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Frequently Asked Questions

General
What is CyTunes?
CyTunes is a Web store where you can purchase great music, download it, and listen to it. CyTunes is also a place where you can donate your own music to be sold on the site to raise money for a good cause. CyTunes is a way for us all to remember and honor the late, great Cy Rawls, for the community he left behind to come together to heal and for those who knew Cy to try to give back to the world just a bit of what Cy gave them.
Who is Cy Rawls?
Our friend, Kerry Cantwell, has written a beautiful piece about Cy, here.
How else can I help CyTunes?
Why, thank you for asking! CyTunes is run entirely by volunteers, and we can use people to help with publicity, general tasks, and encouraging bands to donate their music to the cause. Just telling your friends about CyTunes helps too. We always appreciate new volunteers, so if you'd like to join our team, just fill out this form, and someone will get in touch with you.
When was CyTunes.org launched?
CyTunes.org launched on December 12, 2008.


For Buyers
Why should I buy music from CyTunes?
Well, because we have some great music. Not only that, but everything on the site is exclusive. You can't find this music anywhere else! We have new live sets from Polvo, Superchunk, The Rosebuds and Birds of Avalon just to name a few. Plus never-before-heard singles from the likes of The Nein, Red Collar, Hammer No More the Fingers and many others. Oh, and all of the money raised helps the Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke University treat people with brain cancer and look for new ways to fight this deadly disease. The Tisch center treated Cy, even though he had no health insurance, and helps many other peoples fight brain cancer too.
Will my personal information be shared?
Heavens, no! We're all about helping here, not selling your name and e-mail to skeevy advertisers. Your secrets are safe with us!
What forms of payment does CyTunes accept?
CyTunes uses Google Checkout. If you aren't registered with Google Checkout, you'll find that it's fast, easy, and safe. Click here for more information on Google Checkout.
Can I trust CyTunes with my payment information?
Of course you could, but you don't have to. Payment is through Google Checkout, which means that CyTunes never sees your payment details. We only know that you have paid.
Are purchases tax deductible?
No. Since you are getting something in return for your money, the federal government does not consider buying music from CyTunes to be a donation.
Can I just make a donation?
Absolutely. You can make a tax-deductible memorial contribution directly to the Tisch Brain Tumor Center. Just visit this page.
If I lose my purchased music, may I download it again?
As long as you register with CyTunes before or during checkout, CyTunes will remember what music you have purchased, and you will be able to download it again at any future date (as long as CyTunes is still around). If you prefer not to register, you will have only one chance to download your music, since CyTunes won't have any way of tracking your purchase history.


For Bands
Why should I donate my music to CyTunes?
For those who knew Cy, this is a great way to honor his legacy as well as help to heal the holes in the hearts of those he left behind. For those who didn't know Cy, it's still a very good way to help fight cancer and help those are living with and fight against brain tumors. It's also a way to get your music in the ears of a new audience.
What can I contribute?
We are currently accepting submissions of original music that is either unreleased or out of print.
Can I contribute a cover song?
No. CyTunes.org is not in a position to license cover songs and pay royalties. Besides, we're here to make money for charity, not for the estate of some dead rock star.
What about that song that was on a 7" 15 years ago?
If it's out of print, it's fair game. We'd love to have it!
I need to record my song. Where can I do that?
A few studios in the Raleigh-Durham, NC area have offered their services free of charge to bands who want to record a song for CyTunes. To request recording time, you need to first register with CyTunes.org and then use this form to request recording time.
Does my song need to be mastered?
It's up to you but we certainly recommend it! Luckily, a couple of studios have offered to do some mastering, free of charge, for CyTunes submissions. You may use the this form to request that your song be mastered.
How do I submit my music to CyTunes?
You can upload your music directly to this site. Simply read and follow the instructions on this site and you will be able to submit your single or album, along with any accompanying artwork and other information. You'll also be able to sign all of the relevant contracts right here on this site.

