BrandyBrothers@gmail.com
FAQ
A Brandy Brothers' Shoebox Songs FAQ
Presented as a friendly dialogue between two people of good reputation.
You: Shoebox Songs? What is that and how will it change my life?
Us: Whoa! One question at a time, please.
You: Okay, what are Shoebox Songs?
Us: Shoebox Songs is a Brandy Brothers project focused on encouraging people of all walks of life to write songs.
You: Sounds lofty. How does it work?
Us: At predetermined intervals, we will post a topic/picture on the Shoebox Songs page at BrandyBrothers.com. For the next week, we will accept submissions of songs from anyone who would like to come up with something. At the end of the week we will compile the submissions and, after we have enough time to organize them, we will release them on our website for everyone to enjoy.
You: Sounds fun! So I would get to write a song and you'll put it up on the website! How do I submit my song?
Us: Visit the Shoebox Songs HOW TO page for complete instructions.
You: Do you have any recommendations for the recording?
Us: We encourage you to use any resources available to you. Don't underestimate your laptop mic! Garageband, Audacity, Hobnox, and many other low-end, free, or virtual audio programs are more than you would need and quite easy to use. All levels of production are accepted, from singing-in-the-shower to multi-tracked studio recordings.
You: What if I don't know how to do any of that? Can I still participate?
Us: Absolutely! Write us an email and we can refer you to all kinds of programs or methods.
You: Do you accept sheet music? How about scribbles on a napkin.
Us: I don't see why not. Just get us a digital copy.
You: You're insane, you know.
Us: Oh yes. Quite.
You: What about rights management? How will you use the songs we submit?
Us: You retain all ownership and copyright of the music and recordings submitted to us. By submitting to us you agree to allow us to circulate the submissions as we see fit (for free, online, or as a part of later compilations). Submitting a file to Brandy Brothers confers upon Brandy Brothers the right to distribute that file in perpetuity. That being said, if you want us to take the song down, we'll try to accommodate you. Also, the song is yours. We'll give you proper credit wherever possible, and link to any sites you may want us to link to.
You: Sounds scary.
Us: We're not lawyers. We just want to get people writing songs.
You: Okay. I trust you. You promise not to be jerks?
Us: We'll do our best, anyway.
You: Neat. Anything else I should know?
Us: Just because you send us a song, doesn't mean that we will be able to publish it on the site. If there are file issues we'll try to resolve them. Songs that my mom would make me turn off because they're "profane" may be edited or excluded at our discretion. Remember: we try to keep the site family friendly.
You: Okay! I'm ready! What's the topic/picture?
Us: Go to BrandyBrothers.com/ShoeboxSongs to find out! Good luck!