2. What is this site?

An on-line gathering place for artistic folks. We’re bent largely towards independent music, but we also have some select writing and artwork.

The idea here is "community". We want to expose the world to bands/artists/poets we like. On-line, chuckbeat.com is a home and central hub for these creative folks. Out in the "real world", usually everyone does their thing individually, whether it be a live concert, art show, etc... but occasionally, there are "official" chuckbeat events, where several chuckbeat entities join forces. Some folks are connected only tangentially, while others are heavily involved.

3. What is “Chuckbeat Records”? Can you release my band's music?

We generally only work with a few bands we already know, and put out very few releases. However, your band is welcome to contact us and say hello, and let us know about yourself and what you're up to. Link us to your website or myspace and we can check you out. For the love of god, don't email mp3s (or anything else) as attachments unless we ask you to do so. Probably most likely, if we like what we hear (and the scheduling works out), we'll try to come check out your show when you're in the Bay Area and say hello. We also always appreciate it when you are able to hook up Chuckbeat bands with good shows when they are far from home! Once you have a friend in a Chuckbeat band, you usually have a friend in Chuckbeat Records.

4. How do I contact _______ band/artist/person?

For any general Chuckbeat inquiries not addressed here, contact us. If you’re interested in contacting a particular band/artist, look for their email address on their own web page or on their myspace. If you can't find it, we can put you in touch with them.

1. What formats can I get the music in?

CD and CD-R variously, like most "boutique" record labels. We have some vinyl in the works. Most of our releases from recent years are also available digitally on most of the major services (i-tunes, rhapsody, emusic, etc). We're slowly getting our back catalog up digitally, particularly those releases that are sold out and out of print, but it will take a little time before we're caught up.

2. I can't find where to order a particular release by your band ___________.

Our ordering system works by linking directly & seamlessly behind the scenes from the band's own official website. If you don't see an ordering link there, it may mean that the band's CD(s) are out of print, and the band just hasn't clearly labeled this. You can always contact us to verify -- we might have an odd extra copy of some of the releases lying around. For many of our older releases that came out before the "digital revolution", they might be resurrected again soon in digital form, as noted above. A few projects were very short-lived and never released a full album-- check our compilation for tracks by them.

3 . How much does shipping cost?

You will generally be asked for your location (North America, Europe, or worldwide) when you are ordering the CD. The total price including shipping will be clear before you need to enter in your payment information. In the unlikely event you are unclear on the shipping costs by this stage, assume the price you are being quoted is valid for domestic U.S. and Canada only, and contact us to inquire further if you need the CD shipped somewhere else.

4. What method can I use to buy music?

For now, we use PayPal when you buy a physical CD by mail-order. If that doesn’t work for you... you guess it, just contact us.

For digital purchases, payment methods vary depending on what service you are using, and are done through a middle man--i.e. if you have problems with an i-tunes purchase, contact Steve Jobs, not us. The exception is purchases through bandcamp.com (via PayPal) which are administered directly by chuckbeat.

5. What is PayPal?

If you haven't yet used popular webservice: it allows you to use your credit card (or even debit card) to purchase goodies on-line from us through PayPal, a third party who is equipped to handle your purchase safely and securely. It works just like any other on-line purchase. If you want to find out even more, check out here and here.