Frequently Asked Questions
Is this really legal?
Yes! This site is completely legal! The editions of music presented on this site were either
- written recently and published here with permission of the author, or
- published long enough ago, so their copyright has expired.
We can therefore copy them and distribute them freely. For recently written music, the copyright owners give permission for you to print, play and perform the music, but not to sell or distribute the music.
Many of our scores were either written or arranged by modern composers who have donated their music to us. Others featured in this archive are from pre-1923 music editions. These are all old enough to be out of copyright in essentially all countries. We can therefore distribute them on-line without royalty, and users can legally download them. They may not be distributed or sold.
There are also many works by our arrangers and composers. These are under copyright and may not be distributed without our permission.
- written recently and published here with permission of the author, or
- published long enough ago, so their copyright has expired.
We can therefore copy them and distribute them freely. For recently written music, the copyright owners give permission for you to print, play and perform the music, but not to sell or distribute the music.
Many of our scores were either written or arranged by modern composers who have donated their music to us. Others featured in this archive are from pre-1923 music editions. These are all old enough to be out of copyright in essentially all countries. We can therefore distribute them on-line without royalty, and users can legally download them. They may not be distributed or sold.
There are also many works by our arrangers and composers. These are under copyright and may not be distributed without our permission.
help! my disk won't play!
There are many potential reasons why your disk may not work. First of all, please understand that our disks are all digital copies and we check each disk for readability before we send it out. It is very unlikely that you received a "bad" disk. Here are some things to consider that may solve your problem:
1. If you tried to play your disk in a standard CD player or a video DVD player, it won't work. Our disks are data disks. They are designed to work with your computer.
2. While some of our disks are on CD's, many are on DVD's. All computers produced in the past 5 years have disk drives that can read both CD's and DVD's. If you have an older computer, you may have a disk drive that cannot read a DVD. If you suspect this is the case, try loading a video DVD in your disk drive to see if it plays. If you have a really old computer (and can't bring yourself to throw it out the window and get a new one) please write to us and we can recommend a low cost external DVD disk player.
3. Try taking the disk to a library or a friend's computer and see if it plays. If it does, you may have some technical problems with your computer.
1. If you tried to play your disk in a standard CD player or a video DVD player, it won't work. Our disks are data disks. They are designed to work with your computer.
2. While some of our disks are on CD's, many are on DVD's. All computers produced in the past 5 years have disk drives that can read both CD's and DVD's. If you have an older computer, you may have a disk drive that cannot read a DVD. If you suspect this is the case, try loading a video DVD in your disk drive to see if it plays. If you have a really old computer (and can't bring yourself to throw it out the window and get a new one) please write to us and we can recommend a low cost external DVD disk player.
3. Try taking the disk to a library or a friend's computer and see if it plays. If it does, you may have some technical problems with your computer.
my ARCHIVE won't print. what's going on?
Whether you have a mac or a pc, you will need the latest version of Adobe Reader. It is a free program and safe for all computers to use. You can get it here: https://get2.adobe.com/reader/
After you have the latest version of Adobe Reader installed, you may still have problems printing the right size. That's because our library consists of scans of music of all shapes and sizes. Also, the U.S. uses "letter" size paper and Europe uses "A4" paper. With all these different sizes, there are bound to be (small) problems.
When you click on "print," a box will open that has various options to select. These are determined by your printer's driver. Look through the box for "scaling." Every printer we have encountered has a "scaling" option, so yours' should have either that or something similar.
There will be a dropdown box where you can make a selection. Most common options are "none," "shrink to printable area," and "fit to printable area." Play around with these settings to find the one that is right for you. We prefer using "fit to printable area" for our printer.
After you have the latest version of Adobe Reader installed, you may still have problems printing the right size. That's because our library consists of scans of music of all shapes and sizes. Also, the U.S. uses "letter" size paper and Europe uses "A4" paper. With all these different sizes, there are bound to be (small) problems.
When you click on "print," a box will open that has various options to select. These are determined by your printer's driver. Look through the box for "scaling." Every printer we have encountered has a "scaling" option, so yours' should have either that or something similar.
There will be a dropdown box where you can make a selection. Most common options are "none," "shrink to printable area," and "fit to printable area." Play around with these settings to find the one that is right for you. We prefer using "fit to printable area" for our printer.
I am unable to check out / my shopping cart doesn't work right
A full cache can effect how any store's shopping cart works. Clearing out your browser's cache can fix shopping cart and checkout problems. If you don't know how to clear your browser's cache, check out these instructions.
If you are having trouble checking out with PayPal, you are not alone! Here is a site that may help you with PayPal headaches.
An older version of Internet Explorer may also effect how shopping carts work. Microsoft no longer supports older versions of Internet Explorer. We recommend updating Internet Explorer to its latest version. Better still, we recommend using Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or any browser other than Internet Explorer.
If you are having trouble checking out with PayPal, you are not alone! Here is a site that may help you with PayPal headaches.
An older version of Internet Explorer may also effect how shopping carts work. Microsoft no longer supports older versions of Internet Explorer. We recommend updating Internet Explorer to its latest version. Better still, we recommend using Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or any browser other than Internet Explorer.
I ordered an archive but it hasn't arrived. where is it?
