FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

GENERAL

What is Northern Star?

Northern Star is a label and digital download vendor specialising in indie, psychedelia, underground and experimental sounds.  We put out a compilation in March 2006 called Psychedelica Vol: 1 which featured the Brian Jonestown Massacre, the Telescopes, The Lovetones, The High Dials, The Black Angels, Electric Prunes, The Telescopes and Silver Apples amongst many others.  We have now expanded to sell digital downloads direct from our site www.northernstarrecords.co.uk  

We specialise in selling music you are unlikely to find anywhere else including brand new never before released albums and EPs by underground bands, hard-to-find gems and obscure, long-deleted, underground classics. We find great music so you don’t have to!

LABELS/ARTISTS

I am a label/artist and I wish to sell my music on Northern Star.  How do I go about this?

If you are a label/artist and you believe your music would fit in with the music we sell on Northern Star then we will be more than happy to hear from you.  Please contact us for further details at  

We operate a policy on only selling music we love and would buy ourselves.  All music sent is listened to and considered, but we specialise in selling psychedelia, indie, underground and experimental and the genres they incorporate (eg. country, folk and punk) but we will sell music if we love it and feel happy to attach our name to it.  Only the very best music with the Northern Star seal of approval is sold from www.northernstarrecords.co.uk

Whats the deal?

We offer a very competitive rate 70/30 (70% for you, 30% for us) after Paypal charges as we believe in doing the best by the artists and labels we work with. The reason why we do this?  We simply want to secure the future for music by helping new artists and record labels get the audience they deserve.

CUSTOMERS

Does Northern Star sell CDs and vinyl?

Yes we do.  Ultimately we are music lovers and as such believe the customer should be able to listen to music in the format that most pleases them.  Some of the music on our site is available on multi-formats wherever possible.  However due to popular request and the onset of the digital download revolutionising the way in which we listen to our music, we envisage that the majority of the music we sell in the future will be in the form of a digital download.

What is a download?

A download describes the process of copying data from one location to another across the Internet.  In the case of music downloading, this means copying a digital music file from one place on the Internet (e.g. www.northernstarrecords.co.uk) and placing it on another (e.g. your home computer).  Digital downloads most commonly take the form of mp3 or wma files.  Northern Star uses mp3s due to their flexibility of use and for other reasons that will become apparent.

What are MP3 files?

MP3 files are forms of electronic music that you can store on your computer, or a portable music player. They are created in a way that allows near-CD quality sound but also has a compressed file size so that it can be downloaded from the Internet and used with memory based audio players and portable media players.  MP3s are playable on all devices including iPods. They do not have Digital Rights Management (DRM) software.

What is DRM?

Digital Rights Management (DRM) is protective software that restricts how many times a music file can be burnt to CD/ Minidisc/ DVD/ memory card and the number of devices (additional computers, digital music players, mobile phones etc) it can be transferred to.

At present, Northern Star does not use DRM restrictions as we believe if you purchase you music you have the right to listen to it wherever you please. We will continue to apply this policy unless it is stipulated by the record labels or artists we work with. How we sell their music is ultimately down to the record labels and artists.

What is the sound quality of the music files I download?

The sound quality of the music offered on Northern Star is close to that of a standard audio CD. It is not the same quality as a CD but it is high quality sound. We supply music files at a bitrate of at least 160kbps.

What does bitrate mean? And what bitrate are the tracks that I purchase?

The bitrate of a music file is describing the audio quality that the track has been encoded at (converted to digital format from the original recording). 'Kbps' (kilobits per second) basically means the number of digital samples bits.  The music files you purchase from us are encoded at a bitrate of at least 160kbps.  For the human ear, 160kbps is hard to distinguish from CD quality sound.

Can I preview the music before I decide to buy it?

You can hear a sample of almost every track on Northern Star. This helps you decide if you want to buy it or not.  Next to each track there is a ‘Play’ button’, which when clicked will play a sample of the track on your computer's default music player.

How do I download a track?

After buying music from Northern Star, you will be prompted to 'Open' or 'Save' your file(s). You must click 'Save' and choose somewhere on your computer's hard-drive to store the file. We recommend somewhere that you can easily find the files.

On a Mac, you will most probably not be asked and it will download straight to the desktop (if this is the default download location). You can then move them to the 'Music' folder on your Macintosh hard-drive.

How long does it take to download a track?

