FAQ

The Basics

What is Musicshake?

We are an online service offering users the opportunity to create music easily and quickly.
It is easy because you don't need ANY musical training to use Musicshake - you just need to know whether you like what you hear. It is quick because you can literally complete a track in under a minute - of course, you can spend more time perfecting and fine-tuning your songs.

Is Musicshake a web site or is it an application?

There are 3 parts to Musicshake:

This is our website where users sign up, upload and post songs, share opinions, ask questions, and most importantly listen and form communities with others.

This is a web-based application that you can use to create your music. Every page in our website has a button which you can click to launch the Musicshake web application. You do need an internet connection to run this application.

This is the advanced application that you can only use on a PC. It requires you to download a 20MB application and install it on your PC. You also need an internet connection to run this application.

How do I get started?

Musicshake is really easy and does not require a sign-up to start. Just launch either the web or PC application and start creating your music. Here is a quick tutorial you can watch if you must. If music making is not your best interest, you can browse through our charts and listen to music that others have created.

What do I need to use Musicshake?

You need a web browser (which you already have if you are reading this) and Flash 10.1 or higher. You can check your version here.

Which web browser is best to use?

For the best experience, on both Macs and PCs, we recommend you use the latest version of Chrome, Firefox or Safari.
Musicshake should work in Microsoft Internet Explorer as well as Opera and other available browsers.
If you run into any technical issues, please upgrade your browser to the latest version.

What are the minimum hardware requirements?

Operating System: Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7
Processor: Pentium 1.5 GHz (Celeron 2 GHz) or higher
Memory: 512 MB RAM or more (recommended)

What do I do with the music I made on Musicshake?

- Post on Musicshake: post your songs on Musicshake so your friends and other Shakers can listen, rate and comment on the song.
- Share with friends: just email the song link or send directly to Facebook, Twitter and Reddit.
- Participate in events: usually every month or two, we run events where you can win some cool prizes.
- Buy the song: you can get an MP3 file for a nominal price. All your purchases are recorded in "My Musicshake" you can go to download your songs again.

Is Musicshake FREE?

Musicshake is a FREE to PLAY service. What this means is the following:
FREE - Creating an account, making music, posting music, sharing music, embedding music, listening to music
NOT FREE - Downloading MP3, uploading song to YouTube, getting access to premium contents

How much will a song cost me? (Please refer to the Downloading Songs section for details)

One MP3 will cost $0.99 for personal usage, and $19.99 for commercial usage.

We also have various different subscription services available.

How do I change my password and email?

Go to edit profile to change your password and email.

I have forgotten my password. Help!

Go to the Login page and click on Forgot password

Making Music (based on the web application)

Can I add more instruments to my song?

Yes, you need to add a TRACK. A track is the horizontal musical row in the Musicshake application. Click "Add track" from the Musicshake application. This will provide you with instruments, vocals, and sound effects that you can add to your song. To delete a track, click on the track and choose "Delete".

Can I lengthen or shorten my song?

To lengthen the song you need to add a PART. A part is the vertical musical column in the Musicshake application. Click “Add part” from the Musicshake application. You will have to choose a chord progression, and this will create another part in the song (parts are added to the end of the song). To shorten you song you need to delete a PART. Click on the number of the part you would like to delete (the top of each column) and choose "Delete".

Can I somehow lengthen or shorten a music block?

No, you can't. The block is the most basic unit for music-making in Musicshake. At this time the length is fixed to 8 musical measures, and you can only turn it ON or OFF.

Can I add my own vocals to the music? (singing or rapping)

You cannot add your own vocals to the music from the web application (however, we are working on this). However, you can do this from the PC application. You just need connect a microphone to your computer (and make sure it works properly). To create a recording track click on the RECORD button and this will create a recording track.

We encourage our users to use this feature more often but let's all make sure we keep the language clean!

Can I make my song faster or slower? (tempo change)

Currently we only offer two tempos (speed) which are 90 and 140 beats per minute (bpm). You can only choose before you start making your song. We will be able to adjust the tempo in the near future.

Can I make key changes?

We will be able to change in the near future. Currently we have all our music fixed to the key of G

Can we customize the Musicshake application?

We are currently working on this feature. Soon, you will be able to change the looks of the application by using the different 'skins' that Musicshake provides for FREE.

Can I connect my personal instrument to Musicshake?

No, you can't. However, you can play your own instrument and use the recording feature to record your performance.

How many music blocks does Musicshake provide?

Currently, we provide approximately 1.3 million different music blocks categorized by genre, style and instruments.

Can we search for different music blocks?

You can group instruments and list them alphabetically. You can also favorite your most used music blocks so that you can come back and re-use them again in the future.

Posting, Sharing and Managing Your Music

How do I post my music on Musicshake?

When you finish creating your song from the Musicshake application you can choose to post the song on Musicshake website. This will begin the 3-step process of gathering all the tracks in your song to send to Musicshake - we will refer to this process as the "export process". Before the export process begins, you can put more details about your song and post.

Once your song is posted, it is public and available for other Shakers to listen to and comment.

