1. Upload three songs, MP3 files only.
2. Listen to and rate a song/s of your choice by any available songwriter on SongKarma.
3. The songwriter you have rated will then listen to and rate your song/s within seven days. Results will only be published when both songwriters have completed the rating cycle.
4. Rated songs receive points which determine a chart position and the possibility of radio airplay and further promotion.
5. To make your songs more visible and potentially rated more often, just respond quickly to those who rate your own songs, and your songs will be near the top of the list on the rating page for other songwriters to choose from.
No fees. Not now. Not ever.
Songwriters retain copyright of their material and are free to withdraw from SongKarma at any point.
1: Rate up to three songs from the rating page by any available songwriter and from any genre you wish.
2: Score each song with a 1 to 5 score.
3: If you rate a song with a 5 score, you are then required to listen to another song by that songwriter and rate it, and if you rate the second song with a 5 score also, you are required to rate a third and final song by that songwriter.
4: The songwriter you are rating will then respond by rating your own uploaded songs.
5: You will not be able to give a song a 5 point rating if you have not listened to the entire song.
6: Songs must be listened to for at least 10 seconds before you can rate them.
7: The rating system consists of two set stages of feedback, the first is pre-set and is as follows:
The second stage of feedback scores are optional and do not count toward chart positions.
You can choose to leave a songwriter more information about why you have given them the score you have. These are still pre-set responses but present a wider view of your thoughts. Only the songwriter you are rating will see this feedback.
You can choose to score as many or few of these parameters as you wish, and not all may be relevant.
The idea behind the feedback rating system, other than gaining a chart position, is that it can be used by songwriters to gauge their peer’s thoughts on where their songs may be improved.
But please always remember, opinions are just opinions, and we can all take or leave them as we please. In this context, SongKarma’s feedback system is here to be used as a positive tool and facilitate great songwriting.
Our radio station and DJ supporters are committed to airing songs if they gain a top ten position in any one of SongKarma’s charts. They may well also air songs which fall outside of the top ten.
SongKarma does not control which radio stations will play which songs or how many times they will play them, it is left to their discretion, but every top ten song will indeed receive airplay.
SongKarma will normally inform a songwriter where and when their song is being aired, but due to the number of times airplay may happen across a large number of supporting radio stations, we may not always be aware. We do encourage our supporting radio stations to inform us, so that we can inform you.
Songs cannot be aired on most radio stations, regardless of where they sit in a SongKarma chart, if they contain explicit or adult lyrical content, including swearing.
Our radio station supporters are either commercial, community or independent in nature and may well produce content live, pre-recorded or via visual media.
Many of our supporting radio stations broadcast live and pre-recorded live performance events, and may well invite you to perform on their respective stations, if it’s something you wish to do.
Please click this link – Radio – if you wish to become a supporting station.
Is there a fee for uploading my songs?
No. SongKarma does not charge songwriters for uploading songs, it is entirely free.
Does SongKarma own any part of my song?
No: SongKarma does not hold commercial rights to your songs or hold any type of copyright etc. The songwriter retains all rights and permissions.
What can SongKarma do with my songs?
By uploading your songs onto SongKarma, you give permission to invite other songwriters to listen to your songs free of any fees, royalties or charges while hosted on SongKarma, and rate them to gain a SongKarma chart position and critical peer feedback.
The general public will also be able to listen to your songs free of any charge, royalty or fee, and see publicity about them, but they will not be allowed to download them from SongKarma or score them.
DJs who are signed up supporters of SongKarma can download your songs to use for airplay only. Downloads are not permitted for any other use.
SongKarma will not do anything else with your songs without seeking further written permission.
Can my songs be downloaded by users?
No: Only radio station DJs who have been given permission by SongKarma can download your songs to use for airplay. Downloads are not permitted for any other use and SongKarma’s supporting DJ’s cannot use them for any other purpose either.
Offensive language or lyrics.
Songwriters can submit songs containing whatever lyrics they wish, but most radio stations will not play songs with offensive language, regardless of where the song may be in a SongKarma chart.
SongKarma will also remove songs which contain abusive messages which are likely to incite hatred or violence against the LBGTQ community, race or religion. Lyrics containing critical social and political commentary are valid and will be defended by SongKarma.
Decisions to remove content will be final and at the sole discretion of SongKarma, no correspondence will be entered into.
Security and my personal details:
The public will be able to see your submitted “MyKarma” profile only.
SongKarma does not use your personal details for any other purpose than to contact you if necessary and help give your songs exposure via our supporting radio stations and publicity contacts.
We do not give or sell your personal details to third parties.
If you sign up for any of our KarmaNews letters, we will use your email contact for delivering those.
Our supporting radio stations may also wish to contact via your email.
How many songs can I upload?
You can upload three songs at any one time.
You can delete those at any point and upload a different three songs or leave them on SongKarma indefinitely.
Three times per year SongKarma will hold a Zero Hour event, which will encourage songwriters to remove old material and add new. All chart scores will be set back to zero during a Zero Hour event.
