What's a "dispatch"?▾
A dispatch is the basic unit of content here — one curator, one track (or video, or article), one short note on why it's worth your time. It's the same idea as a post on any other platform, just named to match the site's editorial voice. Every dispatch is tagged by source — Human critic, AI listening notes, or Community pull — so you always know how a pick was made, not just what it is. A reply — "reply with a track" on any dispatch — is really the same underlying thing, just shorter: up to 500 characters for a dispatch, 280 for a reply.
Can you help me distribute my music?▾
Yes — this is a real, planned rollout, not a "someday" idea. We're building out distribution and label compatibility as a core part of the platform, working through a white-label provider with a transparent, tiered revenue-share model rather than the subscription-and-takedown structure that's left artists stranded at more than one other distributor when priorities shifted. It's being designed deliberately, in phases, rather than rushed out — if you'd like to be part of the earliest rollout,
reach out and we'll keep you posted as it opens up.
Why does it only play a preview sometimes, not the full track?▾
Depends on the platform and, sometimes, the specific track — worth knowing exactly which, and it's less a flaw than it sounds. Spotify only plays a short preview unless you're logged into Spotify in that same browser — that's Spotify's own rule for its embed player. SoundCloud plays the full track for almost everything, but some tracks are Go+ exclusive (SoundCloud's own paid tier, often for label-licensed content) and only play a short excerpt without a subscription — the same idea as Spotify's login gate, just per-track instead of platform-wide. YouTube plays the full video for anyone, no login needed. Bandcamp doesn't play in place here at all yet — it opens the track on Bandcamp's own site instead of embedding. None of this is something we control or could route around — we play things exactly the way the original platform allows, on purpose, since that's the whole point of not hosting anything ourselves. If you already have Spotify Premium or SoundCloud Go+, you get the complete experience automatically, same as using those platforms directly. If you don't, think of the preview as a genuine sample of the curator's pick — a way to further sample and see what you might like.
I submitted a dispatch — where does it go?▾
Every submission gets read before it goes live — nothing posts instantly, even from an approved account. Once it's reviewed and approved, it shows up in the live feed on the homepage. If something's not showing up after a few days, feel free to
check in.
Is "Sign in" different from signing up?▾
Yes, and they're for different things. "Get updates" (the email box on the homepage) is the lightweight option — no account, just an occasional email when there's something worth hearing about. "Sign in" is the real thing: a magic-link email that gets you a full account — your own dashboard, saved lists, and likes tied to you. First-time sign-ins go into a brief pending-approval state before full access opens up. Use "Get updates" if you just want to stay in the loop; use "Sign in" if you want to use the site.
Do you host my music or my data?▾
No. Every embed on this site points back to wherever the content already lives — Spotify, Bandcamp, YouTube, SoundCloud, WordPress. We never re-host audio, video, or articles. Your own playlists and profile data are exportable as JSON or XLS at any time.
What happens to my catalog if I stop using this site?▾
You keep it. The catalog tool exports everything as CSV whenever you want, and nothing here requires staying on the platform to retain access to your own data.
What if I need an accommodation the site doesn't have yet?▾
Tell us. Accessibility here is an ongoing process - please let us know how we can assist.
Do I have to be an artist to use this?▾
No. The discovery side — browsing, curating, playlists — is for anyone who loves discovering music and media. The catalog tool is specifically for artists, but it's one part of the site, not a requirement to use the rest.
Who decides what gets curated?▾
Curators. Anyone can submit a dispatch, and editors will post it presently.
Why do some tracks play right here, and others just search for it?▾
Some music services — Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud — give any website a ready-made "play" button for their songs, free to use, no permission needed. So when a track's from one of those, we just drop that button right into the page and it plays for you, right here. Other services, like Bandcamp or X, don't offer that to anyone — not just to us. So instead of showing you something broken, we do the next best thing: one click to search for it on the real site instead.
Why did a Spotify track only play a short preview?▾
That's a Spotify rule, not ours — if you're not logged into Spotify in that browser, their embedded player only gives you a short preview instead of the full track. Log into Spotify (any account, even free) in the same browser and it should play in full. YouTube doesn't have this restriction.
How do genre pages work — are those Spotify's playlists?▾
Some are Spotify's own official playlists, some are playlists made by other Spotify users. As we expand, this will diversify.
How do I change or cancel my account?▾
Want something changed — email address, anything else? Email us at hello@artisanalindie.com and we'll sort it out directly.
Want to cancel your account entirely? If you're signed in right now, you can do that below. This removes your profile and saved lists — anything you've posted publicly stays up, just no longer linked to you.