just a word of advice. Invest a little money and time getting the scanning equipment (POP) needed and paperwork needed to become an official retailer. That way everything you sell (online, out the trunk, whatever) will be recorded by soundscan. As long as you can send files FTP or even just an internet connection, have the paperwork in order, and have your equipment, EVERY sale will count.
Thats is something that every label must have, otherwise you could be at the mercy of these retailers and chains.
Maybe I shouldn't give up game like this. But oh well. Do you think many of these cats who made it big really sold 200,000 soundscan to start off with. Are you serious? Theyhad their own store. Everything they shipped was scanned first (count one)
Everything that was sold by the retailers was scanned (count two) and everything that was returned was scanned like a muthafucka.
You owe it to your artists to set up your own retail outlet and scan shit as it is sold...then you can sell a copy to the homie for 5 dollars without it killing your soundscan #'s because you can count it as a sale. Tax is another thing.
Mo hustle. Pay the tax at the distributor and you can offer your retailers an incentive. They dont have to get tax fromt he customers. They can either offer a little sale, not the price difference, or whatever they want. But also, you can then sell your shit to the homie/out the trunk as a legitimate retailer. You already took care of state sales tax so its all good. You aren't going to get fucked, audited, etc,etc. However, if you're not going to do that.... GET A TAX CERTIFICATE FROM THE GOVERNMENT and stop paying the manufacturing plant all that tax money. If your paperwork is inorder, its nothing to get a tax certificate from the IRS
Its so much to this hustle. I dont know. I only know a smidgeon, but I know you gotta dot I's and cross T's.
Lastly, get your artist an exit plan. I keep encouraging people at PaperTrail to invest in stocks, bonds, something. Are they gonna rap forever? How many broke rappers do you know. 30% of their earnings should be earmarked for investments NOW, while the market is low. But usually... it doesn't work out that way. An artist on a label is looking to that label for guidance. Give it to them.
Kareem Weaver (aka Game Warden)
[email protected]
http://www.papertrailmusic.com
Info from soundscan:
The requirements for reporting sales to Nielsen SoundScan are that your store has Internet access and a Point Of Sales (POS) Inventory System. Nielsen SoundScan does not provide a retailer with a POS System, but can recommend companies who are familiar with our needs. A POS System means that you scan the bar codes of the products you sell. We have a specific format that is required for submitting sales to Nielsen SoundScan. It is a simple text file, consisting of all the UPC's sold and the quantities per UPC on a weekly basis. There are two methods for transmitting data. The first is a dial-up through our 1-800 phone number. The second, and preferred method is an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) transmission. We will assign you a unique user name and password to transfer your data to Nielsen SoundScan. For Internet Sellers or Mail Order companies, the methods of transmissions are the same. However, the file submitted will consist of all the UPC's sold and a corresponding zip code as to where the product was shipped, with an indication of a sales or return. All information is confidential, and as a benefit of being a data provider, we will provide you with specific weekly reports in exchange for your data.
For further information, please contact:Retail Relations(914) 684-5505 [email protected]
Thats is something that every label must have, otherwise you could be at the mercy of these retailers and chains.
Maybe I shouldn't give up game like this. But oh well. Do you think many of these cats who made it big really sold 200,000 soundscan to start off with. Are you serious? Theyhad their own store. Everything they shipped was scanned first (count one)
Everything that was sold by the retailers was scanned (count two) and everything that was returned was scanned like a muthafucka.
You owe it to your artists to set up your own retail outlet and scan shit as it is sold...then you can sell a copy to the homie for 5 dollars without it killing your soundscan #'s because you can count it as a sale. Tax is another thing.
Mo hustle. Pay the tax at the distributor and you can offer your retailers an incentive. They dont have to get tax fromt he customers. They can either offer a little sale, not the price difference, or whatever they want. But also, you can then sell your shit to the homie/out the trunk as a legitimate retailer. You already took care of state sales tax so its all good. You aren't going to get fucked, audited, etc,etc. However, if you're not going to do that.... GET A TAX CERTIFICATE FROM THE GOVERNMENT and stop paying the manufacturing plant all that tax money. If your paperwork is inorder, its nothing to get a tax certificate from the IRS
Its so much to this hustle. I dont know. I only know a smidgeon, but I know you gotta dot I's and cross T's.
Lastly, get your artist an exit plan. I keep encouraging people at PaperTrail to invest in stocks, bonds, something. Are they gonna rap forever? How many broke rappers do you know. 30% of their earnings should be earmarked for investments NOW, while the market is low. But usually... it doesn't work out that way. An artist on a label is looking to that label for guidance. Give it to them.
Kareem Weaver (aka Game Warden)
[email protected]
http://www.papertrailmusic.com
Info from soundscan:
The requirements for reporting sales to Nielsen SoundScan are that your store has Internet access and a Point Of Sales (POS) Inventory System. Nielsen SoundScan does not provide a retailer with a POS System, but can recommend companies who are familiar with our needs. A POS System means that you scan the bar codes of the products you sell. We have a specific format that is required for submitting sales to Nielsen SoundScan. It is a simple text file, consisting of all the UPC's sold and the quantities per UPC on a weekly basis. There are two methods for transmitting data. The first is a dial-up through our 1-800 phone number. The second, and preferred method is an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) transmission. We will assign you a unique user name and password to transfer your data to Nielsen SoundScan. For Internet Sellers or Mail Order companies, the methods of transmissions are the same. However, the file submitted will consist of all the UPC's sold and a corresponding zip code as to where the product was shipped, with an indication of a sales or return. All information is confidential, and as a benefit of being a data provider, we will provide you with specific weekly reports in exchange for your data.
For further information, please contact:Retail Relations(914) 684-5505 [email protected]
