We strive to make Gigacrate as simple and straightforward as possible, but sometimes folks get confused. Here is a list of our most frequently asked questions...
Each section (Home, Music, Users, etc..) has top level tab navigation with sub navigation below it. This sub navigation is essentially a quick way for you to browse contents of that section. In Music, for instance, you may wish to view the "Latest Arrivals" or "Top Rated" songs.
Each section also has a homepage that typically has summary information which is perfect for quickly browsing content.
Each section has a simple search and an advanced search. Searches are performed only within the section you are in (ie: if you are in About and you perform a search, you will not get results from the Music section...only from the About section).
We even have the ability to resolve a fuzzy search. For instance, if you type "Beestie Boyz", you would get "Beastie Boys". Which means, you don't even have to know exact spellings. How cool is that!
See that textfield located directly above the main nav tabs? That is the simple search. Type anything you wish into the textfield and it will search all applicable fields in the database.
Click on the text labeled "Advanced" (to the right of the simple search, just above the main navigation) and the simple search will be replaced by advanced search options.
More detailed search options are available in advanced search. For example, in the Music section you can search on artist, song title and even BPM if you so desire. Leave fields blank that you don't want to search on.
You may notice that sections such as Latest Arrivals have options to narrow your search further. All of these search filters are done with ajax (meaning they don't require a page refresh).
The "Text Display" is essentially a table with no images. It is very useful for quickly viewing lots of songs or albums.
The "Grid Display" is strictly images. It is reminiscent of browsing the isles of a vinyl record store.
The "List Display" is a hybrid image and text option that is our default for most sections.
This allows you to switch between viewing songs or albums. Simply click on the view you would like to see and your results will change. We usually default to showing albums, so you can quickly go through alot more data.
You decide what types of songs/albums you wish to see between promo (free), blog (link to blog sites) and/or for sale.
Simply check which ones you wish to see.
We have given you two sliders by which you can narrow your results. If you wish to see all songs with a rating between 4-5 in the BPM range of 100-105 you can easily do that by moving the min/max handles.
This select box allows you to set a time period for the search results you are viewing [All Time, Last Week, Last Month].
For instance, if you click Top Rated, you are returned songs with the highest average rating (slightly weighted for the number of ratings) over the "Date" you've selected (the default is "Last Week").
This select box allows you to sort within the search results already returned to you. So if you click to view Top Promos, you can click "Sort by: [Date Added: newest first]" and the latest, most popular promos will appear first.
You will notice play buttons sprinkled throughout the site that look much like this...
If you click a play button and nothing happens, then you may have an outdated version of Adobe Flash.
Please download the latest version of Adobe Flash.
Once you have installed the latest version, close your browser. Restart your browser. Refresh and try again.
There are currently two ways to get songs and the code to embed our audio player widget on your website...
When you are looking at a song or album, you will see a "get widget" button much like this...
When you do a search (or on pages like Latest Arrivals), you will see a "get widget" link up near the top right like this...
Clicking the button or link will expand out the code you need to copy/paste on to your website in order for those songs to show up in a widget on your site.
For sale songs will say BUY on the button like this..
BUY $X.XXPromo songs are free songs that you can download directly from GigaCrate (if you have enough promo points) and they have DOWNLOAD on the button like this...
DOWNLOAD 1 PTBlog songs are free songs that we link to from the blogs we aggregate and they have View Blog Post on the button like this...
View Blog PostNOTE: You must visit the blog in order to download blog songs, we don't host them directly.
We have also added a ribbon on promo and blog songs (since they are both free) to help you distinguish quickly.
You wanna get your hands on the latest tunes right? One of the most popular ways is to scour music blogs trying to find the latest songs.
We make your job easier by aggregating music from blogs that are submitted to us (and approved). Now you only have to visit a single website to find the latest songs!
We only stream previews of the songs, in order to download the full versions, we provide you a direct link to the original blog post.
Just submit it here: www.gigacrate.com/AddBlog.php
It may take a moment for us to review your music blog to make sure it fits with our direction and to ensure we can aggregate your music on our site.
It helps if your blog hosts music directly or uses popular file hosting services like yousendit, sendspace, zshare, etc...
Please make sure your mp3 files have valid ID3 tags and artwork (at least artist, song and genre).
We will not be able to parse blogs who use rapidshare or other paid file hosting services.
You can view the latest music blog songs here: http://www.gigacrate.com/Music/MusicLatestBlogs.php
Here's a full list of the blogs we aggregate: http://www.gigacrate.com/Music/MusicBlogs.php
In order to purchase music you must have a user account and be logged in.
