Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

As we come across problems that people have, we try to post the topic and solutions here so that people can easily find that they are looking for. Our hope here is to minimize the number of identical posts in the Tech Support forum.

Certainly, we don’t catch every problem, and so if you have an issue that you think isn’t covered in this section, feel free to send a PM to TritonKeyboarder with your proposed idea for an addition to the section. Let us know so that we can make BandAMP as easy as possible to use.


Getting Started


    Joining BandAMP



  • Visit the Signup page to begin creating your account! Your "Nickname" will be your display title that everyone else will see and use in order to contact you through the PM (Private Message) system. We’ll need your email so that you can recieve the Newsletter, and we’ll also ask you for your location so that others can see where you’re from. After signing up, you’re free to begin using BandAMP whenever you wish! Don’t be a stranger!

  • Rules & License



  • We have some guidelines here at BandAMP that we need everyone to follow. Some of it is the traditional stuff you’ll see on any website, but there’s a few things regarding the music and conduct that everyone needs to be aware of. Some of this stuff talks about the rules we have about the music you post here. Take a look! It’ll definitely help keep everyone happy! You can find the Rules and the License on their respective pages.

Using BandAMP


    Listening to music



  • Head on over to Browse Songs… The Current Battle contains songs in the Mar 2024 Battle… Our Next Battle is Apr 2024… For a complete list of songs, go to the Archive… Wonder who has won in the past? Check out the Hall of Fame… The Audio Review section is open to everybody, whether you don’t have an account or are not logged in, so go ahead and listen in on us!

  • Log In if you decide that you want to post your review, vote for a song, or use the PM system.

  • Downloading a song



  • To download a particular song, browse to the desired song in the Audio Review section, or by clicking on the song title in the author’s profile. From here, you will see a blue arrow in the top right corner of the song’s post. Clicking this arrow will prompt you to choose a folder on your own computer to save the song.

  • Your Profile



  • To get to your profile, be sure you are logged in and go to http://www.bandamp.com

  • Your profile contains information about you, such as your gender, IM contact information for AIM, ICQ, and MSN, a short biography, you name, email address, city, country, zip/postal code, and birthdate.

  • To see your profile as others would see it, just go to http://USERNAME.bandamp.com where USERNAME is the person’s nickname in all lowercase letters.

  • From your profile link, you can see your own Nickname, the number of posts you’ve made, and the number of songs you have uploaded to bandamp. You can also see your default profile picture, as well as links you can follow to edit your profile and password with.

  • Your Music



  • The My Music section contains all of the songs you have uploaded to BandAMP. It shows the number of votes the song has recieved (good or bad), the average score of the song (based on votes), which month’s battle the song is in (if any), and if applicable, the number of days left in that battle.

  • This is also where you can enter your songs into a battle, remove it from the battle, or delete the song altogether.

  • Note that if you remove a song from a battle, it stays on BandAMP. Others can still listen to it whenever they wish, despite the fact that the song isn’t in the competition anymore. Additionally, members may post comments about the song, and still cast votes, though the song isn’t eligible for winning.

  • This is also where upload your songs to BandAMP.

  • For extra help on uploading, troubleshooting and such, please read the information concerning such topics, located further down the page. Click here to be taken to the UPLOADING troubleshooting walkthrough section, or here for PLAYBACK issues.

  • Your Playlist



  • Your playlist is made up of songs that you have explicitly chosen to be shown in this section.

  • In this section, you see the actual player (which you can launch into a new window sized for the player) and also the more-detailed information about the songs you have listed in the playlist, such as time, size of file, and bitrate. You can also download the mp3 versions of the files from here, or erase the file from the playlist.

  • To add a song to your playlist, browse to the desired song in the Audio Review section, or by clicking on the song title in the author’s profile. From here, you will see a green "+" sign in the top right corner of the song’s post. Clicking this "+" will add the song to your playlist, though it will not download the song to your computer.

  • The playlist is only accessable from BandAMP. The playlist does not exist on your computer. This means, though, that you can log into BandAMP from any location and your playlist will available without having to rebuild it.

  • Your Links



  • Your links are internet links that you can add to your profile for others to view and check out whenever they want.

  • From this page, you can see any links that you have already added, along with each’s description.