These events will take place at 7pm on 1st February, 1st June, and 1st October each year.
How many songwriters can I score?
You can score up to thirty songwriter’s material per week.
A week runs from 7pm GMT Thursday to 6.59.59pm GMT the following Thursday.
Zero Hour and chart scores.
Three times per year SongKarma will hold a Zero Hour event, when all song chart scores will be set back to zero.
This is the ideal time to remove old material and add new, although new material can be added and old removed anytime.
These events will take place at 7pm on 1st February, 1st June, and 1st October each year.
How many songs can I listen to:
You can listen to as many songs as you wish.
How should I score songs?
Honestly and sincerely.
SongKarma exists as a tool to publicize a songwriter’s work and to help those songwriters understand how their peers view that work critically.
By being honest and sincere in your scoring, other artists can gauge trends in the feedback they receive and if desired use that to hone their own writing and song delivery skills.
What length can an uploaded song be?
A song needs to be as long as a song needs to be, but for practical purposes, songwriters cannot upload compositions which run for any more than 20mins.
Radio stations will generally not play songs for longer than about 3mins, give or take 30 seconds or so, however, some of the stations we are supported by will play songs which run much longer than that without fading them out.
SongKarma has no control over how long a radio station may choose to let your song run for if chosen for airplay, or how many times they may wish to air it.
Copyright infringement.
Songwriter’s should only upload songs which they have written themselves or in which they are a credited writer collaborator, with permission to do so from their co-writers.
If a song should contain passages of copyrighted material of any kind, including samples, then songwriters should not upload that song without being in possession of legal permission to do so from the copyright owner or their representatives.
If you believe a songwriter has uploaded material which they do not have legal permission for, please contact SongKarma and we will suspend the upload until such time as proof of copyright permissions can be provided.
SongKarma will remove or suspend material it believes infringes copyright. Decisions to remove or suspend content will be final and at the discretion of SongKarma.
Feedback visibility:
Other than your chart position and rating scores, only you can see the feedback your peers leave you. Everybody can see your chart position and rating scores.
My genre isn’t listed:
Because there are hundreds of musical genres and sub-genres, SongKarma cannot provide a chart for every one of them.
Please choose a genre which you believe to be closest to the style your song sits within.
If you believe there is a glaring omission of a major genre, by all means let us know.
How do I know if my song has been aired on a radio station?
We generally have good communication with our radio station supporters and are made aware of what songs are being added to a playlist or will receive a one off airing.
We will pass this information on to you as we receive it, however, radio stations may well play your songs on a whim and we may never get to hear about it from them.
If you hear that your song has been played on a radio station and we haven’t contacted you about it, we would be pleased to hear from you, as we like to thank our supporting radio stations for all the airplay they afford SongKarma songwriters.
My songs are already being played on SongKarma’s supporting radio stations.
If your songs are already receiving airplay via one or more of our supporting radio stations, those songs will not necessarily achieve more airtime because of your SongKarma chart position. However, the fact that you have gained peer support for your songs, may well add value and encourage more airplay and publicity.
Does SongKarma receive money for songs aired on the radio?
No. SongKarma does not receive any money for songs uploaded by it’s participants and aired on a radio station.
Can I still send my songs directly to SongKarma’s supporting radio stations?
Where our supporting radio stations invite songwriters to submit material, we would very much encourage songwriters to do so, regardless of any help SongKarma chart exposure may afford.
How do I get articles about my songwriting published in KarmaNews?
We wish to help songwriters gain exposure, and SongKarma will post interesting articles about participating songwriters and their songs, however, we can’t post them all.
To qualify, an article must be of genuine interest, well written, no more than 700 words and be supported by at least one quality photo 1MB in size or larger.
The service is free of charge to participating SongKarma songwriters.
How long do my songs remain on SongKarma?
Your songs can potentially remain uploaded and live indefinitely, but SongKarma will periodically check your participating activity and if it appears you have not used SongKarma for a number of months, we will email you to ask you if you wish to keep the songs live, or if you wish us to remove them.
If we do not receive a reply, we reserve the right to remove them or leave them active.
If we receive word from a third party that the songs should be removed because the songwriter has either died or no longer has the capacity to facilitate them on SongKarma, we will again send a message to the email address of the songwriter, and if we do not hear back from them within 14 days, we will remove the songs and the songwriter’s profile.
Who can submit songs to SongKarma?
Anybody who writes at least three songs and can submit them via an MP3 can participate, whether a professional songwriter, semi-professional or hobbyist.
Which territories are permitted to participate?
There are no restrictions for participation regarding territories, countries, states, areas etc.
SongKarma is open to all songwriters anywhere in the world who can gain access to the SongKarma website.
When do the song charts update?
All charts update weekly on a Thursday at 7pm GMT.
How does SongKarma generate income?
SongKarma generates income via commercial advertising, sponsorship, promotions, merchandise sales, grants and donations.
