Frequently Asked Questions

General
What is Athcast?
How does a Podcast Membership work?
What's so good about Podcasting?
Do I have to have an iPod to subscribe?
Do I need any special software in order to subscribe?
What's so good about being one of the first subscribers?

Financial
I thought podcasts are free! Why does Athcast charge money?
Do I have to have a PayPal Account?

Programming
How do you decide which concerts to record?
I'm in a band--how do we get on Athcast?

Participation
Can I be a host for the Athens Music Podcast?
Can I volunteer for the Athens Music Foundation?

Technical
I paid for a subscription, now what?
Help, it's still not working! Can you help?

Service Rules
Is pornography allowed?
Do you care about copyright violations?
Can I free-ride?
What is your privacy policy?
What are the complete terms of service?

General

What is Athcast? [top]

Athcast is Athens Music on demand.

We record and master live concert music from around Athens on a weekly basis, and then we deliver that music to your digital music library for you to enjoy anytime, anywhere, and forever.

You don't have to sit at your computer to search for downloads to purchase—just open up iTunes and update the Athens Music Podcast, and your computer will automatically download any new episodes right to your computer and iPod.

Athcast is a service brought to you by the Athens Music Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting Athens Music and transforming the Athens Music community. We are pioneering new technologies that will empower the core relationships that grow Artists and Fans into specimens of our culture. Our purpose is to archive Athens music for the benefit of future generations.

Athcast.com is a place for active participation, and we encourage Fans to go see live music, take photos and upload them here, write about your experience, rank your favorite Athens concerts, and re-experience your favorites on your computer and iPod anywhere, anytime, and forever.

As fans of Indie Music, we want to provide mobile marketing tools that display, filter, and distribute promotional materials to music fans in ways meant to launch unsigned Artists into the music industry and strengthen their worldwide listener base.

Our hope is to create a sustainable virtual ecosystem that plants the seeds of positive change in the world around us. We work from a small attic office in Athens, GA—a city revered internationally for its rich creative heritage and passion for live independent music.

How does a Podcast Membership work? [top]

It's easy.

1. You choose which Membership package you want
2. You purchase using PayPal
3. You copy and paste your subscription code into iTunes

That's it — easy as 1-2-3 and you'll have instant access to tons of Athens Music.

Every time we record and post a new concert, it will be automatically delivered to your computer and iPod. It's Athens music on demand!

What's so good about podcasting? [top]

Think of podcasting as 'Tivo for your computer and iPod.'

When you subscribe to the Athens Music Podcast, new concert recordings are automatically delivered to your computer each week.

It's like having the paper delivered to your doorstep rather than going to the newsstand to get it — except instead of just articles, concert calendars, and advertising — you get concert recordings, videos, newsletters, contests, and creative media produced by the fans themselves.

Podcasting is unique because it allows for the simple syndication of multimedia content.

Indeed, when you subscribe to the Athens Music Podcast, not only will you get concert audio, but also photos, text, interactive links, PDF newsletters, and sometimes video.

The idea behind multimedia is to make it faster and easier for people to transcend the "normal" listening experience, which is why we think multimedia podcasting technologies offer unprecedented opportunities for Artists and content producers.

Below are some interesting facts about Podcasting.

Very few Artists are currently taking advantage of Podcasting as a way to promote concerts and increase worldwide exposure!

Publishers of the New Oxford American Dictionary selected Podcast as 2005's New Word of the Year.

85% of music listeners between the ages of 12 and 24 would rather listen to their iPod than to traditional radio broadcasts!

Apple shipped 6.15 million iPods in the 2nd Quarter of 2005 — a 616% increase in 1 year!

Over 22 million U.S. adults own either an iPod or MP3 player, and 34 million U.S. adults use iTunes online.

The 1st Podcast was in August 2004, yet 29% of iPod owners have already subscribed to at least one podcast.

6 million US adults have listened to a podcast, but right now, only 13% of total Internet users even know what a podcast is, which means growth will be substantial.

Demand for podcasts is expected to grow from 13% to 75% by 2010, and studies show that the new technology will enjoy a compound annual growth rate of 101% among US consumers — making it one of the fastest growing technologies in human history.

Do I have to have an iPod to subscribe to the Athens Music Podcast? [top]

Nope. You can listen to our 'casts on your computer, burn them to a CD, or download them to your mp3 player and iPod.

Do I need any special software in order to subscribe? [top]

Yep. You'll need Apple iTunes. You can download it here for free.

What's so good about being one of the first subscribers? [top]

When a book is published, the first copies off the press are first edition copies. When a movie is released, the first screenings are the sneak previews.

People want these things because being an early-adopter means that they're in the know — information is power, and people like recommending good books and movies to their friends.

Athcast's first edition is exactly the same thing, only it isn't a book or a movie, and you can't hold it in your hand like a new book or a pair of movie tickets.

Because you can't hold Athcast in your hand, we came up with some substitutes. By subscribing now, here's the FREE Merchandise you get:

Special Limited Time Offer! Only .16 cents per day!