  • The buttons to the right of the existing links are for editing the link’s information and also for deleting the link entry, respectively.

  • Below the listed links is a form for entering a new link. You must supply the URL (be sure to include the prefix http://), the title you want the link to have, and then the description of where the link goes so that others will know what sort of info they’ll find if they follow the link.


  • Your Album



  • Your album is where you can upload pictures for other members of BandAMP to view. You can choose which picture you want your default to be as well, using the buttons located beneath a currently uploaded picture.

  • Each picture can have it’s own title and short description to accompany it.

  • Your default picture is the picture BandAMP will use to create a small tile to represent you when you post on the forums.

  • If no pictures are present, BandAMP will leave out the picture tile when you post.

  • Pictures should be in standard JPEG photo format. (a ".jpg" file)

  • Your Mailbox



  • Your mailbox is where all of your PMs (Private Messages) are located.

  • You have tabs to sort through them by PMs that you have recieved, sent, and saved.

  • From each view, each PM will be listed with it’s subject, sender, a snippet of the sent PM, the date it was sent, and a "mark" box.

  • By checking the "mark" boxes next to any number of PMs, you can use the buttons at the bottom of the page to either move them to the "saved" box, delete them permanently, or mark them as new.

  • Please keep in mind that if you delete a PM, there is no way to get it back.

  • PMs are only viewable by the sender and the recipient. A copy is kept in the sender’s "sent" box, and a copy is delivered to the recipient’s mailbox.

  • By deleting a PM from somone, they may still be able to view it if they kept their copy in their "sent" box, but you will not be able to access it anymore. Think of it like an email setup.


  • Uploading MP3s



  • In order to submit a song to BandAMP, you must have an account, be logged in, and you must follow the guidelines set by BandAMP’s administration.

  • Go to your My Music section and look at the "Upload" heading.

  • Press the Choose button and find your song on your computer.

  • After selecting your song on your computer, enter the title that you want it to have. This title can only be 20 characters long. This is the title that other BandAMP members will see when browsing through the Archives, the current battle, the Audio Review forum, or anywhere else.

  • The actual title of the Mp3 file will be lost when you upload the song! In order to better organize the music, mp3 files will be renamed to match the entry number on the Audio Review url. The title that will identify the song is the one you entered when uploading the song in the "Title" text box.

  • The description box is just making a post anywhere else on the forum. This can be a maximum of 10000 characters long. The standard vB codes (such as [color=xxx] or [i] or [/u] and everything else) can be used here.

  • Many people use the description box to put the lyrics to the song, maybe a link to the band’s real website, or maybe just a shoutout that says "Hey vote for me!" You decide! Catch somebody’s attention!

Monthly Battle


    Entering & qualifying for a battle



  • You may upload a song to BandAMP whenever you wish, but in order to actually enter the current battle, you must explicitly do so.

  • You must have rated at least 10 songs before entering into the battle. This is to prevent someone from signing up at BandAMP, entering their song into the battle and then never returning :) We want you to stay! Be active!

  • To enter a battle, go to your Music page and use the drop-down box to the right hand side of the song you have uploaded to select which month to enter.

  • You may withdraw your song from any battle at any time. Use the same drop-down box to choose "Declare Peace." This will remove your song from the battle listings, but your song will remain on BandAMP’s archives and review forum.

  • In order to enter the "Current Battle" you must do use the methods described above BEFORE THE 15th of the month in which you wish to participate. You may still choose to withdraw from the battle after the 15th.

  • Any given song can only be entered once into a battle. After that, you are allowed one more chance to "remake" your song if you wish to try to enter it again. Be aware that this is only allowed once per song.

  • Any member that is reported to the administrators as violating any of the rules in BandAMP is subject to any decision the administrator(s) believe is necessary, from deleting the song entry to deleting the user account. Deleting accounts is not the perferred way to handle problems! We’re all nice people. Let’s all just get along :)

  • Battles last the entire month and can recieve ratings at any time, unless the song has already completed a battle.

  • Voting & rating songs



  • Only members that are currently logged in may "vote" or "rate" a song.

  • To rate a song, browse to it using the Audio Review forum and use the drop-down box to choose the rating you wish to give, and then push the "Rate!" button.

  • You may change your rating at any time, but you may not withdraw your rating altogether.