All promos automatically appear in your Purchased Crate, never in the Checkout Crate.
You will only be able to buy a promo if you have enough promo points. You can get more by clicking to "rate, tag, comment" on songs.
Promo points are awards given to users who rate, tag, comment on songs. You must do all three of these things in order to get 1 promo point. Your account keeps track of how many promo points you have acquired and you can use these "promo points" to get free music!
You can use your "promo points" to download/unlock promo songs. Each promo mp3 costs 1 promo point.
Just look for the DOWNLOAD button near a song or album. Click the button and you will be charged 1 promo point and the song will automatically begin to download.
In the Login box in the right side of the site, you will notice two numbers of promo points, "remaining" and "accumulated".
Remaining tells you how many points you have left (available to spend/use).
Accumulated tells you how many points you have earned in total. We use this figure to determine who is qualified for contests and who has the most promo points.
You can also see your remaining promo points when viewing your Profile (in the upper right).
In our music section there are several links you can follow:
Latest Promos - the most recent promo songs/albums we have uploaded.
Top Promos - the most popular promo songs are listed here.
Latest Arrivals - has a mixture of for sale and promo songs/albums.
Whenever you see the audio player, you will notice there are three links below it that look like this:
Tags are words that describe or classify a song. Things like "Hip-Hop", "Hyphy" or even "hilarious". You can leave multiple tags and they don't have to be unique.
If you type slow enough, you will notice that we auto-suggest tags based on comparing what you are typing to what's in our database.
Rating is simple, just click from on a star (left = 1/worst and right = 5/best).
Comments are just a sentence or two of your thoughts about the song.
You don't have to "rate, tag, comment", but if you do 1 of the 3, you must do all. Remember you must do all three to get 1 promo point.
You can change your rating and/or comments whenever you like. If you accidentally clicked 1 star, but meant 3 stars, no problem...simply click 3 stars and your rating will be saved.
To improve the usefulness of our tagging system, we normalize some tags by stripping out most punctuation characters, like "'","," and ".", and converting the tag to lowercase form. If you don't see your tag the way you entered it on this screen, don't worry, we've stored it and attached it to your tracks the way you typed it in, but it got changed into a punctuation-free, lower case version here. We also only display tags that have been applied to 5 or more tracks.
In short, we want to encourage you to provide meaningful comments. This is how we ensure you get the best quality promos!
But just in case you are an ass and put comments like "yo", "asdfjaslk", "Neat", "check out viagra.com!", etc..., we let other users tell us if they found your comments useful or not.
If 5 users clicked "no" or "spam" and less than 5 "yes", your feedback will be deleted, and you will lose credit for the promo point.
In order to purchase music you must have a user account and be logged in.
We call our shopping cart a "crate" (pretty clever huh). To view the contents of your crate, Click on the "Crates" section in the "Actions" box (under the Gigacrate logo on the top right of the site), then click on the crate you wish to view.
We apologize if you are experiencing problems. Please post your issues over in our Support Forum and we will do our best to make things more clear. We also encourage you to provide us with feedback on how we can improve.
We realize that you aren't Daddy Warbucks and you might want to actually put some of the music you are listening to on hold. Novel idea aye.
Right next to every Buy link is a "Save" link. Just click that link and the song will be added to your Save Crate.
Open your Save Crate (Click Crates section in "Actions" box, then click Saved Crate link). Simply check all the songs you wish to purchase, then click the "buy selected" link. The songs will be sent to your Checkout Crate.
You can only save a promo if you have 0 points. Otherwise, you won't see the "Save" link on a promo song/album.
We realize buying things online is still a tricky and sometimes scary prospect for some people and therefore we have taken several steps towards making your purchasing experience safe and secure.
For your protection and peace of mind, Gigacrate has been through an authentication process to validate our business which in turn provides you with the highest level of trust when shopping on our site :)
Google Checkout has a fraud protection policy and you can keep your email address confidential.
We accept all major credit cards and even sell to buyers in these countries...
Plus your Google Checkout account will work with thousands of other online stores!
We charge $1.49 for individual songs. However, if you buy all the songs from an album at once, you get them for $.99 each!!! There is a max charge of $12.99 (even if an album has 100 songs).
Here's some example album prices...
Promo songs are at least 160kbps.