Download times vary according to your connection speed and the size of the track you are downloading. The size of an average three minute track is about 4 mega bytes (MB). To download this size track on a broadband connection will take you around 1-2 minutes. On a dial-up connection this could be around 15 minutes.

What happens if I accidentally delete or lose a downloaded track?

As the music we supply is in a digital format that can be stored on your computer or digital music player, the file can be deleted, lost or corrupted (damaged). You should be careful not to accidentally lose/damage your music files as when downloaded they are your responsibility. If it is our fault we will endeavour to resend the track.

Can I select multiple tracks from different albums?

Yes. Simply select any track that you want to order. Each time you click this button the track is then added to your shopping cart. When you are ready you can go to the ‘Checkout’ to edit your shopping list. You can buy any album in the same way by simply clicking ‘Buy’ next to the album you want.

How can I play my music?

With Northern Star, there are no 3rd party applications to install, and no subscription service to sign up for.  However, in order to play a track on your computer, you will need to use the music player software that is installed on your computer, for example Windows Media Player, I-Tunes, Sonic Stage etc.  You will also need a program such as Winzip to extract the downloaded MP3 package.   Northern Star’s downloaded MP3s are compatible with all portable MP3 hardware and software.

To play your track, go to the place where you saved the file when you downloaded it and double click on it. This should then open up your default music player and play the music.  If you want to play the music you downloaded on a personal digital music player, (for example an iPod) then you must consult the manufacturers manual that came with your device.

Can I put my music onto a CD?

Yes you can burn it on to CD for personal use.

How often does new music get added to the Northern Star shop?

Over the coming months, we will be adding many new releases. We will also add lots of classic underground and hard-to-find albums and tracks from the past so keep an eye out for the many treats we have in store coming up especially for you.

TECHNICAL

What are the minimum computer requirements for downloading music from Northern Star?

You will need the following for downloading and playing music from Northern Star:

On a PC:

Speakers or headphones and an installed sound card
Windows 98, ME, 2000 or XP
Any Internet browser such as Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher
Music player software (such as WinAmp, I-Tunes or Windows Media Player)

MAC users:

Speakers or headphones and an installed sound card
MAC OS 9.x or OSX (preferably OSX)

LEGAL

Is downloading music legal?

Downloading music is legal as long as all of the copyright holders of that particular piece of music have given permission for it to be downloaded and stored in digital format. All music sold on Northern Star is 100% legal we have been granted permission by the relevant rights holders for selling digital downloads of their music via www.northernstarrecords.co.uk

Can I move or copy my purchased tracks to another computer?

It is illegal to move or copy your music files onto another computer or device that belongs to someone else, as this constitutes illegal file-sharing and breaks copyright law.

However, copying or moving files that you have downloaded from Northern Star onto other computers and devices (MP3 players or mobile phones, for example) that you own is considered fair use and is allowed.

Do I own the tracks like I would a physical CD?

After paying for and downloading the music file, the track is yours to keep for personal use only. However, the same copyright laws will apply exactly as if it were a physical compact disc you purchased from a high street store.  You can of course copy any download from Northern Star on to a CD for personal use.

PRICING

Why should I pay to download music?

When you download music from Northern Star you are helping to invest in the future of music. We believe music should not be free. Like everyone else, artists, bands, record labels and music distributors need to earn money for the work they do.

How much does it all cost?

The basic price for an individual track is £0.79p, and an album will cost slightly less than or equal to the total price of all its tracks. This will vary according to the individual artist's or label's requirements.

PAYMENTS

What forms of payment do you accept?

All sales are processed by Paypal.  All major credit cards are accepted. We also accept cheques and International Money Orders (IMOs).  If you have a Verified Paypal account you also have the option to pay via direct bank transfer. When ordering, please enter your purchase information correctly, especially your email address, as this is where your Paypal receipt will be sent.

What happens once my purchase is completed?

You will be redirected to a web page containing your download link and your Paypal purchase order number. Please print this page for your records. You will also receive a receipt from Paypal for the sale. You will also receive an email containing the download link. If you do not receive an email from Paypal or from Northern Star please check your spam or junk mail folders as the emails may have been captured there. The download link you receive will expire once the files have been downloaded.  Please be sure you are downloading from a high-speed internet connection to ensure that your download is completed successfully.

How do I contact Northern Star?

If you require any additional information we will be happy to answer your questions.  If you have any problems downloading we will be happy to assist you.  You can send Northern Star an email at and we will respond within 24 hours.