  • When using the Browse section of the forum or when viewing a member’s profile, you may see songs that have a star next to them. This is a signal that you have already submitted a rating for that song.

  • Your average is based on the ratings that people give the song, and so it can easily change from day to day, so check back often to see where you rank on the percent scale.

  • Your average is simply calculated by the recieved ratings. Your average represents all your ratings added up and divided by as many ratings as you have recieved.

  • Members can only see their own averages.

  • Battles last the entire month and can recieve ratings at any time, unless the song has already completed a battle.

  • How to win a battle



  • In order to win, you must have the highest average by the end of the battle timeframe.

  • Each battle lasts a month, and you have a daily countdown on the My Music section for any song that is entered in the battle.

  • Your average is based on the ratings that people give the song, and so it can easily change from day to day, so check back often to see where you rank on the percent scale.

  • Your average is simply calculated by the recieved ratings. Your average represents all your ratings added up and divided by as many ratings as you have recieved.

  • You can’t see anybody’s average but your own.

  • Battles last the entire month and can recieve ratings at any time, unless the song has already completed a battle.

  • Aw, you thought I was going to tell you how to make yourself a celebrity, didn’t you :)

Quick Answers


    What do the stars mean?



  • There are two types of stars:
  • The left of the threads on the forum mean that the thread has a new post on it since you last viewed that thread. If the star is dim, it means it has not recieved a new post since you last viewed it.
  • The stars next to the song means that you have already given that song a rating. This is handy when browsing the "Current Battle" entries so that you can tell which ones you have rated.

  • How do you rate a song?



  • Unless a song has complete and placed in a previous battle, any song is subject to being rated by anyone. Whether the song is literally entered in a battle or not doesn’t effect this.

  • When is the battle deadline?



  • The 15th of the month of the battle.

  • What can without signing up?



  • Browse any of the forums, listen to music, download music, view member profiles, and log in.

  • Internet Abreviation Guide (I.A.G)



  • Okay, so all of you people out there that have no idea what all those incoherent letters mean, here is a list of all the abbreviations you should ever need to know!

    • k -> okay
    • np -> no problem
    • lol -> laugh out loud
    • ty -> thank you
    • bc (or) b/c -> because
    • wo (or) woc -> without
    • lmao -> laughing my @$$ off
    • rotfl -> rolling on the floor lauging
    • rotflmao -> rolling on the floor laughing my @$$ off>
    • nvm -> nevermind
    • wb -> welcome back
    • imo -> in my opinion
    • imho -> in my (honest / humble) opinion
    • iirc -> if i remember correctly
    • rtfm -> read The flipping manual (or) right this freaking minute ( friendly forms :) )
    • afaik -> as far as i know
    • afaict -> as far as i can tell
    • wtf -> (what / who / why) the freak ( friendly form :) )
    • stfu -> shut the freak up ( friendly form :) )
    • tanstaafl -> there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch
    • ihm -> i hate myself
    • wombat -> waste of money, brains, and time

Troubleshooting


    Problems logging in



  • If you are experiencing constant log-outs, you will have to change a setting in your internet browser. The default log-in duration is one hour from the time you made your last action on BandAMP. This means that if you were to let your computer alone for 50 minutes and then click on a link in BandAMP, you will have 60 minutes until BandAMP logs you out automatically. If you have your internet browser set to clear cookies by itself, you may get logged out sooner, but this is the time set by default in BandAMP.

    To make sure that you have cookies enabled, follow these steps:

    • FIREFOX 1.5
      Go to the Tools menu
      Select Options
      Click on the Privacy tile on the left pane
      The fifth option on the list is called Cookies
      Click on that option and you’ll see another option to Allow site to set cookies
      Turn this on

    • OPERA 8
      Go to the Tools menu
      Select Preferences
      Select the Advanced tab
      find Cookies in the left pane
      set the "Normal Cookies" option to Accept All Cookies

    • INTERNET EXPLORER 6
      Go to the Tools menu
      Select Internet Options…
      Click the Privacy tab
      Click the Advanced button
      Either deselect the "Override automatic cookie handling" or make sure that "First-Party Cookies" is set to Accept

    Cookies are always enabled by default in internet browsers, though if you are on a school or campus computer, the settings may be different, thus, you would have to change them to let you use cookies.

