What the FAQ?!
- What is this all about?
- This distro is an extension of Hornbuckle Records, a small label currently based in Los Angeles, California. If you have not heard of us, we have been around in various forms and places since 1994 and recently relaunched as a limited edition cassette label in 2013. Due to our limited financial means at this time, we are unable to keep up with the prolific release schedule of our fellow cassette labels. However, we still want very much to remain involved as part of the independent music scene and cassette culture. The idea for starting our own distro began when realizing that a lot of the music we liked wasn't necessarily easily available. It was spread around the world, often only available from the artists themselves. There are certainly many great distros that we know and love, and we are not trying to compete with them. We just thought it may be useful to those who share some of our tastes to have a more localized place to acquire this music, and we began reaching out to some of our favorite artists and labels. Luckily, we were well-received by those who responded and began stocking our distro. We're starting off small, but we hope to carry more and more releases going forward. One of the main reasons that we wanted to start this distro is to make it easier for those in the US to purchase releases from around the world, so we especially hope to expand our worldwide selection.
- Will you carry my release?
- Yes, if we like what you are doing. We already have our eye on a bunch of artists and labels with which to work, but we are also always open to something new. Not to sound pretentious, but we like to think of this distro as a sort of curated online record store. While we are not limiting what we carry to any particular genre, we also have certain ideas of what we like. If you want to get an idea of what we're into, check out our main label site and listen to some of the music we have already released or check out some of the artists we currently carry. We would love to hear from you if you think you've got something we'd be into, especially if you do not already have any other means of distribution. Be sure to let us know your wholesale rates. (Likewise, if you are a distro or store who is interested in carrying any of our own label releases, please also get in touch.)
- How do I find what I want?
- We have tried to make finding everything we have in stock as simple as possible, while also allowing the potential for new discoveries. First, you can easily access every release we carry by artist location or label by choosing from our menu. Second, under the description for each item is a list of genres, each of which will take you to every release we carry tagged with that particular genre. Third, we have a general search that will also return results of recommendations based on similar artists. Go ahead and search for some of your favorite artists; if we thought a release we carry would appeal to fans of that particular artist, we'll show it to you. (And if you think a release that we carry should come up when searching for a particular artist, please let us know.) Lastly, if you just want to see everything we have in stock, keep scrolling down our main page to see everything in reverse order by release date. All other views are in alphabetical order by artist. Most items are limited to only a few copies in stock, so don't sleep.
- Why don't you have any vinyl?
- We love vinyl as much as the next music nerd, but the primary format we are interested in right now is the cassette. It's the format we used when we started the label, and it's our preferred format now. If you're not into cassettes, then you may not find much here of interest unless you just want the digital downloads. In addition to cassettes, we will make a few exceptions for CDs that we really like. Unfortunately, we simply don't have room for any extra vinyl in addition to our personal collection and are not interested in the hassle of shipping it.
- What if I don't have PayPal?
- Our payments are processed by PayPal, but you can also use your debit or credit card if you do not have a PayPal account. However, if you don't have either of those, you may also pay for your order with a check or money order. To calculate the correct amount to send, add the items you want to your cart, enter your destination in the box that says "Estimate shipping and tax," and click the "Check Out" button. When you get to the page that says "Your Order Summary," note the amount shown next to "Total" and make your check or money order out for that amount. Payment should be made out to "Hornbuckle Records" and mailed to the address on our contact page. Please note that we can only accept payment in US Dollars and orders will not ship until payment clears. If planning to pay with a check or money order, you may also let us know what you are planning to order so we can set it aside for you. However, we can only hold items for a limited time.
- When can I expect my order?
- We are generally only able to take packages to the Post Office once a week—usually on Saturdays. We may be able to drop US orders off at a mailbox on various days throughout the week, but international orders will only go out once a week. This is not our full-time job, so occasionally shipping may be slightly delayed. You should receive a shipping confirmation by email when your order ships. Packages shipped within the US should arrive within a week after being shipped, but please allow up to four weeks before your package arrives. Packages shipped outside of the US will vary depending on the destination but will generally take about a month to arrive. Also, if you live outside of the US and your address is in non-Roman characters, please include a note containing your address using the Roman alphabet. Not including a version of your address that we can read and write will delay your order. Unfortunately, we cannot say exactly when your package will arrive because once it's dropped off at the Post Office, it is literally out of our hands.
- What is your return policy?
- Due to the fact that all of our products contain music that is easily duplicated or downloaded with provided codes, we cannot accept any returns for any reason. If you are unsure of what a particular release sounds like before you order it, do a quick web search and you should be able to find a sample on one of your favorite streaming sites. (In the future, we hope to integrate audio samples of each release into the site.) We want you to be happy with your purchase, but we also assume that you know what you're purchasing. However, if something happens to your order or it never arrives, please do let us know so we can do our best to remedy the issue.
- What is your privacy policy?
- The only information we receive when you place an order is what you want, your shipping address, and your email address. All payments are processed by PayPal, so we never have access to any of your financial information. You may receive occasional newsletter emails from us if we have something of interest to tell you, such as exciting additions to the distro or a new release on our label. However, our emails will be infrequent, and you can always unsubscribe if you are no longer interested. We never share any of your information and definitely don't want to spam you because we hate that, too.