What happens when I post a song?

Each song gets a "Song Page" where people can listen, share, rate, leave comments, and purchase your music.

Can I share my music outside of the Musicshake in places such as Facebook or my own blog?

Yes, once you have posted your song, you can share your songs by sending to Facebook, Twitter and Reddit. We will be adding more social sites in the future.

Where do I keep track of my songs?

My Musicshake - you can keep track of all songs that have been posted, favorited, purchased, and sold.

Downloading Songs

How do I download a song?

1. Downloading is not free. Please visit our store page to either buy Shake Cash or a subscription.

2. You can only download a posted song. Note the MP3 and Commercial MP3 buttons on the song lists and song pages.

3. To post your own song:

• Load your song on the Musicshake web app
• Click the MENU button (cup icon)
• Click 'POST'
• Enter song details and click 'POST' button on the bottom right

4. To see all your songs, go to 'My Profile' on the website and press 'see all' button.

5. You will see your posted songs, 'MP3 Download' button for non-commercial download and 'Commercial MP3' for commercial download.

6. Either the 'Shake Cash' will be deducted from you account, if you have a subscription, personal downloads are free.

What format, bit rate and file-size are downloaded songs?

Musicshake songs are available in MP3, 128 Kbps and the file sizes vary depending on the length of the song. The typical file size of a song that is 2 minutes in length is approximately 2 MBs.

How much does it cost to download a song?

There are two different Musicshake licenses but the usual price for buying a song is 99 cents per song. All purchases have to be made using Shake Cash.

• Personal - This is for personal use, meaning you don't plan on making money using this music (for example - listening on PC, iPods and using for in class projects)
• Commercial - If you plan to use Musicshake songs for commercial purposes (for example - using songs for movies, games, websites or to sell your Musicshake songs on iTunes; any usage which you will be making money from)

	Personal	Commercial
Pricing - per song	$0.99	$19.99
Pricing - subscription *includes unlimited MP3 downloads, uploads to YouTube	$5.00 / month $10.00 / 6 months $15.00 / year	N/A
Usage	Non-profit (iPod, PC, CD, gifts etc.)	For profit (Selling, commercial videos, games, movies etc.)
Restrictions	Not for commercial usage	None

What is Shake Cash?

Shake Cash is a virtual currency used in Musicshake - you need Shake Cash to buy songs or subscriptions.

How much is Shake Cash worth?

1 U.S. Dollar = 100 Shake Cash.

How do I buy some Shake Cash and what kind of payments do you accept? (Go HERE to buy Shake Cash)

For electronic payments, we accept credit cards and PayPal.

If you don't have a PayPal account or a credit card, you can purchase Shake Cash directly from Musicshake by sending CASH, CHECK, or a MONEY ORDER.

Please make the CHECK or MONEY ORDER to Musicshake Inc., and send the payment to: Musicshake, Inc.

ATTN: Billing Department
1133 5TH AVE UNIT B, LOS ANGELES, CA 90019

We require the following information in order to process your payment:
1) Your Musicshake ID
2) Your REAL name
3) Your Contact Phone Number (in case we need to contact you regarding the payment)
4) Your Email Address (registered with Musicshake)
5) Amount of Shake Cash you would like to purchase ($1 = 100 Shake Cash)

Can I pay a flat fee to get unlimited downloads? (Go HERE to get subscription)

Yes, we have a subscription service that allows you to download as many songs as you wish for ONE (1) month, SIX (6) months or ONE (1) full year. (Only for Personal Usage)

Can I use Musicshake songs for my YouTube video?

Yes, there are two ways to do this:

• You can buy your song for $0.99 or $19.99 (if you are making money on YouTube) and use the MP3 in your video. Please make sure you credit Musicshake by inserting "Music created with Musicshake(www.musicshake.com)" somewhere in the video or video description
• You can upload your song on YouTube's AudioSwap library and then use AudioSwap to insert thesong in the video. You will need a subscription pricing plan in order to upload songs onto YouTube. (Temporarily unavailable)

Can I use Musicshake songs for my video games that I am developing?

Yes, as long as you buy your song ($19.99) and credit us somewhere in the game by inserting by inserting "Music created with Musicshake (www.musicshake.com)"

Can I use a Personal Usage song for a movie or a game that I am making?

No, you may not. If you are making a movie or game for the purpose of making money, you must purchase the commercial song.

So is there a way for me to "earn" some Shake Cash? (Temporarily unavailable)

Yes, when your song is purchased by anyone else but you for Personal Usage, then 10% of the purchase price gets credited to your account. For Commercial Usage, 30% of the purchase price gets credited to your account.

This applies to individual song purchases and not to subscriptions.

Musicshake for Education (Temporarily unavailable)

What is Musicshake for Education?

Musicshake for Education is an innovative program for schools which allows every student access to Musicshake. Each student can have his/her separate account that can be used to create unlimited music and downloaded as MP3.

You can visit our Musicshake for Education website HERE.

Why Musicshake for Education?

