# Skratch Magazine? Scam?



## Shooter (Dec 10, 2008)

My band was recently contacted by a "band scout" for this magazine, saying that they're interested in our music. They offered to put us on a compilation CD in exchange for a printing fee. If we agree, they put 1-3 of our songs (depending on how much we pay) on the CD, give us either 20 or 100 of the CDs they print (not sure on which yet, as my bandmate has been handling most of the contact with this place), they distribute the CDs to several labels, and provide a few other promotion services. I've done some research on this magazine, but I haven't come across much, leading me to believe they are either fairly obscure, or a scam. I did come across an issue of the actual magazine for sale on ebay, but I haven't found much else on them around the internet. There were some posts on the Ultimate Guitar forums, but again, there was little information of use there.

So does anyone here know if Skratch Magazine is truly legit? I myself am fairly skeptical, but my bandmate is rather excited about making this deal, and I'm not sure what to do. Does anyone have personal experience with this magazine? Any advice would be EXTREMELY appreciated.


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## darren (Dec 10, 2008)

Have they shown you any kind of contract stipulating the particulars of this arrangement? (i.e. copyright ownership of the material remains with the band, etc.) How much are they asking for the "printing fee"?

There are probably tons of these kind of "promotion" services out there, but it's hard to judge the legitimacy of them unless they're willing to share details, particularly with data on past performance of their marketing program, such as bands getting signed, getting picked up for tours, and so on.

If they can't demonstrate that their program gets _results_ then it just sounds like they're bilking hungry independent bands for money by dangling an attractive package in front of them. Preying on their weakness like the pay-to-play "band wars" competition circuit.


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## jymellis (Dec 10, 2008)

ask for references. ask for alot! ask who else they promote. ask what cds they have put out and to what companies. who have they gotten signed? ask lots!! ask for a fukin phone number and talk to them!!! make them apply to promote you (its your money and music and time). also, not being able to find a skratch magazine website is not a good idea. they may be a myspace promoter. which would make them legit(u prolly couldnt get your money back). but you and i can promote on myspace.


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## Mattayus (Dec 10, 2008)

Was this on Myspace by any chance? I got a guy email me asking for my 'band' to be put on a comp CD. I told him it's not a band, it's just me making music, and that a lot of it is unfinished. He said that's fine, but would like me to contact him when I have a full band and finished songs 

Probably the same guy. I can't remember the name of the 'organisation' though.


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## darren (Dec 10, 2008)

Uh... i just did a quick search on Google, and the first result was http://www.skratchmagazine.com

How could you possibly not find it?


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## petereanima (Dec 10, 2008)

we got that offer too, but we wanted some more information and they never replied. same happened to friends of mine.

judging from their acting - not recommended.


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## darren (Dec 10, 2008)

Sounds like their business model is "take money from bands who don't ask questions."


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## Shooter (Dec 10, 2008)

Yea, the guy gave us the website, but I'm not sure whether it's legit, or a flashy front for a scam, and the website is about the only info I've found on the internet about them... no Wikipedia entries, very little on any other website. We were contacted via our myspace (since that's just about the only place we have music available) and he gave us information on getting started. He said the fee would be $300 for one song, and something like $400 for 2, and $500 for 3, if I'm remembering correctly. He did give us a number, and my bandmate talked to the guy on the phone. He said we would be shown a contract at some point, but we haven't gotten that far yet. Their website does provide samples of the songs they've had on former samplers, and I've researched some of the artists and found their myspace pages and whatnot... I intend on messaging one of them directly to ask them what their experience was. I'm really still skeptical because I have yet to see anyone who has any personal experience with this magazine, even though they say they've been around for twelve years. I've only heard from people like you guys, who've gotten an offer, but I've never heard from anyone who actually made it on one of the CDs.

Thanks for all your help!


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## darren (Dec 10, 2008)

Pay-To-Play battles compilations


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## sami (Dec 10, 2008)

awesome linkage!


