Make The Most Of MusBook.com

New Visitor? Here's how to get the most from MusBook.com...

MusBook.com may be fun to use, but it's also a really useful tool if you know how to make the most of it. Here's your step by step guide to squeezing the best from the site, whether you're a music lover or a professional musician!

1) Sign Up - Sign up for FREE to make the most of MusBook.com. With a MusBook profile, you'll be able to access all free parts of the site, and connect with your audience and other musicians.

Musicians: make sure you sign up with your real name, or your Group's name. That's the best way to build a real, authentic fanbase and professional network of contacts.

2) Add a Profile Picture - make sure you add a picture, preferably of yourself. Otherwise you'll just be listed as a grey 'add image'... and that's very boring!

3) Update Your Profile - Your MusBook.com profile is your showcase for your work. Upload your MP3s, Videos, Biography, and news about your latest projects. Have CDs or merchandize? Sell them from your page! (see step 8). Think of your MusBook profile as the 'feeder' to your own website, if you have one. If your website is your online shopfront, MusBook is the shopping mall where people come to find Classical Music! Or, if you don't have a website, just use your MusBook.com page instead!

3a) Did you know you can move the panels on your profile page about? If you want your biography at the top, just paste it into a text box, and drag it to the top of the page!

4) Connect with other Musicians - MusBook is a great place to connect with other musicians from all over the world - just add them as a Friend. Don't go crazy and friend everyone - that's a waste of time. Just find musicians whose work you respect and find interesting, let them know who you are and what you do, and if a connection happens and a good working relationship or friendship starts, great! If not, don't worry about it - just move on. You can also use ProMuNet - the Professional Musicians' Rumor Network - to build up contact with other pro musicians all around the world.

5) Build an Audience - Unlike mainstream social networks, MusBook isn't for connecting just with people you know... ...but with new people too! If someone adds you as a friend, it's usually good to accept: you'll gradually build a fanbase, and who knows... maybe some great professional connections too!

6) Music Teacher Map - do you teach? Make sure you add yourself to the Music Teacher Map - you can add your name and number for free, plus if you're a subscriber you can link to your musbook profile and add other content too.

7) Promote Your Ensembles & Projects - you aren't limited to just one profile with MusBook! If you are involved in an ensemble, orchestra, choir or other group - they can have their own page as well! All you need is a second dedicated email address for your ensemble. Just sign up again, but this time use your group's name instead of your own.

Do you work on a project basis? Build a fanbase for your CD recording, festival, education project, course or summer school, teaching studio or performance concept! You can create as many profiles as you like for serious projects - every CD you make can have its own page! (and make sure you sign up for digital downloads, for when the CD dies out!)

8) Add The Bells And Whistles... EARN A LIVING AS A MUSICIAN! - You can do amazing things with MusBook, because our network is OPEN. What does that mean? It means you can add in any gadgets and tools that run on the 'OPEN SOCIAL' system. Click 'applications' on your profile, then explore the widgets... add a shopit.com widget to sell your own CDs, or thebizmo, a widget for selling you own MP3s and downloads. Want to get creative with code? You can paste html into your Musbook profile page - so if you want to sell things directly to your fans, just get a Paypal account, copy and paste a 'buy button', and you'll have your own online shop!! Or, if you'd like to set up automated downloads, get an account with Payloadz and your fans can download them and send money straight into your bank account!

9) Start Something Amazing - as cultural leaders, aren't we here to create change? Start a movement - form a group of likeminded people and have some amazing conversations. Start a dialogue in the ProMuNet forum (The Professional Musicians' Rumor Network!). Organize global support for your local performance or education initiative from your Profile page. Let your imagination run wild!

10) Invite Your Friends! - the more people who are part of MusBook, the stronger the community, the more connections, the more opportunities... Click 'Invite' and get your friends to join MusBook.com today!

1) Sign Up - Sign up for FREE to make the most of MusBook.com. With a MusBook profile, you'll be able to access all free parts of the site, and connect with your audience and other musicians.

Your Username: It's always best to use your real name, because people will prefer to interact with you. But if you want to use an alias, that's fine too. But do read our common sense guide for MusBook users first!

2) Add a Profile Picture - this could be a headshot of yourself, or an image that represents your tastes, or something wild and wacky! Fll MusBook with vibrant color!

3) Update Your Profile - Show a little of yourself! Maybe upload a picture, write a bit about your tastes in music, and say what you're looking to discover. Like moden arrangements of Spanish troubador melodies played on the lute? Great! Tell us why!

4) Find new music & Connect with Musicians - spend time exploring the musicians and groups on MusBook, and find all sorts of new music. But that's not all! If you find a musician or group or orchestra or choir that you like... add them as a friend! You can connect directly with the artists whose work you enjoy... and they'll be grateful to know you're listening. You can even connect & interact with them - leave a message to say 'hi!'.

5) Support Musicians - Download Music - if you like what you hear, download it! Many musicians will soon link to their albums at iTunes or Napster; others will have MP3 files available for direct download. Or if you're still into CDs, why not order a CD direct from the musicians?

6) Join a Group - you can browse and create Groups - see the link on the 'My Page' tab or click here. Groups are the best way to find people who are interested in the same topics as you. Can't find a group you like? Create one yourself! - people will often come and join a group once you created it.

7) Get Talking! - the Discussion Forums are the place to talk about anything, generate interesting conversations, swap knowledge, and find out stuff you didn't know before from people you didn't know before!

8) Find a Music Teacher - Learning music? Find a music teacher near you on the Music Teacher Map! There won't be many teachers on the map at first, but after our early 2009 launch, listings will grow rapidly.

9) Invite Your Friends! - the more people who are part of MusBook, the stronger the community, the more connections, the more opportunities... Click 'Invite' and get your friends to join MusBook.com today!

Enjoy the site!

Terms of Service - the common sense guide!

MusBook.com has only one basic rule of service... Imagine you're in a room with your mother, your boss, your children, and your best friends. Would you still say what you're about to publish on MusBook.com? If so, go ahead! If not... best rephrase it (or send a private message!).

We don't like to interfere or censor interactions on the MusBook network, and we find the rule above sorts out almost every problem. But in the very rare case that it doesn't, let us know if you're having a problem with another member - just email consonart [at] gmail [dot] com (if someone is persistantly causing problems, we can ban their profile).

False Identities Although we do allow you to choose an 'alias' (made up name), we are MUCH stricter about false identities than if you are using your own name. So be warned - if your made-up profile name is at all similar to another living person (even if it is just spelt in much the same way), your content is at risk - we will ban any profile that appears to breach copyright. To be sure of not risking your profile in this way, please don't use the name of anyone who's been alive during the last 100 years, and certainly don't use the name of any musician or performing ensemble - we will be taking steps to verify all major performing ensembles' profiles to be sure that they're in charge of it, and if we find it's a false signup, your account will be terminated immediately. We hate doing that! So please make us happy, and don't do it!

By continuing to use the MusBook.com website (including my.classicalmusic.org.uk and www.classicalmusic.org.uk) you accept these terms and conditions. If you do not accept these terms and conditions, please leave the site now. Thank you!