PRX is excited to provide you with yet another way of getting your work heard (and compensating you for it, too). It's called digital distribution: your work gets placed with major online vendors like iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, eMusic, and Napster. There, it will be available just like music: anyone can buy a download; any subscriber can stream the piece. When they do, you get recognition and revenue.
How does it work?
PRX occasionally invites a small number of public radio producers to join us in this unique opportunity. We take care of submitting your work to the services. We also decide which online services to use, so you don't have to spend time figuring out what is the best fit and how to submit to each individually. All you have to do is agree to let us distribute your work digitally and we'll take care of the rest and send you royalty checks when your work is sold.
Can I choose which online services are used to distribute my work?
Eventually you may be able to, but not until we better learn how the services operate and how to manage it all efficiently. We can, however, tell you where your work gets placed.
What is the length of the agreement?
Beginning from the time you officially opt-in, the agreement is for one year and will renew automatically for an additional one-year term unless we receive written notification of the termination from you.
Once my work appears on these services, how do people know it's there?
That depends on the service. Pieces that we've already sent are generally placed in the music stores under Spoken Word. They show up in searches on those services. They aren't yet listed in audiobooks, though we're working on that for certain pieces. But just being there isn't enough, and that's where promotion comes in. PRX will provide you with the direct links to your work when possible. You can then circulate them via email, blogs, social networking sites, sidewalk chalk, however you choose. We'll also do our part in getting the word out; for example, by asking the services to feature certain works.
What's in it for me?
1) Money. You will get 70% of all royalties earned through the sale of your content. The payment rates for each distribution service is different, so we can't provide you with exact numbers, but if you look at a service like iTunes, a single track (something under 10 minutes) goes for 99 cents. An entire album (which, in the case of a one-hour documentary would be one track since 74 min. is the maximum length per album), costs somewhere between $3.99-$5.99 in the iTunes Music Store.
2) Fans. You will also be expanding your network of listeners... always a good thing. Many of the people who use Amazon, iTunes, eMusic, etc. are not public radio listeners, so you're reaching a new audience.
3) Hipster-ness. You'll be among the first public radio producers to ride the digital distribution wave into the future. Flaunt it!
Do I have to be a paid member of PRX to participate?
You don't have to be a paid member to opt-in to this service, but in order to earn royalties for station licenses or digital distribution through PRX you must have a paid membership. Royalties are paid on a quarterly basis and are taxable.
Sounds cool, but aren't these services just for musicians and record labels?
While digital audio distribution typically involves music, the services we currently partner with have welcomed PRX producers' content into their system. iTunes Music Store and many other services have non-music categories like comedy and spoken word. But in many cases, PRX is providing their first public radio content. Placement as an audiobook isn't available yet, but we hear that might change soon.
I'm already busy enough. Will this involve extra effort on my part?
No. At first all you'll need to do is opt-in and we take care of all the encoding, transfer, and metadata stuff. We may ask you for information or pictures from time to time to help promote your work. We'll also send you the links to where your tracks have been placed, but what you do with them is up to you.
What's the story with rights?
You retain all the rights to your work and are granting us certain rights to distribute and promote it. Also, you should make sure you've cleared all necessary rights to third-party material included in your pieces, including music. Some uses of music might be considered fair use, while others would require permission from the copyright holder. PRX cannot advise you on legal matters and cannot clear these rights for you. For more on fair use visit http://fairuse.stanford.edu/
I have more questions.
Ask away. Please feel free to contact us at help@prx.org.