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## YUCK (Dec 31, 2008)

*Avoid these guys like the plague.*
*They just recently raped several bands into paying for a promo deal ie: "be on a punk compilation", also promised an interview in the magazine, as well as distro of the compilation at RiotFest and distributed to "industry people"*

*Its all bullshit. We got our cds.. (alot of the other bands, have not- 4 months after the fact) no interview. AND the cds were NOT distributed at riotfest!*

*This was a cost to my band of damn near $800. *

*Save your money, and do something useful with it. Save yourself from needing to fight for a refund, for them bailing on the conditions of the contractual agreement.*


*SKRATCH SUCKS!*



darren said:


> Pay-To-Play battles compilations


 

yes, this is very awesome. You may want to note, that the Skratch Info there is not very current. They have changed a few things.





darren said:


> Sounds like their business model is "take money from bands who don't ask questions."


 

We asked them TONS of questions, kept copies of and carefully reviewed the contract. Made sure rights & ownership remained ours.. etc.. etc.
Communication was great for us, until the cds did not arrive. We called them... they took forever to answer. It was total BS.

Needless to say, our lawyer is getting involved, and we are asking for some of the money paid to be returned. 

They are legit, but they just suck at what they do. And i for one will not bend over for them.


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## drumsoffire (Jan 1, 2009)

DO NOT USE SKRATCH MAGAZINE TO PROMOTE YOUR MUSIC. my band was also on the Riot Fest compilation. We know dozens of people that were at Riot Fest, and NONE of them saw the Skratch CDs there. 

Skratch told some other bands that the CD was distributed at "another festival". The told us they were at Riot Fest.

THEY ARE LIARS THAT HAVE STOLEN 14 THOUSAND DOLLARS FROM STRUGGING BANDS FROM THIS COMPILATION ALONE. 
it only costs $3000 to press 5000 CDs that have THIRTY BANDS ON THEM.... DO THE MATH !!!

We got screwed and don't want anyone else to!
We know people from the last comp that had the wrong songs put on the comp and it came out 5 months late!!!

We are dealing with a company that DOES NOT care about that music, they do not uphold their end of the contract, and they do not distribute your music to 5000 people. 


SCAM SCAM SCAM SCAM SCAM


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## SkratchMagazine (Jan 22, 2009)

First off, Skratch is a completely legit and well established operation that has been around for over thirteen years! We were originally a print magazine (that mag you saw on ebay was probably someone selling an old copy) up until October of 2007 when we went online (sign of the times...sigh)

In addition to the mag we do a series of compilation CDs (which we have put out and distributed 48 volumes) which we scout out bands that we feel are good and could benefit of some exposure and promotions. We only contact those bands we feel are ready and if their music is not up to par, we don't. Simple as that. There are times when we get so overloaded with bands contacting us, that on occasion we don't always get a chance to get back to everyone unfortunately. We try to give everyone a fair shake but truth is there are only five of us in house and a handfull of scouts and thousands and thousands of you guys. We make initial contact and try to get a hold of a band but there is only so much we can do.

As for what we offer, plain and simple, we offer exposure. We press a comp CD of approximately 5000 (sometimes more if there is an overage or if a project we are doing is larger scale) which we distribute at numerous festivals, retail outlets (record stores, skate shops, tattoo parlors, etc.) and to the bands themselves. This is in addition to the over 350 labels, pr companies, publishers, etc. which we mail them out to. We have been in buisness for over 13 years, so know that our contacts are deep! Why don't we list them or tell bands who the contacts are you might ask? Simple, we have a non disclosure agreement with our mailling list. What does that mean? Well it means that we can send them CDs and they check them out (as you may know, many companies will NOT accept unsolicited materials) as long as we do not publicize who we send it to. Again, why is that? Because what happens (and has happened in the past, which is why it is the way it is) is that bands who are on a comp will call and call and call and call and harrass the companies and piss them off! Makes us look bad, pisses the companies off and nobody wins!

