Account Questions

What are the benefits of becoming a registered member of CrucialCovers.com?
As a free registered member, you will be able to do the following:

• Set up project folders to save songs and email associates for review
• Download 320k MP3s or WAVs

Can I listen to songs without becoming a member?
Yes. You can listen to 320K MP3s of all the music available on CrucialCovers.com. You must have an approved account to download 320 MP3s or WAVs.

Can I make changes to my account?
Yes. Once you are logged in, click My Account tab, and click the button "Update Account". You can change your registration information, password, and email address.

Searching Questions

How do I search for songs?
Search our site for music by Genre, Sub-Genre, Mood, Orchestration, Lead, Tempo, Era or Lyric Theme, . A Keyword box is also supplied to do quick searches by specific words. If you are looking a specific song title or artist, you can type in the name between " " in the keyword box.

When I do a search, how are the selections sorted?
On the search results page, songs are sorted alphabetically by Artist name and the by song Title.

I'm not getting any search results?
The more search criteria you select the smaller the universe becomes. If you are not successful in finding a song with every criteria selected, try expanding the universe by deselecting some of the search criteria.

Multiple selections within a drop down search criteria are not possible; multiple selections can be typed into the keywords box.

Use the singular form of the word first i.e. "violin" instead of "violins" in the Keyword search.

If a certain Keyword search is null, try another Keyword that means the same thing or is similar. For example: if a Keyword search by "adore" is null, try "love" to find selections.

Be sure to press the Clear button before each new search.

I'm getting too many search results?
The more search criteria you select the smaller the universe becomes. Try choosing more criteria to narrow your search.

I can't find the song I want?
We have just launched the site and are adding covers weekly. If you have enough time in your deadline checkback weekly, or call us at 1-818-985-5810 and we'll be happy to locate the exact song you need.

Playlist Questions

How do I create a project playlist?
In the track listing, click the red folder and a popup will appear on the right hand side for you to input the details of the project. Click the checkbox "Pin this project" and when you click update, and you can continue adding tracks by clicking the red folder and the tracks will automatically be added to the project. The pinned folder can be accessed by clicking in project title at the bottom in the music player on the right side. If you click the actual pin, you can pin and unpin the project. If you unpin, it will allow you to create a new project. You can also click the menu item "Projects" which will take you to the list of projects you have created.

Can I email the project to other people for review?
Yes. Click Email in the Project, and complete all the details in the pop-up form and click Send. Your recipient will get an email with a link to click. When they do so, they will be directed to the Project page, where they may listen and download.

Can I send a music file to my production staff for evaluation and pre-production?
Yes. You can email your project folder to production staff for evaluation. They will be able to listen to the 320 mp3 files. If you have an "activated" account you be able to email the project folder with 320K mp3 and WAV file downloads.

Licensing Questions

Do I have to secure separate licenses for the master recording and composition?
YES. We only own or control 100% of the master recording. Once you have cleared our master, you will have to clear the publishing to the composition with the third party publisher. When you are ready to license our master please be sure to license the composition with the publisher as well, otherwise you will not be able to use our master.

Can Crucial clear and license the composition for us?
NO. You can research who owns the publishing to the composition at the U.S. performing rights organizations' websites at ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC. On each site you will find details on the writers and the publishers of the song, with their contact details. You can contact them directly for clearance and license.

Can I see a rate card?
Please call us at 1-818-985-5810 for a quote.

Do your CrucialMusic network and studio indie rates apply to the covers songs?
NO. Since the cover songs are not one-stop our established rates do not apply.

How do I license masters?
Songs are licensed for a "needledrop" rate, which means $X per master recording per use. The amount is determined by the type of clearance you need. Please call us at 1-818-985-5810 to discuss your licensing needs.

How do I pay?
Once we have agreed upon a rate and terms, you will be sent an invoice (with ACH/Wire details) along with your license via email. You must return a PDF copy of the License with the Licensee's signature, and the invoice must be paid as soon as you know that the music will definitely be used for the project. Your license is not valid until the license has been executed by us, and payment has been made to us. All payment must be made in US Dollars; and we prefer payment via ACH or Wire.

Can I pay by check? If so, to whom do I make checks payable?
YES. Crucial Music Corporation, 12031 Ventura Blvd. Ste. 2, Studio City, CA, 91604

Downloading Questions

What format can I get music in?
We offer two formats of delivery: 320k MP3s and WAV files are available for download with an "activated" account.

If I have an "activated" account how do I download songs?
You must log in to see the available download formats. After you have completed the search, select the detail button marked by a + in the first column of the search results table. Details about the song will appear below including the various file formats of each song that we have available to download. Click on the format you would like to download, and a form will appear prompting you thru the download procedure.

I've downloaded the songs, how do I identify the song on my desktop?
All MP3 and WAV files are named by the "catalog#.title". The MP3 files are id-tagged so that if you play them in iTunes, you will see all of the information about the song. Windows Media Player and other players do not show as much info as the iTunes player, but enough for you to track the song back to us. The WAV files are actually BWAV files, so that if you are using an editing software such as Adobe Audition, all of the song information will appear in the "WAV properties" or "file properties" menu item. If your software doesn't recognize the BWAV data, don't worry, you'll still be able to play/edit the file as a regular WAV.

How do I get around my company's firewall? What is a firewall?
A firewall is a means of securing your organization's systems from unauthorized access or damage by hackers or software pirates. It is usually placed between the Web connection and your organization's servers. A firewall can reside on its own server, or on a server that contains other applications. Firewalls typically prevent unauthorized users from accessing systems, restrict the file size or type of data that can enter your systems, and restrict the way internal users access the Internet. If your firewall prevents you from accessing FTP sites or restricts the file size or type that can be downloaded to your computer, then you need to contact your organization's System Administrator to modify your Internet access.

Miscellaneous Questions

Can you supply lyrics for the cover songs?
We only supply lyrics where the lyrics have been altered so that you may email them to the publisher for approval if you are using the section of the song that has been altered. It will be notated in the dropdown on the right side that Altered Lyrics are available, so please email tanvi@crucialmusic.com for those. The altered section will be identified inside brackets []. If the lyrics have NOT been altered, you can find the lyrics to any hit song by searching for the song title followed by the word lyrics in the Google search bar. Ex: "freebird lyrics"