FAQs
Q: Wow!!! There are a lot of questions here. Why so many?
Q: So… what exactly is ‘Make It Happen’ all about?
Q: Can you tell me a little more about Stone Walters?
Q:
Q: Can fans from outside the UK take part in ‘Make It Happen’?
Q: Why does ‘Make It Happen’ use the UK-currency?
Q: What if I want to give a different amount to those stated?
Q: Can you tell me what you are offering through the various options in exchange for my contribution?
If I want to choose the £100, £250, £500 or more option and want a little more information before making a final decision what should I do?
Q: If I make a contribution how is it processed and will my payment information be secure?
Q: If I do not have a PayPal account can I still make a contribution?
Q: How do I get my downloads etc?
Q: What quality are the MP3s that are being sent?
Q: How much are you trying to raise?
Q: That’s a lot of money! Can’t you do it for less?
Q: How have you financed the making of the album up until now and why not use your own money to market it?
Q: Why can I only get 6 tracks from the album now? When will I get the remaining album tracks?
Q: When is Stone’s first single and album due to be officially released?
Q: Before I fork out my hard earned cash, what can we expect from the rest of the album?
Q: How can you be sure the album will sell?
Q: If the album is that good why not sign to a major label and have them pay to market and promote the album? Why go the DIY route?
Q: If Stone Walters is self releasing this album, who are Fivestone Records?
Q: Instead of just asking people to give you a set amount of money, why don’t you offer them the chance to invest in your album and get a cut of the proceeds when the album sells? Wouldn’t that be fairer?
Q: At some point the album will probably surface on the internet for free. Why pay for it now if I can download it for free then?
Q: I am a famous reporter from a blog site/newspaper/magazine/radio show/TV show, etc and I’d like to do a piece about this project.
Q: Do you pass my information onto any third parties?
Q: When I purchase one of The Options will I automatically be added to Stone’s Mailing List?
Q: I have another question, and it’s not on your list.
Q: Wow!!! There are a lot of questions here. Why so many?
A: We decided to try and anticipate as many of the questions that you might ask as possible. Feel free to skip around and find the answers to what you are looking for, although if you have a spare ten minutes starting at the beginning and reading through will give you a really good idea of what we are doing here.
Q: So… what exactly is ‘Make It Happen’ all about?
A: Instead of releasing his album through a traditional record label, Stone has decided to go the ‘DIY’ route and seek funding for the marketing and promotion of the album through donations from friends, fans and believers. And that’s what ‘Make It Happen’ is all about. It’s about you giving Stone the opportunity to take his music to a wider audience, and in exchange for your support you’ll get tracks from the album months before their release as well as other offers exclusive to the ‘Make It Happen’ family!
Q: Can you tell me a little more about Stone Walters?
A: Sure. Just click on the ‘Introducing Stone Walters’ tab on the right-hand side of this page.
Q: How do I help ‘Make It Happen’?
A: Easy - Click on the ‘Get It Now’ button and follow the instructions.
Q: Can fans from outside the UK take part in ‘Make It Happen’?
A: Yes of course! Stone is of Jamaican/German descent; he was born and lives in the UK, and studied in America. There is no discrimination here!
Q: Why does ‘Make It Happen’ use the UK-currency?
A: Stone Walters and Fivestone Records Limited are a UK company. However, if you are based elsewhere don’t worry, as long as you agree with the Sterling amount the rest will be sorted out by PayPal.
Q: What if I want to give a different amount to those stated?
A: No problemo! Just click the ‘Other Amount’ button in the shopping cart and enter the amount you would like to give. We will then match your payment to the tier below your contribution. So for example, if you give £15 we will give you the same things that someone giving £10 would receive.
Unfortunately, because PayPal charge a transaction fee and we have to keep our costs as low as possible, we are unable to provide anything in return to those who give less than £5 (although there is a free download available to all at www.myspace.com/stonewalters ).
Q: Can you tell me what you are offering through the various options in exchange for my contribution?
A: Sure. You can find full details in ‘The Options’ tab here
Q: If I want to choose the £100, £250, £500 or more option and want a little more information before making a final decision what should I do?
A: Just send us an email here letting us know which option you are interested in and we’ll send you additional information that should answer any questions you may have. If there is anything you want to know specifically we’ll also answer those questions for you.
Q: If I make a contribution how is it processed and will my payment information be secure?
A: We’re taking contributions via PayPal and chose this method because PayPal is used by millions of people everyday to make secure purchases. Please see www.paypal.com for more information. We also use E-Junkie.com as our e-commerce solution provider.
Q: If I do not have a PayPal account can I still make a contribution?
A: Absolutely. You can pay through PayPal using a Debit or Credit Card. When you checkout click on the ‘continue’ link to the left where it says “Don’t have a PayPal account?”, above the credit card icons.
Q: How do I get my downloads etc?
A: Once checkout is complete, you will be presented with your download link (through our store partner E-Junkie), and will also immediately receive the download link via email. The link is valid for 48 hours and you can download the product up to 3 times.
Q: What quality are the MP3s that are being sent?
A: The MP3’s sent to you will be in high quality 320kbps… that’s better quality than iTunes!
Q: How much are you trying to raise?
A: £40,000. (This will go toward the cost of making the first video, hiring a team of experienced professionals, marketing, promoting and distributing the album).
Q: That’s a lot of money! Can’t you do it for less?
A: Of course we could! But based on independent market research* this project has HUGE potential if we can get it into all the right places, and that costs time, money, energy and imagination. This means marketing and promotion is essential. Our figure is very modest in comparison to what the major labels spend. Just ask Simon Cowell!
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* Our research was conducted by the UK entertainment industry’s leading market research company.
Q: How have you financed the making of the album up until now and why not use your own money to market it?
