General

1. What is Scotloads?
2. What do I need to use Scotloads?
3. How can I contact you?
4. Can I hear the music before I buy?
5. Do I need an email address?
6. Can I opt in or out of the newsletter?

Audio

7. What audio formats do you provide?
8. What is an MP3?
9. What is DRM?
10. How do I play my music?
11. What software do I need on my computer?
12. Do I need to be connected to the internet to play my downloads?
13. Can I burn MP3 songs to a CD?

Payment

14. Is there additional postage charged on CD orders?
15. How long will it take for delivery of CDs?
16. What should I do if I do not receive my order?
17. What should I do if my order is damaged?
18. How much does it cost?
19. How do I pay?
20. Is it safe to use my credit card? 
 
Downloading

21. How do I download my music?
22. How fast does my connection need to be?
23. What if my connection drops in the middle of my download?
24. What if I download a song and it is defective?

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1. What is Scotloads?

Scotloads is a web-site specialising in independent Scottish music downloads and Scottish CDs. It is unique in that the majority of artists maintain their own accounts and are selling directly to the customer.

2. What do I need to use Scotloads?

A computer, internet connection and a browser such as Internet Explorer, Opera or Mozzila.   If you want to listen to previews you will have to ensure you have Macromedia Flash installed.  You can download this for free from http://www.macromedia.com.

3. How can I contact you, or get support?

See the contact page for specific contact information. If you need support or technical help, contact support@scotloads.co.uk

4. Can I hear the music before I buy?

Yes, we offer 30 second samples of all* our music. To hear the sample just click on the speaker symbol to the right of the track. This will start the sample playing on the Scotloads player. All our samples stream using the Macromedia Flash software, which is standard and most likely already installed on your computer. If you don't have this installed on your machine you can download it for free from www.macromedia.com.

* - samples not available in rare instances of a track being shorter than 30 seconds in length.

5. Do I need an email address?

Yes. You will need to provide us with a valid e-mail address so that we can send you a confirmation e-mail when you make a purchase. We will not pass on any personal details to any third parties without prior consent. Please refer to our Privacy Policy for more information.

6. Can I opt in or out of the newsletter?

Occasionally we will send you promotional information we believe may be of interest. You can choose to opt out of receiving such information at any point by sending an email to support@scotloads.co.uk.

7. What audio formats do you provide?

All downloadable music on Scotloads is encoded in MP3 format. This is the most widely used format and is compatible with most digital players on the market. All our tracks are encoded using Variable Bit Rate with a minimum value of 192 kbps. We also supply music in CD format. Please see section 14 for more info.

8. What is an MP3?

MP3 stands for MPEG, Audio Layer 3. It is a format that was developed to reduce the size of file needed to store musical information. The format removes the least audible components of a large wav file to shrink it without significantly sacrificing quality. MP3s are small and can easily be transmitted over the internet.

9. What is DRM?

DRM stands for Digital Rights Management. DRM is used to dictate the number of times you can burn or transfer a song to another computer. All tracks on Scotloads are DRM free. All our songs are of course protected by copyright law and we ask you to respect that.

10. How do I play my music?

You can play your downloaded files directly from your computer or from a portable MP3 player. Our MP3s are compatible with most players. If you are unsure you should always check out the full specification with the player manufacturer before making a purchase.

11. What software do I need on my computer?

If you wish to play your tracks directly from your computer you will need to ensure you have a digital audio player such as Winamp for Windows, Whamb for Mac OS X or XMMS for Linux. To play your track, go to the location in your hard drive where you instructed the file to be saved during the download process. Double click on the file and it should automatically play on your selected MP3 player.

12. Do I need to be connected to the Internet to play my downloads?

No. When you have downloaded your file to your computer you will be able to play it through your media player without being logged on to the Internet.

13. Can I burn MP3 songs to a CD?

Yes. You will firstly need to ensure you have a suitable CD writer and burning software installed. It is normally a simple operation, although you will have to refer to your software instructions for specific details..

14. Is there additional postage charged on CD orders?

The postage and packaging costs are as follows:

• UK - £1.50 for one CD, flat rate of £2 for 2 or more CDs.
• Europe & Worldwide - £2 flat rate.

15. How long will it take for delivery of CDs?

We aim to despatch all orders within 1 working day. All orders within the UK are sent first class and normally delivered within 1-2 working days. Overseas orders are delivered by airmail and delivery times will vary depending on the destination country. Orders to Europe are normally delivered within 3-4 working days and to the rest of the world, 5-7 working days.

16. What should I do if I do not receive my order?

If you still have not received your order within the time scales detailed above please send us an email to support@scotloads.co.uk with your order details so that we can investigate and ensure you receive your order.

17. What should I do if my order is damaged?

All our CDs are packaged to minimise risk of any damage. However, should you find CDs damaged on arrival, please send us an email to support@scotloads.co.uk and we will arrange for a replacement.

18. How much does it cost?

Downloaded tracks cost 79p. All albums have a minimum reduction of 10% on individual track prices, with the maximum price for a downloaded album being £7.99. CD prices vary and are shown clearly on the site.

19. How do I pay?

We accept all major cards including Visa, Mastercard, Maestro, Solo, Electron, American Express and most other business cards.  You can pay directly with your credit or debit card and there is no need to register beforehand.  Vouchers can also be purchased and used at payout, which give you discounts on MP3 purchases.

20. Is it safe to use my credit card?

Yes. All online credit and debit card transactions are processed safely with secure, real-time processing using an encrypted gateway. We do not store your card details, unless instructed to, and our card-processing partners have been audited and approved by APACS, Visa and MasterCard. They secure your details using 128-bit encryption in addition to highly secure digital signatures. Sensitive information is stored on heavily encrypted databases that are protected by multiple firewalls and a range of physical measures including fingerprint identification and a resilience to events such as security breach, and power or network failure.

21. How do I download my music?

Once you’ve purchased a track at Scotloads your download will be available on your hard-drive at the location you indicated during the download process.

22. How fast does my connection need to be?

Any connection will work. Most of our files are typically 6 megs, which will take less than 10 minutes on 56.6 dial-up, and less than one or two minutes on broadband.

23. What if my connection drops in the middle of my download?

We give you a 24 hour timeframe to download the tracks again if necessary. If you have any problems downloading purchased tracks, please contact support@scotloads.co.uk

24. What if I download a song and it is defective?

Our tracks should be perfect, but should you download a defective track, please email support@scotloads.co.uk and we will contact you within 48 hours to send you a new file to resolve the issue.