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Frequently-asked questions (FAQs)
What is the site for?
The website is a non-profit-making international collaboration between musicians.The idea is to create:
- Resources for organists and those interested in church and organ music
- One standard point of reference for the press, concert organisers and the general public,
providing three items of information in a standardised and convenient format:
- Brief and up-to-date biography
- Press photograph that can be downloaded
- Contact details and links to further information if required.
The musicians represented share the cost of running it, by means of a small annual subscription.
Who owns the site?
The Organ Directory is part of the World Concert Artist Directory. This site was devised by musicians as a service both to each other and to the public. It is a truly international site, which has been developed simultaneously in several countries. It is owned and operated by the company Positive Note Ltd, which is registered in Cardiff, U.K., its computer systems are in the USA and its scripts were written in Denmark and elsewhere in Scandinavia.The site was the first internet directory site for classical musicians, and despite some recent imitations remains by far the largest and most heavily used.
Why do we have to pay, and who takes the profit?
There isn't any profit. The site makes no profit (and never will) - Positive Note Ltd makes its profits in other ways. The subscriptions paid by the musicians on the site, together with advertising revenue and money put in by the media (the main user group) all go to pay the expenses, which consist of:- Technical costs (domain name, web server, etc.)
- Promotion and publicity costs (we take this very seriously, and it shows results)
- Editorial costs (each individual page represents 1-3 hours work by a highly-qualified musician)
- Administrative costs
Our aim is that the site should break even financially.
Are the pages produced mechanically?
No. Everything is done by hand.It is our belief that automatically-generated web coding produces a poorer result which is slower to load and not as attractive to look at. All the html code is written by hand for each individual page.
The content of each page is checked by an editor who has at least a degree in music (our senior editor has a doctorate).
Who is elegible to be listed in the Directory?
Any professional musician or promising student, as well as choirs, orchestras, agents and related professions.- YES: anyone:
- - whose main occupation is music performance, church music, music education or a related profession
- who is an advanced music student intending to follow such a career
- NO: anyone:
- - with a "general interest" in music
- who performs on a "hobby" basis
Our editors review all requests and if necessary politely advise applicants that they may not gain a great deal of benefit from listing in the site.
Why should I bother - I already have a web page
- If someone is looking for a musician, would they find your particular web page amongst tens of thousands of musicians' pages on the internet?
Everyone finds this Directory - it is the normal first port of call for anyone looking for information. - Do you employ professionals to promote your website, ensure that it's covered by search engines, etc?
- How many visitors do you get each year to your website?
World Concert Artist Directory is viewed by nearly quarter of a million individuals each year, with over 1.1 million page hits (that's over 3000 page viewings every day). - The unique format of our site means that all the information which is of significance to the media (brief and accurate biography, photograph, and contact details) is available in a standard format for quick retrieval (media editors never have time to mess around searching).