NOW for only $29.99 you get:
· 6 Months of music deliveries from The Athens Music Podcast (at least $35 value)
· The Athens Music Sticker ($4 value)
· The Funky When Fresh Car Deodorizer ($4 value)
· The Athens Music Beer Coozie ($5 value)
· The Athens Music Mousepad ($9 value)
· The Athens Music Button ($1 value)
· The Athens Music Newsletter (exclusive updates, behind the scenes buzz, & FREE giveaways)

Or if you're low on cash, just get the monthly subscription for only $5.99 -- that's cheaper than the price of one extra combo meal per month!

Don't delay, get on it today!

Financial

I thought podcasts are free! Why does Athcast charge money? [top]

Athcast is a non-profit service that takes time and money to produce and deliver.

Keep in mind that Athcast delivers exclusive content that you can't find anywhere else. Not on television, on the web, in other podcasts, or on the radio -- it's only available here.

And it's not all that bad — don't forget that Athcast is produced by the Athens Music Foundation, which means that your subscription payment is contributing to an organization that will make a positive impact in the world and deliver value to future generations.

Plus, our prices are VERY reasonable — actually about 97% cheaper than record stores and national downloading services. We can provide these low prices because of the generosity and collaborative spirit of the Artists that we record and because of the transformative nature of the Athens Music Archive and the benefits it provides for future generations.

Not to mention, we also offer lots of content for free. Athcast allows you to search and browse fan-generated media and listen to Athcast Radio for no charge, and we also offer some underground podcast programming for FREE! For instance, you can download live recordings from ATHFEST 10 by subscribing here.

Feel free to get a free membership that allows you to browse Athcast Shows and you can upgrade to the real thing any time you want.

Do I have to have a PayPal Account? [top]

Nope. PayPal is just the company that we use to process your payment.

If you already have a PayPal account then it'll be really easy, and if you don't, PayPal easily allows you to pay using your credit card or debit card.

Programming

How do you decide which bands to record? [top]

We contact bands and record labels on a regular basis to get permission to record their Athens concerts. We're always open to suggestions as to which shows we record, and we hope that fans participate in an active dialogue with us about what they want.

Please feel free to submit your ideas and suggestions using this contact form.

I'm in a band--how do we get on Athcast? [top]

Athcast is designed to be a virtualized music hub for the Athens Music community.

If you're an Artist and you'd like to be included on the Site, please submit your information using this contact form.

Participation

Can I be a host for the Athens Music Podcast? [top]

Yes. If you know of a band that would make a great rockumentary podcast and you want to be the one that interviews them and hosts their episode, feel free to send us a project proposal by using this contact form.

Give us a short bio and a proposed show description. We'll take a look, and if we like what we see, we'll help you coordinate your production.

Can I volunteer for the Athens Music Foundation? [top]

Yes. Please visit our Volunteer Corner on the Resources page.

Technical

I paid for a subscription, now what? [top]

After your purchase was made via PayPal, you should have been given a podcast code that you will need to copy and paste into iTunes. It's as easy as 1-2-3.

1. Copy your podcast code by highlighting it and pressing Ctrl-C on your PC keyboard (or Command-C on your Mac keyboard).

2. Open iTunes and press Ctrl-U on your PC keyboard (or Command-U on your Mac keyboard).

3. Paste your podcast code by pressing Ctrl-V on your PC keyboard (or Command-V on your Mac keyboard).

Now the Athens Music Podcast will be available in your 'Podcasts' folder in iTunes and the most recent concert episode will automatically start downloading onto your computer.

To change how often iTunes will look for new episodes, simply open iTunes and press Ctrl-, [Ctrl-comma] on your PC keyboard (or Command-, [Command-comma] on your Mac keyboard) to change your podcast preferences.

Help, it's still not working! Can you help? [top]

If you have any problems, please submit a support ticket to us. We'll make sure it works no matter what it takes!

Service Rules

Is pornography allowed? [top]

No! Users are prohibited from uploading anything that could be deemed as pornographic by state and/or Federal law. Users that submit pornographic material will be prohibited from accessing Athcast.com and denied access to the Athens Music Podcast. The user will not be entitled to any refunds for lost subscription fees.

Do you care about copyright violations? [top]

Yes! Users must have the right to distribute anything that they post or upload to the Athcast Site. If it is discovered that a user has infringed upon another party's copyrights, the user will be prohibited from accessing Athcast.com and denied access to the Athens Music Podcast. The user will not be entitled to any refunds for lost subscription fees. Athens Music Foundation will not be held liable for any copyrighted materials illegally uploaded to the site.

Can I free-ride? [top]

No! Subscribers may not share their podcast code with anybody.

If your friends want the music, then burn them a CD or tell them to go to Athcast.com, but don't give them your podcast code.

Please note that Athcast monitors your subscription feed for unauthorized usage. If it is discovered that any unauthorized usage has taken place on your account, we will shut-down your subscription and you will not be entitled to any refunds or lost subscription fees.

It is your responsibility to keep your password and podcast code private. If you share your code, you are encouraging free riding and you will be shut down.

You will be in violation of this rule if you try and download the Athens Music Podcast on multiple computers using the same podcast code—consider yourself warned. We will not be lenient on free riders.

It's only 19 cents a day people — tell your friends to kick their gumball habit and get their own subscription.

What is your privacy policy? [top]

You can view our complete privacy policy here.

What are the complete terms of service? [top]

Athcast Members: Log In