Artistopia Help Center

A. It could be that you incorrectly entered your login information. Our Login is case sensitive, so retry your login name. Email us with your account information if you have forgotten your password using the Forgotten your password feature.

Q. I am having problems with my image upload, what do I do?

A. Here are a few things to try:

The maximum resolution size allowed is 250 x 250 pixels.
Try uploading a small image to see if that works, if so, then downsize your image to the minimum requirements and try again.
Make sure the image was saved in the correct format: JPG or GIF.
Could you be behind a firewall? This may be preventing you from sending out large amounts of data. You may need to make arrangements to get around your firewall.
If you have already uploaded one photo and wish to change the image, it is possible that your cache may be preventing this. Try a hard refresh. If you continue to have problems, please contact Member Services.

Q. What is MP3? Do I need any hardware to listen to MP3s?

A. MP3 stands for "MPEG 1 Layer 3" , which is a compression technology that lies beneath a variety of other consumer electronic formats, including DVDs. The MP3 format compresses sound files down to one-tenth of their normal size, with very little noticeable degradation in sound quality. This is done by making use of data redundancy (a mechanism used by compression algorithms such as ZIP) and, above all, of psycho-acoustic theory (eliminating sounds that are covered by others in any particular moment).

Because compressed audio takes up far less storage space, each song may be transmitted using far less bandwidth than standard uncompressed digital audio, such as that stored on a compact disc or digital audio tape. Compression allows for quicker uploads and downloads of audio files, making it less time-consuming and more realistic to transmit music files over the Internet.

Computer users can create their own MP3 files by placing any audio CD into the computer’s CD-ROM drive. Using software known as "ripping" software, CD tracks may be converted rather easily into MP3 files. In addition, MP3 files may be downloaded from sites on the world wide web. Upon downloading, the files are stored on a users hard drive, and may be transferred to other storage media, such as floppy disks and CD-ROMs. It's best to have a Pentium PC with Windows 95, 98 and Soundblaster soundcard, or a Mac. It's important to make sure you've got enough space on your hard disk to save each track. Each track will take up about 3 to 4 MB of disk space(approximately 1 MB for each minute of audio with a bit rate of 128,000). Remember that an MP3 file is extremely compressed, so when you listen to it the computer has to decompress it in real time. The more powerful your computer is, the better it will be able to do it without interfering with any other software you may be using.

Check out Musicmatch, where you will find information on ripping, burning, playing and managing your CD's, MP3s and more.

Q. I was in the charts, where did my song go?

A. Just as Billboard's Top 100 fluctuates over time, so will the Artistopia Music Charts. New artists come up, artists release new works, someone may do a great promotional campaign. That's real-life in the music world and the way it should be.

Depending on certain processes and criteria, some songs will move into the Retired Charts. To learn more about how it works, please see the forum thread "Hey gang - I'm new around here - and am a bit confused", which will give you more in depth view.

Q. I am having trouble hearing the songs, what do I do?

A. The problem may lie in your file to media player association on your computer. Of course you need to download a media player to listen to music on Artistopia or on Radio Artistopia. Below are links to some of the most common, with their corresponding support systems. What matters most for your listening experience, is the speed of your Internet connection. A dial up modem can give you access, but broadband technologies (cable modem and DSL) will greatly enhance your listening enjoyment.

Windows Media Player
Support
Troubleshooting WMP

Winamp
Winamp Support

Real Player
Real Support

Q. Having problems with editing your profile?

A. Your Artist/Band Name can only be edited the first 30 days from when your account has been created. So, you must make sure you get it right from the start. One reason for this is that because we are online, you will start to be picked up by the search engines, and by naturally spreading your links across the Internet, so the name you choose will be the name the Web knows you by. You are branding your name in visitor’s minds. Once you are a big name artist, then you can change your name as you wish.

When making other changes in your Profile Overview, remember, the reason you are at Artistopia is to present yourself professionally to the music industry. The incorrect use of links (URLs), all caps, blatant self promotion, misspelled words, punctuation, are not considered appropriate on your “resume”. It is not Artistopia's job to correct or spell check the information you submit, but our technology may remove certain data entries and you may need to resubmit the information. So do the research, check your verbiage and use your profile wisely. Industry persons prefer to work with artists that take the time to go through the proper channels.

Remember also, that your profile is also transferred directly into your Press Kit, for emailing or sending to labels or other channels, that’s why you must take the time to use this feature to your advantage.

Q. Why is there br or brbr showing up in my profile?

A. Your profile does not accept any HTML code whatsoever. What is HTML code? HTML is a code used to create web pages. The code < br >< br > (without the space between the < and the br) creates a space break between lines. Code is not necessary to use when creating your profile. Artistopia's technology also, will not allow it (for many reasons), so it takes the tags ( < > ) out, but leaves the br or brbr.

If you are cutting and pasting your bio info into your profile, simply delete any and all code or the technology will delete only the brackets. If you need to separate paragraphs, hit "Enter" twice (a double space) to create clean, clear paragraphs. Basically, just type it in, in paragraph form, like you would be typing a professional letter.

Q. No one is listening to my songs! What's wrong?

A. Do you remember the movie "Field of Dreams"? There is a line from that movie that has a lot of meaning when it comes to a web page, "If you build it, he will come". Having a page on the web is a GREAT idea for businesses, for people selling things or with something to say and for musicians with music. Just because you have a page on the net, doesn't mean anyone will ever know about it unless you tell them. The quote does not pertain to the Internet without YOU doing something to make it happen. Promotion, marketing your music, telling and selling everyone on the idea of visiting your site is how you get traffic to hear you online. Are you telling people to come to Artistopia to listen to your songs? If not, why not? Artistopia is a goldmine of information on how to promote your music and suggestions on how to do so.

Picture this analogy: You are in a football field jam-packed with gazillions of people from goal line to goal line. You start on one yard line and slowly, absolutely without speaking a word, slip through the crowd till you reach the other yard line. How many people knew you went by?

Artistopia puts you on the field and filled the field with people. It's up to you how you want to go through that field.