For sale songs are all LAME encoded with the "-V2 --vbr-new" setting. These settings produce transparent encoding (transparent = most people cannot distinguish the MP3 from the original in an ABX blind test). Audible differences between these presets exist, but are extremely rare.
"-V2--vbr-new" is a preset that was developed for the LAME encoder by the audiophiles at www.hydrogenaudio.org
It was designed to create MP3s that sound exactly like the CD original, even to audio freaks using equipment that cost more than your car.
It uses variable bit-rate, which makes the bit-rate fluctuate based on the complexity of the music. More complex sections of music get higher bit-rates to maintain CD quality. Simpler sections are given lower bitrates, while still maintaining CD quality, to minimize the file size. Most average out to about 192kb/s, but are MUCH higher quality than Constant Bit Rate 192kb/s MP3s.
For more info, check out www.hydrogenaudio.org, which is full of very smart people, on the bleeding edge of audio compression.
"-b 320" is the strongest setting for LAME, with the lowest risk of artifacts. With the exception of a few situations, quality is rarely better than the "-V2--vbr-new" preset.
There are very, very, very, very, very, very, few cases where "-V2--vbr-new" can't replicate the original audio perfectly. (And even when it can't, most of us regular humans would never notice).
From reading www.hydrogenaudio.org, even the LAME developers will tell you that in such cases, "-b 320" or the highest LAME preset rarely makes a difference, and the difference between the two presets is mostly theoretical.
Probably just to make certain people feel better. "-V2--vbr-new" is LAME's "preset standard" and was designed to be exactly that, the standard.
If you re-record (aka transcode) our GigaCrate mp3s a 2nd time using LAME -V2--vbr-new, the difference between the 2nd mp3 and the first mp3 will be negligible.
It is COMPLETE hogwash that you have to start with a 320kbps .mp3 in order to get a high quality .mp3 DJ mix without noise artifacts.
Still skeptical? Read this post for more information and mp3 test examples: http://www.gigacrate.com/Forums/viewtopic.php?t=48
We use a true Bayesian estimate...
Weighted Rating (WR) = (v ÷ (v+m)) × R + (m ÷ (v+m)) × C
where...
R = average for the song (mean) = (rating)
v = number of votes for the song = (votes)
m = minimum votes required to be listed in the Top 50 (set to 3 right now, but this may change moving forward)
C = the mean vote across the whole report
What is DRM you ask? In short, it places restrictions on the usage of a digital file. Sometimes DRM files only play on "approved" devices, sometimes they only play for a given period of time. Digital Rights Management is a controversial topic, with advocates arguing that DRM is necessary to allow copyright holders to prevent revenue loss due to unauthorised duplication of their works. We are of the firm belief that DRM doesn't work and there will always be ways to easily circumvent it. At Gigacrate we feel that chastising our users is the wrong approach. If given the opportunity, we believe users will support artists. What's that? You don't agree? Well, we are not alone in this stance. Read our full stance on the DRM issue.
All of our songs are DRM free! They are compatible with any computer and/or mp3 player. Unlike iTunes, Napster and other competitors, we understand how annoying and restrictive DRM files are.
Click on the "Profile" link in the Actions box (under the Gigacrate logo in the top right of the site)
You will see links for the various sections of your profile.
Simply click the link beneath the image that says "click to upload new image" and a file upload option will appear.
The ideal size for your photo is a .jpg at 500px by 500px at 72dpi.
We have a max file size limit of 100KB and it must be .jpg, .jpeg, .gif or .png format.
Contacts are users that you have saved by clicking "add to contacts" when viewing a user.
Manual Groups are groups of contacts that you have selected from the All Contacts tab.
You simply select the users you want in a Manual Group, then click on the "Manual Group Actions..." drop down for more options.
Smart Groups are created after you do an advanced search in the users section. Once your advanced search results pop up, you will see an option to "create smart group".
Any new users that match your original advanced search query, will automatically be added to your Smart Group!
B/c you can restrict who downloads your promo songs to specific Contacts and/or Contact Groups.
Read above silly.
Click on the Forums section link up top. Choose a section to post in (on the left side). Then click the "post" button.
If you wrote something offensive or threatening, chances are one of our Tastemakers yanked your post. Read our legal section for more info on this.
Another possibility is that your post was moved to another section. For instance if you post a Support question to Gigs, a moderator will move it.
You purchase one of our promo packages (or choose the FREE Basic Promo Package) in order to get your music on the site.
Our promo packages offer a variety of options such as email blast, featured images, targeted promoting and more.
