FAQ
frequently asked questions and assumptions
Who runs Experimedia?
Essentially just one person... me... Jeremy Bible. My kind and lovely wife makes trips to the post office for me.
Is Experimedia your full time job?
No. By day I work in the print industry... a rather demanding job... design, programming, IT, marketing, project management related. I doubt I will ever want Experimedia to be my full time job. I do this because I enjoy it and I want it to stay that way. If I were to add the pressure of having to profit enough to support my family I feel it would take the fun out of it. And finanically it just wouldnt be feasable to not work a day job as well.... which not only pays the bills but provides my family health insurance coverage. Besides... the small amount I do make through Experimedia I would prefer to put back into the music community through releases, supporting labels/artists, or organizing an event. I work for music.
How much do you charge for shipping?
Whatever the actual cost is plus $1.50 to go towards shipping supplies. There is a calculate postage button in the cart. The cart will calculate postage based the total weight of the package. Each object has a weight associated with it. When you checkout my cart system passes that weight to the US Postal Service to retreive accurate shipping calculations. And yes I pad shipping by $1.50 to go towards packing supplies. Pretty much everyone pads their shipping... they just try and hide it. And the usually pad by more thatn $1.50. Its either this or raise my overall price markup. In the long run this saves you more.
Does Experimedia make allot of money?
No. Very little. Just enough to sustain it... and put out the occasional release, keep the catalog growing, buy shipping supplies, etc. I quite often invest money out of day job earnings into it as well. It was not born or funded out of some trust fund. I come from a poor family. I have built it myself out of my own pocket over the years. Experimedia is about my love of music and the music community and wanting to support and contribute to the community.
How quickly do you ship?
Between 1-4 days in most cases. Drops are always made to the post office Tuesdays and Thursdays and sometimes Saturdays. Occasionaly I will make a special trip the post office on other random days.
Are all items available for order on your site in stock?
Most. 95% I would say. The others that arent can be easily obtained within a week as part of my weekly orders with several distributors. Some others are preorder objects. Estimated arrival dates are noted on the object details page above the album cover image. Estimated arrival dates are just that... estimated. There are many variables involved which are out of my hands that can cause a delay from manufacturing delays to shipping delays. As time goes on I am learning and taking into consideration which labels/formats/distributors etc are unpredictable when it comes to release date.
I havent received my record yet... whats going on?
I try and keep everyone with preorders or delays informed as possible. But sometimes its just so busy I cant find a spare moment to let you know. If you look up your order in your account history and see it is still marked as preorder that means it hasnt shipped yet but will as soon as everything on your order arrives. Feel free to drop me an email to ask about your order. But always rest assured I am working on getting everything for your order together and am dedicated to getting your order to you as soon as possible.
When was Experimedia born?
2000. It has evolved since inception. Initially organizing events, then a net label, then a label. The mailorder aspect didnt come about until 2008 when I built a cart system for the label, then started carrying titles from my friends labels... and the catalog has obviously grown from there. I personally was born in 1979. I organized my first event when I was 14. Since then my life has always revolved around my passion for music/art.
Do you get a copy of everything you stock?
No. Not all labels supply me with a promo copy. When I do get a promo to listen to it is usually digital format. If I want a copy of something for my personal collection I generally have to buy it like anyone else.
Are you perfect?
My wife would say yes... but no. I am human. I am not a machine.... nor a staff of twenty. I am bound to a mistake from time to time... wrong or missing item in your order.... inventory data entry mistakes etc.... but when I do make a mistake I correct it quickly. We all have our days. For instance one time last year I had a terrible flu and was taking medicine that had me way out of it but still had orders to pack... I think I messed up 3 orders that day with the wrong items... but quickly corrected them.
Running a record label and mailorder is easy right?
Ha! No. Its a ton of hard work and sacrifice. Plenty of of late nights up working. Staying inside when its a beautiful day outside. Etc. Making stock orders, balancing budget, arranging distribution, manufacturing, coordinating artwork, mastering, ordering supplies, doing inventory, dealing with delays, packing packing packing orders.
Do you get allot of orders?
At the moment (summer 2010)... usually around 50 a week. Ranging in size from 1 to 20 objects. Almost 90% of orders contain vinyl.
Where do you press your records at?
Gotta Groove in Cleveland, Ohio. A fairly young press that opened in 2009. Quality and great service. Plus its great to have a plant within driving distance. Shipping vinyl from out of state costs a ton.
CDs?
Discmakers. Seems to be the best balance of price, quality, and turn around time. Try and find cheaper and you could be in for some unpleasant surprises I have found. I like to do my own printing so I generally stick with bulk disc replication.
Printing?
Digital Color Imaging in Akron, Ohio. This is where I work. A sort of jack of all things digital. Design, print, web, database, dev, packaging etc. So I have a great workshop here to print proof and develop package designs and such.
Will you stock my title(s)?
Maybe. First thing you need to know is that I work with all labels/artists direct on a quarterly reporting consignment basis. This is honestly the only way I can support as many labels as I do. I work with allot of distributors the same way with Experimedia titles. So in most cases this is the standard arrangement in our field of music. So if those terms work for you and I dig what you got... then yeah we can probably work it out. See the contact section.
Do you except demos?
Yes but be aware it sometimes takes me up to a month or two to get it put to ear. My listening pile often grows faster than I can keep up. I am really quite particular about what I release. I am really looking for works that are highly unique and sound like very little I have heard before. But if it resonates with me strongly I will put it out there and promote it with all Ive got. And even if it is something I would release that doesnt always mean I can. Timing and budget are always something to be considered. Im not looking to release several albums a month. I want to have the time to give each release the care and attention it deserves. I have seen allot of labels get burnt out on both ends by over releasing as well. My goal with the label is to keep the output paced, quality, and unique. See the contact section.
I sent you an email last week/month and haven't heard back. What's the deal?
That happens sometimes. My inbox is like grand central station. It can be challenging to keep up. I do my best. If its high priority regarding an order then generally I reply right away. But if its about a demo or stocking something... then sometimes it just gets buried in the queue until I have a chance to catch up. Don't be afraid to email me again.
Do you have a mailing list?
Yeah. See the ABOUT section.
Do you have a twitter/facebook/myspace/soundcloud etc?
Yeah. Although I am personally not on facebook or twitter often. I have my news posts connected to a service that automatically forwards them onto social sites. So I dont advise sending a message there and expecting a response. TWITTER. FACEBOOK. MYSPACE. SOUNDCLOUD.
Do you make music/art yourself?
Yes. Music/photography/graphic design. When I find time which is less and less these days. I may be very productive for a year or two.... then I might go a year without making any sound. Which sometimes is good. To take a break and detach myself from the past period of work. Here are 2 sites ... probably dated at any given point. SITE1 - SITE2
Anything else you want to know just ask. Im an open book. Also be sure to read the ABOUT and CONTACT ABOUT pages.
