Sure, just ask.

How much do the single CDs cost?

We sell to outside distributors @$7.50
They mark them up to stores for about $9.50 (this is what you should charge if you are consigning your CD to local stores)
Purchases from our shopping cart system are credited at $10.00
Suggested retail price is $15.00 (but you will find a range from $13.99 to $18)

I have a concert in three weeks. Will my CDs be ready?

Lack of preparation on your part does not constitute an emergency on ours. That said, we can pull out the stops if it's that important to have product ready by then BUT your efforts should not undermine our national promo campaign (and official release date) which takes at least 4-6 months to gear up.

I know people who bought my record weeks ago. Why haven't you sent me a check?

Because we wait for the distributor to send us a check, update our accounts against returns, then wait for an annual audit before any money goes out. We will account to you twice a year but send checks annually (or when requested).

Can you tell me how many units have sold?

No, we rarely know actual sales numbers of units, but we do know what cash and what consignment monies are out there.

Why do some titles sell more than others?

1. How much you are in the spotlight as a performer
   
2. How newsworthy the story is to the media
   
3. Constant visibility in ads, radio, and reviews
   
4. Word of mouth/buzz
   
5. The kind of music it is
   
   

I want to go into this more deeply and have a ton of questions about how the system works.

Try here: http://www.starpolish.com/advice/

innova is doing my design, what format do you want my scanned photos and text in?

Please send (email or CDR) your texts as Microsoft Word (.doc or .txt or .rtf without extensive formatting)

If sending photos, scan in Adobe Photoshop: For black and white images: Scan Grayscale, 300 dpi, save as TIF (Mac or PC) or JPG. The larger the better; we can always shrink to fit, not the other way around.

For color images: RGB or CMYK, 300 dpi, saved as TIF or JPG (high quality).

We can scan slides but prefer not to.

We do not have Adobe Pagemaker. Do not send GIFs, web color, or anything in 72 dpi.

If you are doing the design yourself and don't have InDesign or Quark, that is a sign there will be many costly repairs needed to prepare the files for successful printing. Cut your losses now and let us do it. Please. By all means send a pencil sketch of any layout thoughts you may have.

You asked me to draft a One Sheet. What's that?

A one sheet is a short, snappy promo paragraph or two about a new release that gives readers an instant snapshot of the project and why it might intrigue them.  For you it is the chance to put words into the mouths and pens of future reviewers and critics.  Relating/categorizing/name dropping/thematic points/past review quotes/intriguing bio tidbits are all welcome.  Academic analysis it is not.

Examples of various styles are on any innova page to inspire you.

We send out one sheets to the world of distribution and they take time to percolate through the system, generally at least two months. We don't send them out until production on the CD is well underway, so plan your release parties accordingly way ahead of time.