A/ WHAT IS A SHEEBA SPIRIT STORE?
B/ WHAT IS SELF-DETERMINED PRICING?
C/ HELP. HOW DO I ORDER?
Do I have to have a PayPal account?
Can I go back and forth between sections and not lose my order?
Can I send gifts of some songs WITHIN an order?
Can I pay for some songs and have some as free WITHIN one order?
CHECKS OK?
D/ IS YOUR STORE MODEL AVAILABLE TO OTHERS?
E/ EDUCATION FACTOR (for your educated decision-making)
F/ CREATIVE CURRENCY
G/ EZ PAY
H/ WHAT IS INCLUDED IN THE COMPLETE ALBUM DOWNLOAD?
I/ WHAT DOES 256kb/sec MEAN?
J/ SENDING GIFTS
K/ CAN I BUY YOUR PHYSICAL CD IN STORES?
L/ STORE STATISTICS?

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A/ WHAT IS A SHEEBA SPIRIT STORE?

The Sheeba Spirit Store is the creation of the singer/songwriter Issa (formerly known as Jane Siberry). She is a pioneer in online self-determined downloads and has generously offered the code for her store for other artists to use. She has this to say about the concept:

This store model is based on the belief that:
People are good.
In trust, our best comes forward full force.
To treat others as we would like to be treated is generous, not selfish
Good living can still come from not trying to control things; in trusting in a wider sense of transactions.
We are 'a part' more than 'apart'.

Things to ponder. Not too long, though. Life is out there waiting.
The most important thing is that the music flow out to where it could bring enjoyment.
And THAT is the best thing you could give back to me.

Issa

We deeply admire and agree with this sentiment. Much of the text below is taken from her site. To learn more about Issa, visit www.issalight.com.

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B/ WHAT IS SELF-DETERMINED PRICING?
WHAT ARE SELF-DETERMINED TRANSACTIONS?

A flexible interface that accommodates all transaction needs.
It ensures that money (or lack of it) never comes between the artist and someone who might be lifted by their offering.

NOT donations
NOT pay-what-you-can
NOT guilt-trips
NOT tests of your integrity
NOT giving music away for free
IS a flexible price interface
IS respectful of our wider senses of balance
IS non-policing
IS a way of treating others as we would like to be treated
IS trusting that the world is good and so are people
IS acknowledgement that our creative gifts are just that. Gifts to us. Wanting to share them is the ultimate thank you back to the source.

OK, BUT HOW DO I DO IT?
You decide what feels right to your gut. $100? $20? $1? Let your gut* guide you.  If you download as a gift from artist, perhaps you'll buy an extra CD at another band's concert. Or if you don't go with your gut feeling, you might sleep poorly, wake up grumpy, put your shoes on backwards and fall over. Whatever. You'll know what to do. 

*GUT - a rather plain word for an amazing place - the solar plexus (will power chakra) where there are more nerve endings there than any other chakra. 72,000. Hence the greater sensitivity to 'truth' for us is in this location. If this were the case in our baby finger, we would say 'trust your baby finger'. 

PAYMENT OPTIONS YOU WILL SEE WHEN YOU ORDER
1. free (gift from artist)
2. self-determined price (you choose)
3. market price (today's going rate is about .99)
4. creative currency (money is only one kind)

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C/ HELP. HOW DO I ORDER?

1. Choose "Music & Video Downloads" from the list in the top-right hand area of the screen.
2. Select a song you want to purchase.
3. Select a pricing option - e.g. self-determined
4. For self-determined or creative currency purchase, enter a price.
5. Click on 'Add to Cart' next to the price box. Items will be added to your cart automatically if you selected market price, or gift from artist.
6. Repeat the above steps until you have selected all your items.
7. Click 'Checkout' and review your shopping cart. Click 'Checkout' again.
8. If you have not yet logged in, you will be prompted to do so. If you don't have an account, you will be asked to register.
9. Click 'Continue'
10. Complete the order process at PayPal (enter your e-mail and password, or your credit card information. You don't have to have a PayPal account.)
11. You'll be taken to a Download Area. Or if you want to return later, simply click on 'My Account'.
12. Click on 'Download Now' LINK for each song you ordered.