If you have trouble uploading your music, you can also mail a CD to:

Chris Rossi
6001 Garrett Rd
Durham, NC 27707

Mailing your CD to Chris will probably delay your submission somewhat, since a volunteer must rip and upload the music for you.
What kind of music files can I upload?
CyTunes currently accepts only .wav files as submissions.
Why can't I just upload an .mp3?
In order to guarantee downloads of a uniform high quality, we must start with a high-quality, lossless source. .mp3 is a lossy format, meaning that some data (and therefore sound quality) is lost when creating an MP3. Also, depending on other factors such as the compression ratio, the fidelity loss can be dramatic on many MP3s. We need to start with the uncompressed audio file. In the future, we may accept other lossless file formats such as .flac, but for now, .wav it is.
Can I just convert my .mp3 to a .wav file before uploading it?
Well, that would produce a .wav file, but it would defeat the whole point of using .wav files. The file would have already been subjected to the lossy .mp3 compression and that loss would carry over to the .wav file generated from the .mp3. Again, we need the uncompressed audio file.
.wav files are really big. Won't they take a long time to upload?
Yes. We thank you in advance for your patience. We feel it is worth it. It's for a great cause.
.flac uses lossless compression. Why can't I upload that?
Because that's another set of code to write into the site. It's on our list of things to do. You're right, though, that would work. And perhaps one day it will.
My music is on a CD. How do I make WAV files from that?
You need a piece of software called a CD ripper. There are a number of CD rippers out there that you can download and install for free.

  • Windows

    CDEX
    Exact Audio Copy


  • Mac OSX

    I don't own a Mac but some Googling suggests that you can probably use iTunes to do this. You will need to find the setting in iTunes, though, to set the format you want the ripped files saved as and set that to WAV. If anyone has any more explicit instructions for Mac, please e-mail Chris Rossi. (See bottom of page for contact info.)
I have an old 7" of my band that is long out of print that I want to donate. How do I put that on CyTunes?
Well, it depends. Ideally you still have the master tape. Chances are it's an analog tape of some sort. If this is the case, we will need to get that to a mastering studio to have it mastered digitally. See the question about mastering, above.

If all you have is a vinyl copy, then ... first look for that master tape! If you can't come up with the master, we'll just have to digitally record that vinyl! Perhaps one of the mastering studios listed above has a good turntable that could be used for this purpose. If all else fails, contact Chris Rossi and he'll help you sort it out. Chris' e-mail address is at the bottom of this (and every) page. If anyone has a good direct drive turntable (example: Technics 1200) that could be borrowed for this purpose, contact Chris and let him know.
What's the difference between a single and an album? Should I upload an album or a bunch of singles?
Well, in the purest technical terms, a single is just a song without an album, whereas an album is a collection of songs. Generally speaking, if you recorded something as an album, then you should probably submit it as an album. If you just have a few songs that were never really grouped together before, then it probably makes sense to upload those as singles.

For albums of five songs or fewer, there is no difference in price whether the songs are sold as an album or as singles. For albums of more than five songs, customers will be paying somewhat less than $1/song if they buy the album as opposed to buying the individual songs at $1 apiece. So for full-length albums, there is an advantage to the customer if the songs are grouped as an album. They can buy the entire album for a bit less than they could buy the songs singly. The exact amount is based on the number of tracks -- longer albums are more economical than shorter ones. However, customers are not forced to buy full albums. If they only want one song off of the album, they can buy just that one song.
Artwork? What artwork?
We want (and NEED) artwork! Your artist page will have a place for a band photo (or whatever image you choose to provide). Every album and single in the storefront will be shown with a graphics file, and that graphics file will be embedded in the .mp3 file as well, for gizmos that support artwork.

Artwork should be pretty high resolution. We want big files. It'll look so much better to shrink a big file than to blow up a small file. Generally, it's the album cover. Since a fair number of songs will be singles recorded specifically for this project, you might not have an album cover per se. If this applies to you, please just give us something (anything!) for the buyers to look at. Really -- anything! You know have a ton of band photos lying around somewhere. Or your drummer paints or something.

If no graphics are submitted, we will insert a general CyTunes placefiller for your submission. But that's no fun, is it? We would prefer to represent your creative efforts with your unique vision.
Will I see any profits from the sale of my music on CyTunes?
No, but we hope you will get some good karma and maybe some new fans out of the deal. CyTunes is a pure charitable fundraiser. As such, all music sales go directly to the Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke, minus only the Google Checkout fee. None of the "staff" who have donated hundreds of hours to this project will see one red cent. Even our server is donated!