band, a press kit, your own lesson page... blog... whatever you can think of.

The main trouble with sites like 'soundclick' etc... are that the sound files are low quality.. some people can't access the mp3's (like me on my Mac... it freezes up my computer and crashes it...which makes me majorly pissed because you screwed things up for me).
With your own site and domain, you can use direct links like I said above.

ie,
http://s93744050.onlinehome.us/mp3/Rocksplosion.mp3

Somebody clicks on it, and if you have your browser set up properly, the song will load immediately and start playing while it completes downloading onto your computer.
If you right click (or command-click) you can open the mp3 on a separate window or download it to your own computer as well.

Anyways... last but not least... stats to see how many people have listened to your song or surfed to your web page... plus stats on where they surfed from and what pages they looked at.

What can I say... I keep blabbing on here cause you guys who are using cheezy third party sites to host your music are just screaming to people that you are amateurs and not serious about what you're doing.
Get your own site and domain and design it the way you want if you really want people to take your music seriously.

Note: one last thing about you young guys about credit cards etc...
Most sites like that are going to require a credit card to sign up.
I get guys writing me all the time saying they can't sign up because of that.
The solution is to do what I did when I was younger.
Go to your parents... offer to pay them a year in advance and ask them to sign up for you. Once you take the time to explain what it's being used for, you shouldn't have any problem convincing them to help you out.
If they have reservations about using credit cards online, be prepared to back yourself up with documentation about the safe use of credit cards on secure sites.
I've been using credit cards online for years now and haven't once run into any problems since the secure site method has come out.
It's no different than going into a physical store and using the checkout.
In fact it's safer since the clerk doesn't have the chance to get their grimey paws on your information when you hand it over.

Be sure to talk to your parents about how this additional responsibility will help you manage your finances in the future, and will help you gain a presence online. Not only for your musical career, but for future money making enterprises like setting up your own web based store.

If you can't do that... look around. Even before I approached my parents years ago, I found places that were willing to take money orders or debit cards.
Just look around.