As for distribution, we distribute our CDs exactly where we say they are going to be distributed, sometimes even more! Two cases brought up are Warped Tour and Riot Fest. At Warped Tour in 2008 we had our CDs handed out for us by a band called Chaser who was ON THE WHOLE TOUR! I know they got to the band because I SHIPPED THEM AND/OR DELIVERED THEM PERSONALLY! As for Riot Fest, they were distributed at The Congress show by the Firewalk Girls. Again, I know they were sent because I SHIPPED THEM MYSELF and coordinated with our distro people. Just because a handful of people didn't see something, doesn't mean it didn't happen! Remember, often times an event is going to have over 5,000 people attending and after mailing CDs to bands and doing the mailer to labels, etc. approximately 3500 to 4000 get handed out at an event, so not eveyone is going to get one but THEY DO GET HANDED OUT!!!!

As for bands not getting their promised CDs, it happens. Why you might ask? Two reasons: 1) the band does not give their proper mailing info and we can not track them down (yes, it does happen believe it or not!) or 2) The good ole U.S. Postal Service destroys the package (again, believe it or not it does happen!) Now in the case of number two, we can only wait to hear back from either the post office (who is nice enough to send us back what is left of a destroyed package) which if we're lucky enough to get back something to figure out who's package it was, we resend it. The other way is to hear back from a band that they did not get their CDs, which in that case, we resend it as well. Reason we have to wait to hear back from the post office or bands is, well, we only have so many copies of the CD and can't resend packages to everyone and also we couldn't afford to resend every package (postage and packaging costs money kids!) If a band doesn't contact us to let us know they didn't get something from us, THEN HOW CAN WE POSSIBLY KNOW THEY DIDN'T GET THEIR STUFF!?!?!? I mean come on now, we're good but we ain't psychics over here!

As for the interviews, yes, there are a handfull of bands that sometimes fall between the cracks, again, three reasons: 1) the band never responds back to our initial contacts/emails (yes, stupid but it happens) 2) our emails hit a band's spam folder and they decide we just blew them off or 3) we fuck up (guess what? WE'RE HUMAN!) Regardless, we ALWAYS do our best to make things right so that everyone is happy!

In regards to the cost, bottom line, shit costs money! It costs money to press 5,000 CDs, it costs money to remaster EVERY track on the comp, it costs money to do artwork, it costs money to print CD sleeves and shrink wrap them, it costs money to ship CDs whereever they are going to be distributed, it costs money to distribute the CDs where they are being distributed, it costs money to mail out packages to bands, record companies, etc, it costs money for the packages and tape to put the mailers together, it costs money to build a website, store the content on a sever, bandwidth, it costs money to pay all the people who help us make these comps happen! Realize, WE DO NOT SELL THESE CDs! WE GIVE THEM AWAY FOR FREE! 

The idea is to get exposure for a band and we do that. We make it possible for a band to get their music into the hands of people that may not get to hear a band otherwise. A band would have to tour for over a month (if they're lucky) to get the exposure we offer at one event! Do you know how much that would cost? Then add to that the exposure on the website, their music on our players on the site, etc. We do what we say we do!

Though we do promise exposure and promotions, WE NEVER, NEVER EVER, promise that being on one of our comps is the answer to your prayers that will magically get your band signed and touring the world. That would be TOTAL bull shit if someone promised that! We promise that you will get heard, we promise you will get what we offer. Also know that being on our comp does not mean you are going to get a million friends on myspace! Some bands will get better response than others unfortunately and we can't control that. We can help a band with taking that step but like with anything, you never know what can happen! 

Yes, we have worked with bands that have gotten tons of positive exposure. Yes, we have worked with bands that have gotten on some huge shows/tours. Yes, we have worked with bands that have gone on to do HUGE and AMAZING things (a few bands like Anti Flag, Plain White T's, Bleeding Through, I Am Ghost to name a few.) Now will we say that being on our comp was a direct cause of those things happening? No. We will however say that we were definitely a part of the equation which helped in the big picture.

Lastly, As for the allegations from a certain band above, if they returned an email or a phone call, maybe things would get resolved. There are ALWAYS going to be haters out there. There will ALWAYS be people that don't get what THEY have in THEIR minds out of working with us. There will ALWAYS be people that think the world OWES them. Bottom line is we can only do what we promise and we do that. Yes, we are human and sometimes shit gets fucked up, but we do what we can to make it right.