  • Upload errors



  • Sometimes when a user tries to upload their song, they run into actual errors when trying to do so. These errors occur as they are uploaing the song, and do not include errors that the user may encounter when trying to play the song back from the forum.

    Some of the causes of these problems come from the user end, and thus the user should check to make sure all is going well on their end of the process of uploading.

    1. Please make sure your internet browser is up to date. The website is programmed to be as cross-compatible as we can make it. It is our goal to make it perfectly useable from any browser, though sometimes problems may arise. Your best bets may be FireFox, IE, and Opera, in that order.
      To check your browser’s current version, go to the "Help" menu, and choose "About". If in IE (Internet Explorer), the "about" option will be called "About Internet Explorer", in FireFox, it will say "About Firefox", etc. The "About" option is typically at the bottom of the Help menu.
    2. If you are encountering issues where the upload eventually makes no progress even though the process still looks like it’s working, you may want to cancel and simply try again later. Some people find that when uploading a song, the progress bar finishes, but nothing happens after that, and the song doesn’t show up on BandAMP. This may be due to traffic on BandAMP or an actual server problem. Any time this has happened, the user has tried again the next day, and it worked fine.

    3. If you encounter actual programming errors then you should create a post in the Tech Support forum.
      Please be sure to include the copy-&-pasted error description that you recieved. Please describe anything and everything that you did. If you can recreate the error consistantly, then tell us how exactly you get the error. Such information (though tedious) is most likely vital to solving the problem.

  • Playback problems



  • We get lots of problems with songs around here. Some of the time, it’s the programmer’s fault when they break the programming code. Sometimes it’s the user. Sometimes it’s the actual song itself.

    Problems with the song files cause BandAMP to mess up the playback of the song.

    In most cases, it’s the user’s fault, or the song’s fault. Don’t take offense at that comment, but that’s how the tech world goes, day after day.

    If you and your song meet all the requirements listed below, and you still can’t get the song to play correctly, then feel free to PM one of the admins. The user entheon is the current programmer for the site. If it is in fact a code problem on the website, sending a PM to him may be the fastest way to get help and to solve the problem.

    If you are having a problem having a song play correctly, please check these things before posting a zillion help messsages in every section of the forum.

    1. Be sure the file is a actual mp3. Please do not be insulted that I ask you to check. Make sure the that file exention (on a Windows machine) is a ".mp3". Windows Media Player and iTunes will not encode songs into mp3 files by default. WinMPlayer does ".wma" (despite the fact that it says "mp3" in the description) and iTunes will encode as a ".aac". These settings can be changed, but it won’t read your mind for you.
      If you cannot see any extention like this, open a folder somewhere on your computer, go to the Tools, choose "Folder Options." Go to the "View" tab, and look for an option called "Hide extensions for known file types." Make sure the box is UNCHECKED. Pressing the "OK" button will make your computer show it’s file types from now on. Some users like this, others don’t. If you would rather NOT see the exentions from now on, you can go change it back, but first check to see if your song has a ".mp3" at the end of the file name.
    2. The suggested bitrate for an mp3 on BandAMP is between 96kbps and 192kbps. Having a song at a higher bitrate will not neccesarily cause problems, but songs that have a lower encoding than 96kbps have been known to play at double speed or faster. So please, try to keep your bitrate between 96 and 192. Also, avoid encoding in a VBR (variable bitrate) setting, as this can cause problems similar to the low-bitrate issue.
      128kbps is the general use standard, though sometimes it may not sound the greatest. Encoding at 192kbps is indistinguishable from a cd in most cases, unless you have a very wide range of high and low tones in the song, in which case, you may need a higher bitrate than 192. But, as a general rule, 192kbps will be more than just fine.
    3. Try to do all of your encoding with the LAME mp3 encoder. This comes standard in most software encoders, though you may see some others, like Blade encoder, or maybe some other sort of encoding method. LAME is a "good citizen" mp3 encoder and works with any standard mp3-player hardware and software. Your best bet is to use LAME.
      If you don’t know anything about mp3 encoders, please refer to the MP3 Encoding tutorial provided further down this page, where I provide a step-by-step for obtaining a way to encode with LAME and a program called Audacity.
    4. Make sure your mp3 song is not in mp3PRO format. As nice as mp3PRO is, it doesn’t meet the general standard of an mp3. It’s basically a different file format than an mp3, despite the fact that the file itself is still called a ".mp3". I know that it’s confusing like that, but I wasn’t the moron who thought that one up. Even if you have no idea what mp3PRO is, please check your software and be sure that you didn’t code your song into the mp3PRO file format. Once again, mp3PRO is basically a different file format and won’t work on just any machine.

