Assistance (financial and technical — we can guide you through the whole confusing process) and we have no incentive to rip you off.

Be part of a recognized label (wholesale distributors will not consider single titles if you choose to produce your own).

Value for money — we have negotiated prices with each vendor and our overhead costs are subsidized to keep them low to you. Total costs generally run $5,000—$6,000 for 1,000 discs (as opposed to similar labels which range from $7,000 — $13,000).

Artistic control (we work with you all the way to realize your vision). We prepare the graphics and layout unless you prefer to work with your own designer.

Worldwide availability from distributors; some you have probably heard of.

Available from all good Web sites as well as dozens of legitimate download sites.

We offer a secure shopping cart from Innova.mu with same-day shipping.

Your title will be featured in the innova catalog, Sounding Board newsletter, and on a one-sheet promotional release. You may be featured on our sporadic "Wonderful World of Innova" blog series through Sequenza 21.

Access to our Facebook Fan Page of over 1,000 self-identified groupies.

We will mail one-sheets and promo CDs to targeted names, and keep you posted with radio playlists and reviews as they appear. Your own marketing efforts are also expected.

You have a financial stake in the success of your project: since you have already covered our costs 100% of the sales income is paid to you (and you maintain ownership of all the intellectual rights).

Tracks from your CD will be included on one of our 5 web radio stations and offered to other podcasters and public media outlets.

First I need access to a studio to record my music. How can innova help me?

Well, we can offer you discounted time in a top-class digital recording facility such as Minnesota Public Radio's Studio M, right here in St. Paul. You need to be a member of the American Composers Forum and get yourself here but the use of the studio, with its engineer and facilities, is cost effective. Tell us a bit about your project, needs (from tracking through mastering), preferred schedule, and we'll put you in touch with the studio.

Who wants your music?

Before investing the time and money to make a CD and enter the commercial marketplace, reflect on what you hope to achieve with your recording. Be aware of the grim industry statistics:

The CD industry is saturated with titles. Sales of physical discs have slumped. Returns from stores are more than 35%. Only known names and expensively-hyped items sell in any decent quantity. 35,000 titles were released last year; 29,000 of them sold fewer than 1,000 copies. The numbers are going down as more people enter the fray and buyers are swamped. If you choose to sell your CD to the public, you will need to generate interest and demand. We can make it available and send it to key people, but you help create the buzz that makes the unknown public want to buy it.

Remember: distribution is not marketing. You will always sell more CDs off the proverbial stage than from the record bins. Your Innova CD can pay for itself if you perform frequently, have a well-defined audience, and keep pushing your visibility.

Also remember that digital downloads are your friends; sales are getting huge and back catalog stuff sells in dribbles forever. Most of your income will eventually comes from this. That means the value of CDs is primarily now in their marketing potential; sending to reviewers, critics, performers, radio stations, etc. It's much harder to do that with an MP3.

Should I self-produce? Think ahead.

Innova's niche in the new music world may or may not match your needs. If you do not want to put your efforts into selling your CD, but are merely looking to have CDs to sell through personal contacts, local consignments, or at concerts and performances, and have plenty of freebies to use as calling cards, you may prefer to produce your own CD. That way you may save a little money but restrict your options for a wider market. Reviewers, record stores and distributors will not deal with CDs not on a recognized label or lacking a bar code. 950 CDs is a lot to have sitting in your basement after you have given the rest to your friends and relatives. Many artists have come to us after producing their own CD wanting to rerelease it on innova. (This can be done, but we need to reprint the tray card to include our information.)

I have a CDR master, liner notes and some graphic concepts ready to go. I've got money to cover the manufacturing expenses and some good ideas for how to reach potential buyers. What next?

Read on, write up any marketing ideas and notes, and send it in. If the review committee likes it, we'll agree on a contract and put it in line for production. Remmber we are not a vanity label so your money doesn't talk much, at least not the whole story. Releases generally take 2-4 months. Once your financial obligations are met, you keep any profits. We need at least $1500 deposit before sending your fiels off for manufacture; the balance is due within 30 days of when we get invoiced.

Who keeps what rights?

You (or the respective composers) keep the rights to all individual works. The costs of licensing fees for mechanical royalties (such as to Harry Fox Agency) is up to you; we prefer that you pay HF in full, directly, up front. If you are the composer, you are expected to waive your rights to royalties from the label (no sense in paying us money to pay yourself, eh?)

Who is eligible?

You will need to be a member of ACF (no great hardship). Non-U.S.-based projects may use the innova label so long as you have a decent marketing plan and the music is primarily new and American.

Does innova make a profit?

No. By charging a minimal service fee (matched by our endowment earnings) to cover staff time, promo costs, office, and storage expenses, and by releasing a minimum number of titles per year, innova breaks even. Innova is stable, established, and can afford to take artistic risks, whether or not your title is a big seller. That does mean, however, that any extra expenses (such as taking out a full-page ad in Rolling Stone) are passed on to you.

Is someone going to rip me off and steal my tune?

Maybe, seems unlikely, but we would be remiss not to advise you to register your recording with the Library of Congress, Form SR. It is the best way to ensure you prevail in this litigious dog-eat-dog world.