It can take anywhere from 3 to 20 days for mail delivery in the United States. We don't know why there is this huge variation. Chalk that one up to the mysteries of the post office. Don't panic if your order doesn't arrive right away. We are musicians just like you. We want you to get your music!
Your order will likely arrive in a plain business envelope delivered by normal mail delivery. It is easy for these envelopes to get lost in amongst the junk mail flyers that clog our mailboxes. Please sift through your mail carefully.
If you are worried about your order, please write to us. We always respond to messages within one or two days. If you don't hear from us, please check your spam folder. Lots of important mail ends up in our spam folders and your spam filter is probably at least as aggressive as ours.
Mail outside the U.S. takes anywhere from 6 to 25 days from delivery. We deliver our packages directly to the main postal facility the day after you place your order. After that, it takes a few days to actually get shipped to your country. Then it sits in your country's customs department awaiting processing. Most of the time it gets processed quickly. However, sometimes the mail gets backed up and it takes longer.
Your order will likely arrive in a plain business envelope delivered by normal mail delivery. It is easy for these envelopes to get lost in amongst the junk mail flyers that clog our mailboxes. Please sift through your mail carefully.
If you are worried about your order, please write to us. We always respond to messages within one or two days. If you don't hear from us, please check your spam folder. Lots of important mail ends up in our spam folders and your spam filter is probably at least as aggressive as ours.
Mail outside the U.S. takes anywhere from 6 to 25 days from delivery. We deliver our packages directly to the main postal facility the day after you place your order. After that, it takes a few days to actually get shipped to your country. Then it sits in your country's customs department awaiting processing. Most of the time it gets processed quickly. However, sometimes the mail gets backed up and it takes longer.
I downloaded a piece, but it won't open!
Check to make sure you have the latest version of Adobe Reader installed. You can get it here: https://get.adobe.com/reader/
help! my flash drive won't play!
Dirt, dust and gunk floats around in the air and eventually it will all land on the connections in your USB port. Try plugging and unplugging the flash drive into the port several time. This will scrape it up a bit and remove some of the gunk, allowing that all-important connection to be made. If that doesn't work, try it on a friend's computer. If THAT doesn't work, then contact us. We are here to help!
My flash drive looks strange and it doesn't fit in my usb port!
Most flash drives that people generally see have a little band of metal around the part that plugs into the computer. Our flash drives are exactly the same as every other flash drive except they don't have that little band of metal. We figure that it serves no real purpose and can get bent during shipping, so we don't include it. If the flash drive doesn't fit into your USB port, just flip it around and try it again. Take a good look at the USB port on your computer and you can see how the flash drive fits.
WHAT DO i DO WHEN i RECEIVE MY FLASH DRIVE?
Back it up immediately! Flash drives do not last forever. We warranty our flash drives for 2 weeks after you receive them. That gives you plenty of time to make a back up copy. We do this because flash drives are very sensitive to many different environmental factors that can cause them to fail. We cannot control what you do with your flash drive after you get it, so we cannot guarantee that the flash drive is going to work months later.
We have people write to us saying, "I bought a flash drive six months ago and now it doesn't work....." Our response is always the same, "Please access the backup copy you made when you first received the flash drive."
We have people write to us saying, "I bought a flash drive six months ago and now it doesn't work....." Our response is always the same, "Please access the backup copy you made when you first received the flash drive."
WHAT DO I DO WHEN I RECEIVE MY CD OR DVD DISC?
Back it up immediately!
Believe it or not, CD and DVD discs do not last forever. These kinds of disc are different than the music or movie discs that you may be accustomed to. Our archives come on data discs and they have a life span of from 2 to 20 years. We warranty our discs for 2 weeks after you receive them. That gives you plenty of time to make a back up copy. We do this because discs of this kind are very sensitive to many different environmental factors that can cause them to fail. We cannot control what you do with your CD or DVD disc after you get it, so we cannot guarantee that the disc is going to work months or years later.
We have people write to us saying, "I bought a CD 3 years ago and now it doesn't work....." Our response is always the same, "Please access the backup copy you made when you first received the disc."
Believe it or not, CD and DVD discs do not last forever. These kinds of disc are different than the music or movie discs that you may be accustomed to. Our archives come on data discs and they have a life span of from 2 to 20 years. We warranty our discs for 2 weeks after you receive them. That gives you plenty of time to make a back up copy. We do this because discs of this kind are very sensitive to many different environmental factors that can cause them to fail. We cannot control what you do with your CD or DVD disc after you get it, so we cannot guarantee that the disc is going to work months or years later.
We have people write to us saying, "I bought a CD 3 years ago and now it doesn't work....." Our response is always the same, "Please access the backup copy you made when you first received the disc."
I sent you an email but haven't heard back. Why are you ignoring me?
Check you spam folder! We reply to all emails within 1-2 days of receiving them. Your response is very likely sitting in your spam folder. Spam filters have become very aggressive lately and we have found that a lot of important messages end up there. Check yours now. You may find a lot of important emails!
WILL YOU PROVIDE A PURCHASE ORDER AND W-9 AND OTHER PAPERWORK FOR MY PURCHASE?
No. We do not provide purchase orders or W-9 forms. We sell only through the shopping cart on our web site. We don't make special side deals or volume discounts.