Paying promoters are automatically approved, however the FREE Basic Package requires approval (after you upload your song(s)).
In an effort to keep some level of quality control, we automatically remove any songs uploaded from the free Basic Promo Package that have a rating of less than 3 stars.
We have prepared a VERY detailed GigaCrate Audio Conversion Guide for you to follow.
NOTE: We only accept 160kbps or better .mp3 files. Each file is limited to 25MB. You must have at least 500px by 500px, 72dpi, RGB, .jpg album art as well.
Go to your Actions tab (on the right side) or your Profile | Music tab and click "Upload song".
After your song is done uploading...
* Again, if you are uploading as a part of our FREE Basic Promo Package, your song must be approved.
We suggest you purchase a promo package, b/c our screening process for sellers is very stringent. We do not accept ALL music that is submitted to us. We have a staff of DJs (called Tastemakers) that hand pick the music for sale on our site.
Visit the About tab in your profile and change your "User Type" to be either a Provider or Promoter. Providers (sellers), we have to approve you, so be patient.
* Providers (sellers), you will be notified via email if_you_are_approved.
To get your music featured (also includes those big images atop Music and the Homepage), you must purchase either our Plus or Pro promo packages.
* You must FIRST have at least 1 song uploaded to our site, otherwise you won't be able to link your featured images to anything.
After purchasing a promo package, go to your Profile tab (on the right side near login) and click on the "Features" link.
If you have unused features, you will see blank/template features ready for you to upload images, descriptions and links to.
Each "feature" consists of 3 image sizes, a description and a link to a song or album on www.gigacrate.com.
To upload images, simply click on the links under the template images that say "Upload a new large/medium/small image."
Next you must edit the "Description" and select what song or album you wish to "link" your the feature to (this is where users will be taken when they click on your image).
When all the images and information are filled out, an "Activate" button will appear. Click this and your feature will be published atop Music and the Homepage.
These are your currently running features. You will see the number of views and clicks that your feature has received.
These are features that have run their course. If you'd like, you can renew a feature for $199/2 weeks. Simply click on the renew button, complete the Google Checkout process, and your feature will automatically be re-activated.
If you have further questions, please contact our sales staff.
To get your music on our weekly email blast, you must purchase either our Plus or Pro promo packages.
* You must FIRST have at least 1 song uploaded to our site, otherwise you won't be able to email blast anything.
Go to your Profile tab (on the right side near login) and click on the "Email Blasts" link.
Select an album from the drop down that you wish to appear in our weekly email blast.
Click the "Submit For Email Blast" button and you're done!
Follow the steps on our our advertising page.
Go to your Profile tab (on the right side near login) and click on the "Advertisements" link.
If you have unused ads, you will see blank/template ad(s) ready for you to upload image(s), description(s) and link(s).
Your ad artwork/image must be exactly the dimensions for the slot you purchased...
To upload your ad artwork, simply click on the link under the template image that says "Click here to upload new image."
Next you must edit "Link" (where your ad will link to (Needs to start with http://)), "Alt Text" (this is what shows up if someone has images turned off) and "Title Text" (this is what shows up when someone hovers over your ad).
When all the images and information are filled out, an "Activate" button will appear. Click this and your ad will be published to the site and begin displaying in rotation with the other ads.
These are your currently running ads. You will see the number of views and clicks that your ad has received.
These are ads that have run their course. If you'd like, you can renew an ad for an additional month by clicking the "Renew Button".
Click on the "Profile" tab in the Actions box (under the Gigacrate logo in the top right of the site), then click on the "Settings" link.
At the bottom of the Settings tab you will notice a section entitled "Privacy". There is a checkbox option to hide your account from popular search engines such as yahoo, google, etc...
At the bottom of the Settings tab you will also notice a "Delete My Account" button.
If you choose to delete your account you will not be able to download any songs you have purchased, and any songs you have uploaded will be removed from the site.
Don't worry though, you will be thoroughly warned before you can actually delete your account.
If we have not addressed a question or problem you have, please visit the Support Forum of our site and raise your question there.
DO NOT email us your questions. We will not reply.










GigaCrate is DRM-free, full ID3 tags, access to promos and multiple versions of songs. What are you waiting for!?
Register Now | Forgot Password | Take the Tour | Upload Your Music | Add Your Blog | Advertise | FAQ | Support | RSS Feeds | Site Map
© 2009 GigaCrate LLC. All rights reserved. GigaCrate logos, graphics, designs, icons and buttons are the property of GigaCrate.

