Frequently Asked Questions

19 topic(s) found in category “Audio contributors” :

Top What is Standard Audio?

Standard Audio is a collection of high-quality, affordable royalty-free tracks for multiple use worldwide. Read the Standard Audio Content License Agreement for more details.

Top What is Pump Audio?

Pump Audio is a collection of full-length tracks by indie artists and they are licensed on a single-production basis (i.e., one movie or television show). The number of times you can broadcast the production is unlimited. You may also need a cue sheet. Read the Pump Audio Content License Agreement.

Top Can I contribute to iStock as a member of a performing or other rights society?

No. If you have ever signed up with a performing rights or other society and have not actively terminated your membership you cannot upload audio to iStockphoto as a sound artist. iStock licenses audio on a royalty-free basis and cannot license audio that is subject to additional royalties imposed by performing or other rights societies. When you join a performing or other rights society you essentially transfer the right and responsibility to collect royalties on your audio to that society, whether or not you've registered those specific works with that society.

If you still want to contribute stock music online and you're in a performing or other rights society, consider Pump Audio, home to many indie artists in performing rights societies. iStock partners with them to sell a portion of their collection on our site.

Top What is a performing rights organization (PRO) or society?

A PRO refers to a Performing Rights Organization/Society; they may have a different designation in varied countries around the world. PROs are responsible for collecting royalties for musical audio that is played or performed in a public setting. Generally if a piece of music is played in a public venue (i.e., bar, shopping mall, restaurant, internet, concert, phone hold system, radio, TV, etc.) then royalties are paid to a PRO, which then distributes these royalties to the rights holders.

iStock only accepts audio tracks from approved sound artists who are not members of a PRO or other collective rights organizations. This is the only way in which we can ensure that iStock musical works are royalty-free.

Top What file format are iStock audio files licensed in?

All iStock audio files are 16-bit WAV files because WAV is one of the most universally accepted audio formats.

Top Can I contribute sound effects to iStock if I'm in a performing rights society?

If you wish to only contribute sound effects to iStockaudio please contact the audio team at onedeafear@istockphoto.com. Our audio team can approve individuals who wish to contribute only sound effects to iStock on a case-by-case basis.

Top Can I upload audio at a higher quality than 16-bit 48 kHz?

No. While there are benefits to having higher quality audio, the majority of users require 16-bit audio at a rate of 48 kHz or 44.1 kHz. We do however encourage users to record at the highest quality possible since recording at high bit rates and sample rates do result in higher quality. However, final files should be down-sampled to 16-bit 44.1kHz or 48 kHz.

Top Can I send audio in by mail to be inspected and uploaded?

No. You can only upload audio through iStock's website.

Top Do I need a talent release form for every piece of audio I upload?

Yes. Contributors need to ensure that they have legal right to the audio they are uploading. A properly completed talent release form will help ensure that these rights are held by the contributor. Talent release forms are needed for every performer or musician, music and lyrical writer, producer or recording engineer involved in the piece of audio. Failure to ensure all the rights you need may expose you to legal liability. In addition to our diligent in-house department of Compliance and Enforcement, we also have the international iStock community, who together relentlessly find media which may not adhere to legal standards.
For a complete tutorial on completing your talent release form please read the talent release forum post.

Top To what extent can I use loops or other audio content that I did not exclusively create?

100% of content that you, as a sound artist, upload to the site needs to be created by you the contributor or co-creators supported by talent release forms. Therefore you cannot use purchased phrases or loops alone or in combination to create audio. Even if you are only using a small portion of audio that was not created by yourself you will need to either remove it or obtain talent releases for the sections that were not created by yourself.

However, you can use sample libraries, keyboards, or virtual instruments so long as the sample or sound you are using is a single note/hit that you are using to create a larger melody. Sounds that have a beat, melody, or progression cannot be used (unless you composed and recorded them) and only single note hits can be used to create a new unique composition. Also, please refer to the user license of the samples notes you are using, as some licenses prevent uses such as the sale on stock sites.

For example, if you were creating a track and needed a small passage of strings, you would need to go and physically record those strings in order to legally add them to a recording suitable to upload to iStock.

Top How long can an audio track be?

iStock will accept submissions up to 4 minutes in length and audio must be at least 5 seconds long.

Top Why are mp3 files unacceptable to upload to iStock?

Our decision not to include mp3, AAC, Ogg Vorbis, mp4, and other audio formats is because they are generally a consumer level audio. Not all software systems support these formats, but WAV files are widely supported. In addition many of these formats add an excess of compression artifacts, and lose important audio detail.

Top How can I contribute Audio to iStock?

Learn how to sell stock audio here. Contributors will be asked to read through our online training manual, which is found by clicking the 'Upload' link in the left navigation. Once that's complete, you will need to answer a few questions and then upload a piece of government issued identification in the form of a .jpg. We require this to confirm that you are who you say you are and that you're of legal age. Finally, you will be asked to submit three sample audio tracks, which will be reviewed by our inspection team. We will notify you of our decision via e-mail or you may review the status of your application by clicking the 'Upload' link again.

Top What can I do to improve my downloads?

Groom your portfolio and occasionally review and update keywords. Keywords are the most important information you can provide to help users find your files. Sometimes changing the title can also give you a small boost in downloads.

If you find that your audio keywords are not showing up in our system you can request that they be added by e-mailing audiokeywords@istockphoto.com

Top Is there a way to find out where my music or audio tracks are being used?

Only the people who bought your track know what it was used for. You can check the 'iStock in Action' forum, where people post notices of how iStock media is used.

Top How much does a sound artist make and what is iStock's royalty structure?

The base royalty structure for iStockphoto Standard Audio sound artist is 20%. If you're eligible for Exclusivity, you can make up to 40%, depending on your number of downloads. Find out more about how iStock artists earn royalties.

Top If I'm approved as a contributing sound artist, are the application samples I provided automatically accepted?

No. You will need to resubmit those audio tracks to our inspectors for approval.

Top What is bit depth?

iStock only accepts audio that has a bit depth of 16. The higher the bit depth the higher resolution an audio file has in terms of its dynamic range. 16-bit audio is the same level of quality that is heard in a standard music CD.

Top What is sample rate and what does it have to do with the two audio file formats sold on iStockphoto?

iStock only accepts audio that is at a sample rate of 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz. Sample rate is the number of times an audio source is sampled per second as it becomes a digital signal and it is measured in hertz.
44.1 kHz is the most common sample rate used for CD-quality audio.
48 kHz is the most common sample rate used for audio synced with video.

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