Look, here's the thing, there are a SHIT TON of companies out there that are shady as fuck and ARE out there to rip you off and we will be the first ones to step up and call someone out on their shit. We work hard to do what we do and having been around 13 years in all of our incarnations and the bands, people, projects we have worked with and that fact that in the midst of this shit storm of an economy we are living in, we are still here, alive, breathing and working hard to help do our part to keep the scene going, there has to be something to it right?

If you want more info, if you have a question, a comment or concern, call us. Yep, call us and talk to a REAL person and we will answer your questions personally, (714) 639-5000 or email us at [email protected] . We are real, we are legit and if we had anything to hide, do you really think we would have written this book of a response? I don't think so....

~Skratch


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## poopyalligator (Jan 22, 2009)

Destroyed by the post office? Maybe investing that extra 35 cents in delivery confirmation doesent sound like a bad idea huh?


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## gunshow86de (Jan 22, 2009)

Anyone else notice their site is down now? Weird coincidence?


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## harkonnen8 (Jan 22, 2009)

3 new members, and they're already pissed off


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## SkratchMagazine (Jan 22, 2009)

First off, the site is being switched to a new server as we speak. Second, delivery confirmation is not all its cracked up to be, we tried that too and all it does is cost an extra .35 and we still replace the package anyway. Last, the band that is talking smack, The Yuckies, proudly display the CD they were on that we put out ON THEIR FRONT PAGE! The Yuckies - The Yuckies Official site...

Oh and to the "fought long and hard" comment that they make on their page, we only found out not to long ago and promptly resent them their package.


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## poopyalligator (Jan 22, 2009)

SkratchMagazine said:


> delivery confirmation is not all its cracked up to be, we tried that too and all it does is cost an extra .35 and we still replace the package anyway.



delivery confirmation is more of a piece of mind thing. It is great because since you have so many problems with people saying they havent got their package, you can call the bullshit card on them and give them the confirmation number. Secondly if they dispute it, you tell them to take it up with the post office. Thirdly if something happens like if the post office "destroys" the package you have the right to take some action against that on the count of you paid for shipping, and delivery confirmation states that you sent it. Are they going to tell you, that you are lying or something? The answer is no. So for an extra 35 cents I think it is more than worth people telling you they havent got their cds or for the post office "destroying" your packages.


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## SkratchMagazine (Jan 22, 2009)

I understand what you are saying, but to this point it had not been an issue. People will call and say, "Hey, didn't get my package" and we resend. However with the latest comp we are working on it doesn't matter as we will be shipping priority which comes with delivery confirmation. So point taken!

however, regardless if the post office destroys a package, we still replace it. This will never change. We feel it is a part of the deal and if we can accommodate it then no problemo!


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## Meldville (Jan 23, 2009)

My advice - avoid anything like this. Not a knock against Skratch or anything, but these types of deals are 99.9&#37; of the time not going to provide you with what you're hoping for.


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## Chritar (Jan 23, 2009)

i remember seeing those magazines a while ago, they would be given out free at record shops, but i guess they couldnt afford it so its all online now, i never looked into it. but they did contact my band about a comp cd, the other guitarist fronted the money because he was excited about it, but the comp cd blows ass and theres a comp cd like every month or something, seemed like a waste of time

-edit- just read page 2 of this thread, lol


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## Esp Griffyn (Jan 23, 2009)

They do sound like crooks


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## DDDorian (Jan 23, 2009)

Do none of you have any DIY experience at all? I don't think the people at Skratch are genuinely trying to rip anything off, but the business model that would have worked ten years ago for a print zine isn't going to work for what is essentially a blog. Value for money just doesn't exist.


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## Chritar (Jan 24, 2009)

sucks when the rest of your band thinks diy gets you nowhere... 'tupid


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## Nick (Jan 24, 2009)

these things are fairly common.

2 choices - dont reply

or

do reply and tell them to fuck off.

how many times have you bought a compilation cd? if your like me the answer is never!

they will charge you a fee and possibly even send you some cds but you wont sell them and the other bands will no doubt be shit.

Its purley a money making scam.


