Here you will find answers to frequently asked questions concerning our services.
Still have questions or need advise? Please use the contact form in the support section...
We process all types and quantities of data for you. Whether it be personal data, your warehouse inventory, customer contact information or the contents of a wine cellar – our databases can be flexibly adapted to your needs.
To allow us to process data for MPN, you must be an MPN participant (more information regarding participation in MPN can be found from PHONONET). Register your item in the MPN-System and afterwards send us the corresponding CD. Please also send us the filled out MPN delivery note so that we know exactly what data should be entered into the system. We will take care of the rest. We can also take care of the complete item metadata registration in the MPN system for you. Simply put an 'x' into the box next to "Complete item information w/track and item infos" on the delivery note.
For Germany: As a PHONONET participant the processing of your product for MPN is a part of the fees you pay to PHONONET. If you have additional questions regarding costs please contact PHONONET in Hamburg directly at +49 40 55 49 37 – 22 or musik-promotion@phononet.de. For Switzerland/Austria: If you are interested in having us process your data for MPN Switzerland and MPN Austria we will gladly send you a price quote. Just send an email either to mpn-ch@acamar-service.net for Switzerland or mpn-at@acamar-service.net for Austria or call us at: +49 2233 - 80 410 60.
The delivery note for MPN can be downloaded here: MPN delivery note.
The service hours for the MPN team are Monday to Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (CET).
The following information is required for the metadata service:
The processing status of an item can always be found in the support area of our home page. For access information please contact: mpn@acamar-service.net. During our service hours you can also ask about the current status of your item via telephone or email.
After the item has been entered into MPN and we have received sounds and images, the item is normally processed within a day.
We do not require an original CD for processing. The sounds can also be imported into the system via a copy of the master (such as a promotional copy). If you wish for us to also enter the item metadata we will require an original CD or a Label Copy in oder to ensure that all relevant information is entered into the system.
Just send an email requesting access information to mpn@acamar-service.net. The email should also contain the following information:
Access to the login area for Acamar is free of charge. The processing of data delivered via digital upload is as much a part of the regular processing service as the service for physical CDs.
Just send us an email with the subject "Forgot password" to mpn@acamar-service.net and include your customer number. We will provide you with your login credentials as soon as possible.
In most cases for you as MPN participant the only options MPN Promo and MPN Archive are relevant. MPN promo is the item processing for MPN. This includes complete sound sampling and scans of the cover image, back image and/or booklets. In MPN these will be made available to editors in radio, print, TV and internet. MPN Archive is for items which should be registered to the ARD Sound Archive. It is at your own discretion to decide if your item is relevant for the ARD Archive. Additional information about the ARD Archive can be found at: Deutschen Rundfunk Archiv (DRA) (German) in Frankfurt or at MPN.
The status "In progress" means that Acamar received the data and is in the process of preparing it for MPN.
With our HSTP tools you are able to upload very conveniently your files from your PC to our server. We provide you with an already pre-configured application, where you just have to put ypur files into a sepctific directory and press a button to send them to us. If you wish more information or receive your copy of the HSTP application, please send us an email to mpn@acamar-service.net.
There are multiple ways to send us the sounds in .wav format. You can send us a link via a download service such as Dropbox or WeTransfer. Alternatively you can upload the sounds directly in the support area of our homepage. To receive access to our support site send an email to mpn@acamar-service.net and request access information. The email should contain the following information:
The file to be delivered must have the following format: WAV file in CD quality, in other words WAV PCM / 44,1 kHz / 16bit / Stereo. Unfortunately we cannot process MP3s because the sound quality is worse compared to files in WAV format.
We can only import the sound files into MPN the item metadata (i.e, item and track information) is available. Therefore the process will go much faster if you first enter the information into MPN and then send us the sounds.
Normally the items are processed on the same day as they are received by Acamar. If something is unclear about the item or if there are other problems, this might delay the processing of the item. Additionally other factors also play a role in the time needed to complete data entry for the product. For example, if it is a single or an album, how many tracks the item has, if the track information has already been entered into the system or if Acamar should enter the metadata into the system for you. Please note that the processing by Acamar ends when the sounds are transferred to MPN. The subsequent import of the sounds into the MPN system is carried out by PHONONET itself.
At the moment no automatic messaging system is available. On request we will gladly send you an email when the item processing has been completed by Acamar. Please note that the processing by Acamar ends when the sounds are transferred to MPN. The subsequent import of the sounds into the MPN system is carried out by PHONONET itself. The easiest way to see if the sounds are available in MPN is to look it up at MPN page directly. It is highly suggested that you check the sounds and metadata before activating an item.
Before sound files can be added to MPN, they must undergo a quality check. At this stage the sounds are checked to see if they meet the minimum quality standards for MPN. Subsequently the sounds will be converted into an MPN appropriate format.
Sound files, which you have sent us, can only be imported into MPN if the item metadata (Item and track information) is available. You can either enter this information into MPN yourself or we can enter the metadata into MPN for you. The easiest way to do this is by ending us a Label Copy with the appropriate information. If we received an original CD to import the sounds we can use the information on the CD as a basis for the metadata entry. When we have received all this information, then we can send it to MPN at which point it will be imported into the system. This may lead to small delays.
If you send us an original CD we can scan the cover and back cover images from the CD. You can also send us the cover and back cover images digitally (as JPG) per email or by other means.
For cover and back cover images the following format is required: JPEG / 1200 x 1200 Pixel / at least 220 dpi / Color mode RGB. For booklets: JPEG / 1200 x 2400 Pixel / at least 220 dpi / Color mode RGB.
When acquiring ISMNs your items will not automatically be registered into a database. If you would like to publish your item meta information into a research database we suggest the International Database for Printed Music & Musical Products (IDNV).
At this time no official ISMN database exists. For publication we therefore suggest the International Database for Printed Music and Musical Products (IDNV).
You should plan for future publications when acquiring a range of numbers. Which range of numbers should be purchased not only depends on how many items you wish to assign ISMN at the present time, but also how many items you wish to publish within the coming months and years. In the long run it could cost you less to acquire a larger range of numbers.
In general it is possible to purchase single numbers. Determining if a single numbers can be purchased depends on the amount of editions in planning. If it is a self published work which will be published only once, a single ISMN can be allocated. On the other hand, publishers who plan to continuously publish multiple items can purchase ranges of numbers. When applying for a number contingent of 10, for example, it can be assumed that more than one publication is in planning and the publisher in this case wishes to continually publish their editions.
We are not authorised to allocate numbers to publishers outside of our jurisdiction. A list of local agencies can be found on the website of the International ISMN Agency in Berlin.
acamar.de