Frequently Asked Questions

The digital equivalent of sending someone a CD or record in the post with a reaction sheet. Digital promos are sent to DJs, press and other industry people to get their feedback on pre-release music, often with the intention of creating buff hype. FATdrop promos are delivered directly via branded emails and contain an integrated audio player and online reaction form. If you would like to see a FATdrop in action, click here and input your email address.

FATdrop is run by two otherworldly beings called Alex and Chris, along with their team of digital music savvy ninji.

FATdrop makes it easy for labels who want to send digital promos, by providing a tool that they can use to build, send and analyse promo campaigns themselves. FATdrop promos contain three easy ways for DJs and press to leave feedback while they listen, so labels receive their reactions straight away - then FATdrop automatically collects these reactions and a wealth of other information too (e.g. how many promos have been opened, average ratings for tracks, favourite tracks etc.) so labels can easily measure how their promos are doing.

We're always on the look out for highly talented and motivated people, even if we're not hiring for a specific role. If you're interested in working with us and have exceptional abilities, by all means let us know.

FATdrop provides you with the technology to create, send and monitor digital promos, but you need to provide your own lists. Your mailing lists are completely private, and remain your own property.

FATdrop is provided on a rolling monthly subscription, which you can cancel at any time. There are no long term ties, so you can easily try it and see if it's for you.

FATdrop is a monthly subscription service. This includes 2GB of bandwidth and 5GB of storage for your files on our server. Bandwidth is used up when people stream and download your music and other files. If you use more than your inclusive 2GB you simply pay for whatever you use. For more info visit the sign up page.

We have developed our promos to look great in all of the popular email clients. FATdrop promo emails render correctly in:

* AOL 9
* AOL Web
* Comcast
* Earthlink
* Gmail
* Lotus Notes
* Mail.com
* MSN Hotmail
* Outlook 2003
* Outlook 2007
* Outlook Express 6
* Outlook XP
* Thunderbird
* Windows Live Hotmail
* Windows Mail
* Yahoo! Classic
* Yahoo! Mail

and the promos will work in any modern browser with Javascript and Flash v8 enabled:

* Internet Explorer > 5.5
* Safari (Mac & PC)
* Firefox 2 & 3
* Opera > 9
* Chrome

If you are having trouble with your setup, please let us know.

Absolutely not. We operate a strict anti-spam policy. All emails sent through our system are sent to addresses that have opted in to be on a certain mailing list. They may also be addresses that have had dealings with the label in the last two years. If you no longer wish to be subscribed to a particular list, you can click the unsubscribe link found in any FATdrop email. Alternatively you can report spam to us and we will make sure you are taken off the list while we investigate the matter.

We have a strict privacy policy concerning our clients' mailing list data. Your lists are your lists; we don't share or use them in any way. The only time that we would contact someone from your list is if you asked us to for technical support, or if they contacted us directly. Our full privacy policy forms part of our contract with you and you can review that here.

Your pre-release music is stored on our dedicated and secure servers. Each promo sent through the FATdrop system contains a unique link which is needed to unlock the promo. If someone on your list shares their link, you will be able to see it in the reports and decide what, if anything, you want to do about it. It may be a case of contacting them directly to ask them not to share your music or you may even decide to take them off your list.

You can use JOVA watermarking for extra protection. JOVA adds a watermark to tracks, so the person who originally downloaded the track may be identified if it appears illegally on a P2P site.

If you use more than your inclusive 2GB, you are simply charged for any additional bandwidth that you use. Bandwidth is charged incrementally, so if you use 2.1GB, you just pay for the extra 0.1GB. You can easily keep track of how much you've used in real time from within your account.

Jova is FATdrop's watermarking technology. If you use JOVA, a unique code is automatically added to each of your downloaded tracks. This identifies who downloaded it. The code doesn't affect the music file in any way and the downloader/listener won't know it's there unless you tell them. If you find your music on an illegal file-sharing site, you can submit it to FATdrop. FATdrop can read the file and check if there is a JOVA watermark. If there is, we can tell you who leaked your track. Unlimited use of JOVA is included in a FATdrop subscription.