We realize that our core users are students who like to create music, listen to music and build communities with their friends using creative forms of online media such as video or audio contents. We also believe that Musicshake is an excellent tool that can enhance any multi-media class project which all requires some form of background music.

Schools can use Musicshake to create customized, copyright free music for any multimedia projects and school fundraisers.

How much does Musicshake for Education cost?

We currently offer one kind of a steeply discounted Musicshake for Education License for schools.

The Musicshake for Education License is $499 per year per school up to 500 accounts.

What does the Musicshake for Education License include?

• Every student gets an individual account
• Each school gets an individual school URL
• Each school gets a customized website
• Unlimited music making
• Unlimited MP3 and WAV download
• Peace of mind from copyright infringement issues
• Technical support

Our school only has 5 students. How much does Musicshake for Education cost?

The Musicshake for Education License is $499 per school (per year) up to 500 students

Our school has 10,000 students. How much does Musicshake for Education cost?

The Musicshake for Education License is $499 per school (per year) up to 500 students. After that, we charge $1 per student.

How can we leverage Musicshake for school fund raising events?

Students can use Musicshake to create their unique copyright free music and then create CDs with their songs. These CDs can be sold at school fundraisers which will be a fun and meaningful way to generate funding for schools.

We use Macs in our school. What is the difference between Musicshake and GarageBand?

	Musicshake	GarageBand
Target Audience	Both music savvy and non-savvy audience People who are interested in creating/consuming/sharing music	Music savvy audience People who are only interested in creating music
User Experience	Game like, quick and fun experience Instant gratification (you can create a good song in less than 1 min)	Hard core music production Grueling gratification (you have to spend hours to create a good song)
Music Knowledge	No music knowledge required	SOME music knowledge (key/tempo/chord) required
Online/Offline	Online	Offline
Algorithm	Mu-Bot (Music Robot) automatically harmonizes all music samples 'You have to try REALLY hard to make something that doesn't sounds good'	No algorithm (users have to listen and decide if the music sounds good)
Community	Community that encourages music making and listening	No community
Compatibility	PC and Mac (web-based)	Mac only
Price	$499 / year / school (up to 500 students)	$60 ~ $125 / Mac (ONE student)

Musicshake for YouTube (Temporarily unavailable)

What is Musicshake for YouTube?

Musicshake for YouTube is a unique feature that allows any Musicshake user to upload their songs as background music for their YouTube videos. Shakers can use a YouTube service called AudioSwap to do this.

You can find out more about AudioSwap HERE.

Why Musicshake for YouTube?

Every video needs music to go with it in order to make it more engaging and fun to watch. Imagine watching a video without any music? how boring and meaningless would that be?

However, the problems and dangers involved in inserting any music in a video are huge especially when it comes to copyright issues. This is why YouTube does not allow any uploads of user generated videos that has music from the major music labels. e.g. pop artist music.

With Musicshake, you can be assured that you will not run into any copyright issues. Any music that is created with Musicshake is copyright free and can be used for your YouTube videos. In addition to the legal benefits, you can create a song that exactly matches the contents of your videos which will make your videos more popular and viewable.

What is AudioSwap?

AudioSwap is a YouTube feature that allows you to automatically and easily add music to your YouTube videos. Using YouTube's extensive list of songs, you can spice up your videos with songs from your favorite artists.

How do I use AudioSwap?

Go to "My Videos" and click on the AudioSwap button on your videos. Then browse YouTube's library to find a song. If you have uploaded your own Musicshake song, find your song by the song name or the genre. Once you've selected a song, click on the "Preview" button to preview your video with the selected track. If you're satisfied with your new video, click on the "Publish" button below to finalize its transformation.

Please Note: When you add a new soundtrack, the audio track on your video will be permanently replaced. You can replace the audio track as many times as you like; however, once it has been replaced you cannot get the previous version back. You may want to upload a few videos to experiment with.

How much does Musicshake for YouTube cost?

In order to upload your Musicshake songs to AudioSwap's music library, you have to have the monthly subscription or annual subscription plan. Thesubscription plan is $5.00 per month, $10.00 per 6 months and the annual subscription plan is $15.00 per year.

How does Musicshake for YouTube work?

If you are on a subscription plan (monthly or annual), you can request your songs to be uploaded onto the YouTube's AudioSwap music library. Musicshake will do this for you and will notify you you're your songs are ready on YouTube. You can request to upload as many songs as you would like but you can only request your own songs.

Please Note: You can only make upload requests for your own song. However, once your song becomes available on the AudioSwap music library, any YouTuber can select your song to use as background music for their YouTube videos. This is just the nature and mechanism of YouTube which Musicshake cannot modify.

How do I upload my songs to YouTube?

First of all, you have to be on a subscription plan to request for songs to be uploaded to YouTube. Go to My Musicshake >> YouTube, and you can choose your songs to upload for use in your YouTube videos. You can only upload music which you have created.

How do I delete my account?

You can delete your account by going to this link. Understand that when you delete your account, your profile page and all your songs will be deleted. You will also not be able to receive any Shake Cash royalties if you delete your account.