    5. The standard that is most used in audio is a sampling rate of 44100Hz. Sampling rate is something that is generally "behind the scenes" in most software, though it can really screw someone over if it gets messed with. Some programs sample at 48000Hz, but 44100Hz is most common. Having lower sampling rates can double and sometimes triple (or more) the playback speed of your song when played through the BandAMP Flash player.
      Wave sound files for sound effects that you can find on the internet are sometimes in a 21000Hz rate, so be careful to convert anything other than 44100Hz to match the standard. Note that in many audio-editing programs, the number "44100Hz" is abbreviated to "44kHz". This means the same thing.
    6. The spoken standard for the maximum file size for an song on BandAMP is 5Mb. Most songs will fit that size limit, even at the 192kbps rate. Specifically, I cannot find proof of this limit, as there are several songs here that are 6Mb and higher. Either way, I’d play it safe and try to keep it under 5Mb unless you’d be losing major song-quality or length.

    7. Please make sure your internet browser is up to date. The website is programmed to be as cross-compatible as we can make it. It is our goal to make it perfectly useable from any browser, though sometimes problems may arise. Your best bets may be FireFox, IE, and Opera, in that order.
      To check your browser’s current version, go to the "Help" menu, and choose "About". If in IE (Internet Explorer), the "about" option will be called "About Internet Explorer", in FireFox, it will say "About Firefox", etc. The "About" option is typically at the bottom of the Help menu.
    8. Try to delete the entry, and upload again. Despite the fact that people are generally moving to broadband connections to the internet (including DSL, Cable, T1, etc, etc)... most online sites try to count on the fact that perhaps 50% of their visitors are on modems at 56k connections or less. This being the case, many BandAMP users are undoubtably using a modem to do their dirtywork. Back in the day when I lived with a modem, it used to bug me that it was so flakey sometimes. I’d spend 35 minutes downloading something and then when I tried to run it, the computer tells me that it’s corrupted. That’s life. Sometimes that sort of thing happens on modems. The same thing can potentially happen to your song if you uploaded it and it does not play correctly on the BandAMP website. Downloading and uploading isn’t perfect yet. Why don’t YOU try to manually send thousands of ones and zeroes across an ocean and get every one of them correctly reassembled on a BandAMP server... That’s what the internet is for, but it messes things up sometimes, to make a long story short. If it doesn’t play back correctly on BandAMP, check the properties of the song as I’ve described in the above steps and try to sort out the problem. If it comes down to it and you can’t figure out what’s wrong, try deleting the entry on BandAMP, and upload it again!
      If "Delete" isn’t an option for the song you want to get rid of when you look at the "My Music" part of your profile, make sure that the song is not entered into a battle. If it is entered, you must first use the "Declare Peace" option.
    If none of these steps seem to be solving your problem, or if the BandAMP website is literally giving you an error message, please try making a post on the Tech Support thread, or sending a PM to an administrator, like entheon. Please please please please please describe the issue as thouroughly as possible. If BandAMP gives you a code error or something, just copy and paste the whole thing into your post or PM.

    If none of the above is working, blame AOL, because it’s probably their fault. Somehow.

  • Contacting someone who can help



  • If you can’t seem to figure out what’s going wrong, or if you just can’t find your answer in the above text, then you can try posting your question (in detail please), and anything you have tried to resolve the problem so far, in the Tech Support forum. This way, you have the opportunity to show everyone the problem.

  • You’ll have the best shot at getting your question answered if you post in this forum.

  • If the problem is something that (either by your own disgression or by the opinion of others) only an administrator can fix (like a code problem on the website) then make a post about it in the Tech Support forum.

[written by TonightsLastSong]


Server Time: March 18th, 2024 · 11:33 PM
© 2002-2012 BandAMP. All Rights Reserved.