FATdrop supports .WAV, FLAC, AIFF and MP3 music file formats. FATdrop also supports the following 'other' file formats: .PDF .ZIP .RAR .MOV and .AVI. So you can add, for example, press releases, videos, artwork, zipped music files and anything else you need people to see, all in one promo.

Your account includes a customisable promo template for one label. If you need more templates, e.g. if you're promoting multiple labels, or you have sub-labels, you can add extra ones for £5 per month each.

Yes. Promo templates and emails are easy to customise for professional promos that look and feel like part of your label. A default template is included with your account to help you get started straight away. This can be customised using the template editor, which you can access through the dashboard inside your account.

We don't tie you in. All accounts are on a one month rolling contract. Contact us for our full terms and conditions.

FATdrop is currently accepting account requests; enter your details here to apply for an account.

Yes. FATdrop can be used by anyone who wants to easily send, monitor and receive feedback on their music.

FATdrop is used worldwide by a wide range of record labels, promotion companies, artist management agencies and other industry pros. For more information on how people are using FATdrop, check out our case studies.

Unfortunately we don't allow this at the moment. Linking to external sites might pose a privacy risk to the people downloading your promos.

FATdrop is held on a dual-core Xeon LV dedicated server with a 100Mb/s connection to the third fastest network in the world, second fastest in Europe, and fastest in the UK. (as rated by independent network testing site speedtest.net) The server also has hot swap disk bays, which means in the event of a serious hardware failure, the drives can be swapped to avoid downtime for your promos.

Yes of course. Full technical support is available via email. We are also happy to talk to new customers through the system by telephone if they wish, and generally help out however we can.

Once you're subscribed to a FATdrop list you will be able to receive and access promos directly via email. There's no login required. You can review and change your subscriptions at any time via the subscription page.

Easy! The next time you receive a FATdrop promo, hover over your details in the FATdrop player (top left). Click, edit and submit your new details.

No. Email addresses collected by labels will not be used by FATdrop for any other reasons than to send email regarding that label and your email address will not be passed on to any third parties. For more info, see our privacy policy.

All the promo lists in FATdrop are managed and owned by the record labels or promo companies that use our service. To get promos via FATdrop you need to be invited to join a label's mailing list, so you need to contact the label directly.

All FATdrop promos are delivered via email. When you get the email, simply click the link to access the promos. Listen to the tracks, leave some feedback (if required) and any available downloads will glow green in the right hand side of the player tracklist, ready for you to click on.

There's a good chance that if you only subscribed recently the label hasn't sent anything yet. When they do you'll get an email containing a link. Click, listen, feedback and download. To ensure the safe arrival of your promos please add the domain fatdrop.co.uk to your email client safe list.

Firstly check your junk/spam folder and remove the campaign email if it's in there. Then add the delivery address delivery@fatdrop.co.uk to your address book/safe list to avoid this problem reoccurring. If there is nothing in your spam filter, the email may be being blocked by your network. If this isn't the case, please contact us and we will check the status of the email.

Downloads are activated by leaving feedback for the promo. Say as much or as little as you want but bear in mind that the labels appreciate the feedback. Once you've reacted, the download links to the right of the tracklist will become active. If the download links remain grey, it means the tracks are for streaming only and you will not be able to download them.

Your email client is set to view email as plain text, and not html. All FATdrop emails display correctly in both plain text & html. If you wish to change the way emails are viewed, consult the help file for your mail client.

No. Not if you have deleted the FATdrop promo email you were sent, or if the campaign has been deactivated. Please email the label concerned directly for a resend.

If you've subscribed to any lists on the FATdrop system or have pending invitations you can update them by visiting the subscription page. You'll need the email address which your promos are sent to in order to do this. Further instructions are on the subscriptions page. You can also access this page from any promo by clicking on your email address in the player from and then clicking the more options button

If none of the icons are green it probably means the campaign you've received is a 'stream only' promo. If you want to check, use the 'reply to' address in the email and contact the label directly.