Trading Etiquette 101

The Trader's Law...

No I am not Miss Manners but I have noticed allot of erroneous weeds, trees, B&P offers etc floating around.  This page is not meant to cut on anybody.  It is only meant to inform traders and potential traders of  generally accepted practices.  If I insult you by recommending that you visit this page, I am truly sorry.

That being said...

We can all learn something now and then can't we?  That is the meaning of this page, to teach you what little I have learned about trading live music.  And if you have something to teach me, please do so.  We all learn something everyday.  Why just tonight I learned what the state bird of Wyoming is (the Meadowlark).

Now what?

Well, the most important thing to remember, we went though this already, is to never ever sell a show.  Ever.  Don't do it.  Want to upset lots of people, want to get the record companies and their lawyers on your back, want to never trade with me again?  Then sell a show.  Enough said?

You may be asking yourself then, "How do I get started then?"  Primarily you have two means. Either by weeding or you can find a friendly trader that will B&P you a few to get started.  (By the way, that would be me, the friendly trader).  

There are other ways to get started of course.  You can purchase the shows (but we don't sell our shows, remember?  See rule #1) or you can find someone who will do a 2:1 trade.  This is a perfectly acceptable way to trade shows in many circles and I have done this myself on several occasions when a trader has a show that I wanted and this is the only way he would trade it to me but I will not complete 2:1's for others.  To me, the blanks that you would be sending to me is a payment, pure and simple and remember, I don't do that (see rule number #1).  I don't mean to be putting down people that do this, I'm just not one of them.  Besides, a B&P is more inexpensive for you, the happy trader.

What do all these abbreviations mean anyway?  EAC, DAO, TAO, B&P, SOS, 2:1????? 

EAC - Stands for Exact Audio Copy.  It is a freeware program that securely extracts audio to the hard drive.  It is the preferred method to copy music.  Most traders will swear by its reliability, as do I.  For all the information you could ever want to know about EAC go here.

DAO - Stands for Disk at Once.  If you are burning a live show, this is how you want to do it.  It burns the show onto the cdr without the 2 second gap between songs.  Ever hear a live recording with those gaps?  Annoying aren't they?

TAO - Stands for Track at Once.  By burning via this method, the two second gaps are included between songs.  If you are burning a compilation CDR, this would be the way to go but if it is a live show, go the DAO way.

B&P - Stands for Blanks and Postage.  Basically you send the trader sufficient blank cdrs, return postage and a padded mailer to copy the music that you are looking for.  The friendly trader (that's me) copies the show for you and drops it in the mail.  You get the show you want and the friendly trader (that's me) gets the satisfaction of providing you good ole free music.  For more information, please go here.

SOS - Actually that does not stand for Save our Ship as in the common perception.  It was actually the easiest and clearest means to send a distress signal in Morse Code.  3 dots, 3 dashes and 3 dots.  See, even you learned something today!

2:1 - Means 2 for 1.  You find a trader that has a show that you are looking for and you send him 2 blank cdrs for every one that you want filled with music.  Return postage may or may not also need to be sent but it normally is.

Are MP3's evil - Yes they are.  A MP3 compresses the sound to take up less space.  Compressed sound sounds bad.  Easy and short answer, trade in .wav, .shn, flac or other loseless compression files.  It's the only way to go.

Does the brand of the cdr make a difference? - Yes it does.  I stay away from generic cdrs.  I have lost several good shows because of them.  They just do not last.  I mainly using Mitsui or Taiyo Yuden.  Mitsui are only available on the internet but TY makes cdrs for many other companies including Hewitt Packard and Fuji.  If the cdr was made in Japan, it is probably a TY made product.

What is a weed - A weed is a method of show distribution in which a show is spread rapidly by people continuing the weed in exchange for receiving the show. First somebody decides they have a show that they wish to weed out.  Then they decide how many copies they wish to make available.  A reasonable amount is 5 copies for a single disc and 3 for a double disc set.  An announcement is made on a bulletin board or mailing list that he/she would like to make this show available to the first 5/3 persons to respond. If this is mailing list the replies must be offlist.  They may wish to reserve a place or two for digesters and maybe, if they are generous, also reserve a place for a newbie or burnerless folks.  Other than the burnerless, the people receiving the weed must  agree to weed the show to a further 5/3 people.  Eventually, after several alliterations of the announcement, the weeders will not be receiving 5/3 responses at which time the weed is saturated and everybody is happy.  The weed then ends.  This system does not require a B&P or a trade from respondents.

What is a tree - A tree is a method in which a show is distributed but the recipients must trade for it.  First somebody decides they have a show that they wish to tree.  An announcement is made to a bulletin board or mailing list that he/she is treeing this show.  The announcement will request certain information to be supplied in the responses, usually name, e-mail address, country, if burner-enabled or not, how many leafs your willing to burn for and other information that that "tree-er" considers important.  A deadline will be set when no further signups will be accepted.   The responses to the announcement, if supplied correctly offlist (this is important) will enable the tree planter to arrange the trunk, branches, and leafs in such a manner to minimize shipping distances, and therefore costs.  Once the tree structure has been determined it is drawn up and presented to the all concerned.  This then enables leafs to contact branches and branches to contact the trunk to arrange terms (B&P, trade, etc.) and confirm delivery addresses. Soon after the tree structure is completed the seed will distribute copies to each branch.  The branch will then copy and ship to each leaf on receipt of agreed terms.  Everybody ends up happy, except of course those that missed the deadline.  For them it is a case of waiting, checking the structure and arranging a private B&P, trade, etc. with somebody on the tree.

What is a chain -  A chain is a very slow method in which a show is distributed but the recipients do not trade for it.  First somebody decides they have a show that they wish to chain.  An announcement is made to a bulletin board or mailing list that he/she is chaining this show.  The announcement will request certain information to be supplied in the responses, usually name, e-mail address, country and other information that that "chain-er" considers important.  A deadline will be set when no further signups will be accepted.   The responses to the announcement, if supplied correctly offlist (this is important) will enable the chain head to arrange the chain in such a manner to minimize shipping distances, and therefore costs. The chain is then set.  In a chain the originator sends the original discs to the next person in the chain.  He/she makes a copy for himself from the original discs and then passes the originals on to the next person in the chain.  And so on till the last person in the chain, who makes their copy and returns the originals to the originator of the chain.  Everybody ends up happy, except those that missed the deadline.  For them it is a case of waiting, checking the structure and arranging a private B&P, trade, etc.

What is a vine -  Basically a vine is a cross between a chain and a weed, only faster.  A vine has no structure.  First somebody decides they have a show that they wish to vine.  An announcement is made to a bulletin board or mailing list that he/she is vining this show.  The announcement will request certain information to be supplied in the responses, usually name, e-mail address, mailing address and a promise to continue the vine.  If the originator of the vine chooses you to be the lucky recipient, the discs will be on there way to you.  There are certain commitments that you make in accepting a vine.  Mainly that you will continue the vine in a timely manner.  Since you are perhaps the only person with these discs, it is important that they are reoffered in a timely manner.  After receipt of the vine, you should make an offer to continue the vine with 48 hours and then mail within an additional 48 hours after that.  And please remember,  once you have chosen your vine recipient, please make a public announcement that such and such is receiving the vine and that the offer is closed.  Please be sure to include the recipient’s first name and email address and SEND THEM A COPY OF THE EMAIL DIRECTLY.  This is important and will help to eliminate traders receiving duplicates of shows.