DO I HAVE TO HAVE A PAYPAL ACCOUNT TO ORDER?
    * No. You can use a major credit card to pay at the PayPal checkout, but you don't need to sign up for an account.

MAY I GO BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN SECTIONS AND NOT LOSE MY ORDER?
    * Yes. Your order is saved in your shopping cart, which will remain available until you remove all the items in it or close your web browser.

MAY I SEND GIFTS TO SOMEONE ELSE WITHIN MY OWN ORDER?
    * No. Only an entire order can be sent as a gift. But you can send an order as a gift and download that order for yourself as well.

MAY I PAY FOR SOME SONGS AND ACCEPT OTHER ONES FOR FREE WITHIN THE SAME ORDER?
  * Yes. When you are selecting your payment options for a song, purchase it for free as a gift from the artist. You can also opt to purchase a song for the market price, or a self-determined price, all within the same order.

HOW DO I PAY BY CHECK?
  * Use payment option of 'gift from artist' so that your order doesn't go to PayPal and then send check for amount you deem comfortable.
  * Make checks payable to Queen of the Moon Music. Send to: PO BOX 27703, Los Angeles, CA USA 90027-0703

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E/ EDUCATION FACTOR (for your educated decision-making)
DOWNLOAD COSTS TO ARTIST
* PayPal (about .45/order (not per song))
* if your order costs $0 (free) these costs are bypassed.

STUDIO PATRONS
$100/day ($500/week) - Studio Patronage allows us to take a day/week from our day jobs to work exclusively on writing and recording. You would be informed of our progress and mentioned on the website on the days you are sponsoring as we discuss the inside process of creating the music.

RECORDING COSTS
We encounter a myriad of costs when making an album. Because we work in a home studio, much of our costs come from purchasing equipment and software necessary for recording. A rough estimate would be that it costs about $5,000 to make an album.

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F/ CREATIVE CURRENCY
We suggest an 'earth-friendly' or 'elder-friendly' deed to start you thinking (i.e. pick up one piece of litter, shovel sidewalk for an elder). It is for you to think of something. For other people's choices, see the Creative Currencies page.

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G/ EZ PAY
This is where you go if you have chosen the 'pay later' route. You can pay one general amount rather than by individual item.

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H/ WHAT IS INCLUDED IN THE COMPLETE ALBUM DOWNLOAD?
All songs on the CD including embedded lyrics and artwork if available.

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I/ WHAT DOES 256kb/sec MEAN?
Standard MP3s (iTunes) are compressed at 128 kilabytes/second.
Ours are 256 which is slightly closer to CD quality. Some people say they can hear the difference.

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J/ SENDING GIFTS
Send gifts to friends, and include a gift note. Gift orders must be done separately from your own order. You let us know it is a gift during checkout.

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K/ CAN I BUY YOUR PHYSICAL CD IN STORES?
Absolutely! If you are interested in having a physical CD, Somniloquy and The Republic of Heaven are in print. They can be found online at CDBaby: www.cdbaby.com/all/theendless. They are also available at Amazon, Amoeba Music, and can be ordered through your local record store.

Our two older albums, ...and i'm the queen of the moon and Grumpy Ghost, are no longer in print and can only be downloaded (we recommend downloading them here where you will get a much higher quality MP3 than elsewhere). All of our albums can be found on all the popular download sites including iTunes, Rhapsody, Napster, and MusicNet.

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L/ STORE STATISTICS?
Does Average Price per Song include Gifts from the Artist ($0) purchases?
* No. Similarly, the percentage of purchases, below, at, or above market price does not include free gifts from the artists.

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Any questions, difficulty ordering or suggestions for improvement?
Please feel very welcome to contact us at Technical Support (info@theendlessband.com).