A: Great question! So far Stone and his family have pulled together to finance the first stage of the project which is the making of the album. This in itself has been over a 2 year process of hiring musicians, equipment, studios, mixers, etc, but they have now financially taken it as far as they can. The next phase is to release and promote the album. This is where your contribution would go a really long way to helping make the project a success.
Q: Why can I only get 6 tracks from the album now? When will I get the remaining album tracks?
A: Stone Walters is in the studio putting the final touches to the remainder of the album to make sure it is of the highest possible standard and quality before being released. Once complete the tracks will be mixed and mastered and then sent to you as high quality MP3s (320kbps) before its official release date.
Q: When is Stone’s first single and album due to be officially released?
A: Stone’s debut single ‘Trouble’ is due for release towards the beginning of Autumn in the UK, with the album tentatively due to follow by the end of the year. But as they say in the music business “It ain’t final ‘til it’s vinyl”!!! So these dates may shift a bit.
Whilst the single and album will initially be released in the UK don’t worry if you live in another country… we’ll send it to you at no extra cost based on the option you select.
Q: Before I fork out my hard earned cash, what can we expect from the rest of the album?
A: Hopefully by now you will have had a chance to listen to the 6 tracks we have up on the ‘Make It Happen’ page (click here if you haven’t), the remainder of the album is made up of a mixture of up tempo and mid tempo tracks with one huge soul ballad. These tracks include:
- “Burning Grey” - A big Motown soul stomper, with Strings, Bells, and the whole nine yards!
- “Father” - Guess what this track is about!?! If you think Marvin Gaye meets Coldplay with a little British twist, you’ll be on the right track.
- “We Have Enough” - If you like Lenny Kravitz’s ‘It Ain’t Over Til It’s Over’ you’ll love this.
- “You Put The Love” - A big soul/gospel ballad. We think it has classic written all over it, but we are biased of course!
- “Leave No Stone Unturned” - excuse the pun! The sound of this song is inspired by Bob Marley (think Redemption Song) and has a real laid back feel with a Santana inspired guitar solo right in the middle!
Q: How can you be sure the album will sell?
A: The truth is we can’t. But to make sure the album would have the best possible chance of success Stone has spent the last two years crafting what we believe to be a great collection of songs with some of the best musicians in the UK, as well as enlisting the talents of a number of world class mixers (who collectively have mixed records that have gone on to sell millions of copies worldwide for artists such as Coldplay, U2, James Morrison, Gwen Stefani and DJ Shadow to name but a few).
Coupled with this, our independent market research suggests we have a great product, have identified a niche in the market, have chosen the right time to release, and as such have the potential for the album to do really well.
Whilst these factors alone will not guarantee success, it does mean the quality of the album is on par with anything currently being released by major record labels, giving us a realistic shot at success.
Q: If the album is that good why not sign to a major label and have them pay to market and promote the album? Why go the DIY route?
A: It’s hard to escape the fact that the music industry is in a bit of turmoil at the moment with many records companies still figuring out new ways to successfully break and market their acts. Instead of signing to a record label and risk getting lost in the shuffle, Stone thought it best to make the kind of album he wanted, and pursue the DIY route. In fact one of the upsides of the industry being in flux is that many of the people who traditionally worked for the big music companies now offer their expertise and services to artists such as Stone without the need for traditional record contracts.
Q: If Stone Walters is self releasing this album, who are Fivestone Records?
A: Fivestone Records is the record label Stone has set up to release the album, and it’s a real family affair. In fact if ever you drop us an email you’re likely to get a response from either his wife, sister, mum, dad and at certain times of the day his three-year old twins!
Q: Instead of just asking people to give you a set amount of money, why don’t you offer them the chance to invest in your album and get a cut of the proceeds when the album sells? Wouldn’t that be fairer?
A: This is most definitely the first thing we wanted to do. In fact our heart is still really set on seeing as many people benefit from this project as possible. But because we are a small company with limited resources, the amount of admin, overhead costs, along with the legal and contractual requirements necessary to run an investment scheme for a group of people contributing varying amounts of money, would have been prohibitive and given us less time to focus on making the album the success we know it can be. But having put our heads together we think we have found a workable solution.
For contributions ranging from £5 to £500 we put together ‘The Options’ (click here to find out more) and believe we are offering something of value in exchange for your contribution.
However, if you are interested in donating £1,000 or more we have put together a package offering a really great return on your investment, which would allow you to benefit financially from the future success of the album. (For more information please email us here)
Q: At some point the album will probably surface on the internet for free. Why pay for it now if I can download it for free then?
A: £5 can be a lot of money in today’s world (just ask anyone at the petrol pump!) and to be quite honest Stone’s so excited about having people hear his music that if you took the time to find and download it for free because you liked it he’d be honored!
However we hope you’ll perceive that what we’re offering here is of enough value to make your contribution worthwhile. Besides if you think about it, without your donation we will not be able to promote the album, which means people won’t be able to discover it and download it for free in the future! Hmm!!!
Q: I am a famous reporter from a blog site/newspaper/magazine/radio show/TV show, etc and I’d like to do a piece about this project.
A: Fantastic! Please email us here and we’ll do whatever we can to help (even if you’re not that famous!).
Q: Do you pass my information onto any third parties?
A: We hate spam, and respect your privacy. We will never share, sell or divulge any of your personal information with anyone, be it a company, or an individual.
Q: When I purchase one of The Options will I automatically be added to Stone’s Mailing List?
A: No, we will not automatically add you but will send you a one time invitation as we’d love the opportunity to keep you up-to-date on all things happening with Stone. Other than that we will only send you correspondence relating to the fulfilment of your option.
Q: I have another question, and it’s not on your list.
A: Please feel free to email us here and we’ll answer it as soon as we can.