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## KM07 (Aug 20, 2009)

It's been pretty lame.
They're an American Online Magazine company and most of their compilation CD's feature only bands from America.
I'm in a band from England and they asked us to be on their 50th compilation CD. Being a small time band we jumped at the chance. They gave us the details. It was something like £260/$430ish to get one song on the CD. And this CD has about 40 bands on it.
So we signed the contract and so on, sent the song, and got no reply whatsoever.
Luckily we've got proving ground to say that the song is ours, so they can't steal it per say.
Do not trust these people, no matter how nice they seem.
For that sort of money you can promote yourself much more easily and in a controlled way.

Cheers,
Staggz 
xo.


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## overit (Sep 17, 2009)

This shit is a rip off. I loved the magazine when I was a kid, and could pick it up at a record store. Fucking interview we did was never posted. Look at their site. They do shit to update it. I registered for this forum simply to leave this message. There are SO MANY better things you can do with the money and time you will waste trying to contact them. My band was ripped off. Don't be a victim. They will send you a CD with low quality artwork, and a thousand bands that no one has the time to sit through and see if they are any good. I gave all ours away in one day, and I'm sure they wound up in most people's trash.


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## Shooter (Sep 17, 2009)

Why did my thread get bumped so hard? Haha.

I'm not sure about the above horror-stories, but after we agreed to do the whole thing, we had an okay outcome. We got our CDs and download cards, as promised, although I'm not sure if they ever posted the entire CD on their website as they said they would. It took them a while to get the CDs to us, and yea, the CD isn't anything incredibly great, but I wouldn't say they're specifically trying to rip bands off entirely... I'd say they're perhaps a bit unprofessional at worst. But this is just speaking from my own experience.


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## moirai band (Dec 11, 2009)

I guess Skratch Magazine stated that they were too overwhelmed with following up with some bands, and there were post office issues for some. What is interesting about this comment, is A. If you are a band who is displeased you should save this weblink and print it out and present it to your attorney and file a Better Business Bureau Complaint, and B. Skratch Magazine should put this information in their contracts, so when a band pays for the agreement they understand that they might not get anything. 

Our band has been fighting Skratch since Dec 2008 when we sent them our funds for the promotion. We were texted late at night about where the money is, because they never did not receive our letter. Next our promotion was moved back so many times, and it took forever to get the cds and downloadable cards, and we had the interview but there was no banner on the website, and our song is not on there web player. To me in the beginning it seemed like a very good company, but when it came down to receiving payment and actually answering our questions it became very unprofessional. I am a owner of a corporation with 11 employees and still growing, my aunt, and cousin are big wig judges, my good friend is an attorney, and my uncle and other aunts are detectives/police officers, and my cousin is an accountant, so basically I know what my rights are as an individual and as a business. I will never run out of attorney power as some might say, which is interesting how much that doesn't matter to Skratch Magazine. So take that as a forwarning to not do business with this company unless you know what you are getting involved with. As for their comment about being overwhelmed, it is simple to fix;make a cut off of how many submissions you will except and be done with it. Companies shouldn't bite off more than they can chew because 99% of the time they fail. 

Skratch Magazine is under contract with the bands and regardless of their excuses they have to fullfil what they have in the contract. I am on my last draw with them, because they owe us an online banner for advertisement, and they have to put our song on their online player. They were apologetic and explained themselves to us many times, but my patience is running thin. They said they would put us on their new compliation for free and put a banner up for a month, so I sent them the new music and the banner I created in an email sent on Oct 27th, 2009 and I have only heard that the person that I was working with will contact me soon and I have sent various of emails to them and no response. So unless you are a wealthy band, and have the money to blow, I would suggest staying away from this company.

Skratch just needs to put limits on what they can and cannot provide to these bands, and let the company grow from there. I feel that they have awesome potential to be a better and a bigger company, but at this time they should really think about reorganizing their procedures and policies for bands/promotions. This could end up being a big lawsuit if all of the disatisfied bands come together and fight them. Skratch if I were the owner of your company, I would make it priority to resolve these issues before you end up with bad name and no funds to grow. 

MB


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## AbstractAsylum (Dec 11, 2009)

Edit: What the hell. Bumped thread.


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