FAQ
What is RCRD LBL?
RCRD LBL is a network of ad supported online record labels and blogs offering completely free music and multimedia content from emerging and established artists.
Is the music on RCRD LBL really free?
Yes, you are welcome to download and enjoy any music we post on the site, provided it is being used for personal, non-commercial use. You can do things like make copies of the tracks and put them on all of your music-playing devices, burn them on to mix CDs for your friends, even use them in videos you make, as long as you're only doing these things for strictly noncommercial purposes.In short: we're happy for you to share our music, but you're not allowed to make money off of it. If you'd like to to use one of our tracks in any way that would be considered a commercial use, you must contact us first.
Some of the music offered by RCRD LBL is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license. This license means that these tracks are pre-cleared to the public for certain uses. Tracks that are licensed this way will feature a Creative Commons icon on their respective download pages.
- Noncommercial sharing - The CC BY-NC license gives you the legal right to share tracks noncommercially (that's the "NC" part of the license). You can do things like make copies of the tracks and put them on all of your music playing devices, burn them on to mix CDs for your friends, even use them in videos you make as long as you're only doing these things for strictly noncommercial purposes. In short: we're happy for you to share our music, but you're not allowed to make money off of it. If you'd like to to use one of our tracks in any way that would be considered a commercial use, you must contact us first.
- Noncommercial remixing - The CC BY-NC license also gives you the legal right to remix, sample from, and mash-up tracks. You can share your remixes again, as long as you're only doing so for noncommercial purposes. We ask that you please let us know about your remixes by emailing them to us. If you make one that we really like, we'll promote it on our site.
- Attribution - You can use tracks under the CC BY-NC license as described above, as long as you make sure to properly credit both the artist and RCRD LBL whenever you use the tracks (attribution is the "BY" part of the license). As part of this attribution requirement, we ask that you include links to the RCRD LBL site wherever possible. An example of proper attribution is: This video features the song "X SONG" (+ LINK) by X ARTIST (+ LINK), released by RCRD LBL (+ LINK), available under a Creative Commons BY-NC (+ LINK) license.
Is all the music on RCRD LBL really legal?
Yes. All music on RCRD LBL is free and legally available for downloading when offered. RCRD LBL believes that artists should be paid for their music and is a site dedicated to legally discovering and sharing music.
How do the bands get paid?
We support the site by selling sponsorships to advertisers that want to help us hook you up with good music. If you want to support what we're doing, tell your friends to come check us out.
Will the music I download on your site work on my iPod, Zune, Sansa, laptop, cellphone, etc?
Yes. All the music we release is offered in DRM-free MP3 format and will work on any personal computer or portable digital music player. Some tracks are offered in an additional format -- enhanced AAC -- which has extra features which are only compatible with iPods and iTunes, but we promise we'll always offer an MP3 version of every track we release.
Do I need an account to download music from your site?
No, but we require that you create a my.rcrdlbl.com account to customize the site or to post comments.
What's my.rcrdlbl.com?
My.rcrdlbl.com allows you to customize your experience on the site. Once you create an account, you can find out when your favorite bands and labels add new music, post news and tour dates and also get updates based on the tags you like too. We're going to have special contests and give aways just for the folks who picked their favorites, so it's definitely worth letting us know which bands and labels you are a fan of.
I want to add an RSS feed from one of your artists or labels to my reader, how do I do that?
Every page of the site has an RSS icon. Just right-click to save the feed, which can be added to any RSS news reader.
What if I want to post a track from RCRD LBL on my blog or website?
To be honest, we'd prefer that you link back to us rather than rehost our tracks on your site. We support the site and pay our artists through advertising and sponsorships, and the only way we can do that is if people visit the site or embed our widgets. We offer widgets for all of the music on RCRD LBL, so if you want to post a track on your blog, please grab the widget for that track. Our artists still get paid, and you save on bandwidth.
What's a widget and how can I use RCRD LBL's widgets?
Widgets are embeddable mini-applications that perform specific functions. Our widgets allow you to stream music, view photos and videos and receive tour and news updates from your favorite bands and labels. It's super easy to download them from our site and pass them along to your friends. And every time new content is added to the widgets on our site, it will be added to the widgets you have downloaded and embedded automatically. Pretty sweet, yes?
To grab a widget for Mac OS X Dashboard or iGoogle: Click on the "grab this" button on the lower right corner, pick your app (iGoogle, OS X Dashboard) and then unzip the file using any program like Stuffit or Zipeg. Vista Gadgets compatibility is coming soon!
To embed the widget on your blog or website: Simply cut and paste the embed code.
Can I make a mash up or remix of a song from RCRD LBL?
Absolutely. In fact, we want to hear it, so if you create one, send it our way.
Do you accept demo tapes/MP3s from signed and unsigned bands?
Yes, if you'd like to submit a LINK (please do not send full MP3s) to your music, you can send it to . If we dig what we hear, we'll be sure to drop you a line.
I'm interested in being a sponsor of RCRD LBL. Who can I talk to?
Please contact: and we will gladly send you our media kit.
I'm interested in using one of your artists' songs for a film, TV show, commercial, ad campaign, etc. Who can I talk to?
Please contact: and we'll be sure to be in touch.
When I try to download a track in Internet Explorer 6 it opens in Windows Media Player and fails. How can I fix this?
Some Internet Explorer 6 users may experience an issue where downloads cannot be saved and instead launch Windows Media Player but fail to open. To resolve the issue open Windows Explorer, go to "Tools", "Folder Options...", "File Types", look for "MP3" and delete its association with Windows Media Player. If you are still having trouble please contact .
I'm having a technical problem with the RCRD LBL. Who's the best person to talk to?
Please contact: and we'll try and sort things out.