NODE Music User Guide

1. What is NODE Music?

NODE Music is an independent music platform where artists keep 100% of their listed price. A 15% platform support fee is added on top, paid by listeners. Think of it like Bandcamp, but with built-in discovery radio, tipping, signal reactions, embeddable players, a full label management system, and promo tools.

👁What you're seeing

1

Navbar - NODE Music logo, search bar, QR code scanner, Discover link, language picker, notification bell, and green SIGN IN button

2

Hero section - "Music lives here." tagline with Start Listening and Upload Your Music CTAs

3

Platform stats bar - Platform (NodeMusic.fm), Model (Artist-First), Artist Cut (100%), Pricing (Name Your Price)

4

Platform Features - Three cards: Free Streaming/Real Discovery, 100% Artist Pay, and Name Your Price

5

Embeddable Player preview - Embed widget with artist info, play button, Buy button, and iframe embed code

6

Node Bridge section - "Bring Your Music" with import tabs (Bandcamp, YouTube, File Upload)

7

Ready to Broadcast - "Ready to be heard?" call-to-action with Join NodeMusic.fm button

8

Queue panel - 30-track Welcome Radio queue showing QUEUE (25) with 30 TRACK LIMIT label

9

Player bar - Persistent player showing current track in SHUFFLE ALL mode

This is what every first-time visitor sees - music starts playing immediately with Welcome Radio loading 30 random tracks into the queue.

2. Getting Started (All Users)

2.1 Creating an Account

Click Sign In → Register → enter your username, email, password → select account type (Listener, Artist, or Label) → complete registration. You'll receive a confirmation email with a 24-hour expiry link.

👁What you're seeing

1

Account Type dropdown - Set to "Fan / Listener" (also offers Artist and Label)

2

Username - Your display name and public identity

3

Email - For verification and notifications

4

Password - With visibility toggle (eye icon)

5

Confirm Password - Green "✓ Passwords match" confirmation appears

6

Opt-in checkbox - "Send me news & promos from NodeMusic" (checked by default)

7

Terms checkbox - "I agree to the Terms of Service and Guidelines" (required)

8

Create Account button - Green CTA to submit the form

The player bar continues playing - you can listen to Welcome Radio while you sign up.

After Registration You'll see a success banner on the sign-in page, and a verification email is sent to your inbox.

👁What you're seeing

1

Success banner - "Account created! Check your email for a confirmation link before signing in."

2

Email & Password fields - Pre-filled with your email, ready for sign in

3

Recovery links - "Forgot email?" and "Forgot password?"

4

Sign In button - Green CTA (works after email confirmation)

5

Resend confirmation - "Didn't get the email?" section with Resend button

Check your inbox (and spam folder) for the confirmation email.

Email Confirmation The verification email includes a green CONFIRM button and a fallback URL. The link expires in 24 hours.

👁What you're seeing

1

NODEMUSIC header - Branded email with the platform logo

2

Personal greeting - "Hey [username], one more step."

3

Verification instructions - 24-hour expiry notice

4

CONFIRM EMAIL ADDRESS - Large green CTA that activates your account

5

Fallback link - Full URL if the button doesn't work

6

Safety note - "If you didn't create a NodeMusic account, you can safely ignore this email."

Push Notifications After first sign-in, a "Stay in the loop" modal offers push notifications.

👁What you're seeing

1

Bell icon - Green notification bell at the top

2

"Stay in the loop" - Headline explaining the feature

3

Description - Push notification benefits (sales, tips, followers, messages)

4

Enable Push Notifications - Green CTA (triggers browser permission)

5

"Maybe later" - Dismiss link (can enable later in Settings)

We strongly recommend enabling push notifications on both desktop and mobile.

2.2 Your Account Dashboard

Click your avatar in the top-right to go to your Account page. The tabs you see depend on your account type.

👁What you're seeing

1

Profile panel - Avatar, username, LISTENER badge, VERIFIED badge, Sign Out + Report Bug

2

Tab bar - 5 tabs: Your Library, Signal Inbox, Discovery, Social, Settings

3

Your Library - Empty state: "No purchases yet" with Discover → link

4

Saved Tracks - "Save tracks from the player to find them here"

5

Navbar (signed in) - Discover, language picker, cart, notification bell, avatar

6

Player bar - Still active, playing in SHUFFLE ALL mode

Listeners have a focused dashboard - library, signals, discovery, social, and settings.

Artist Dashboard Artists get the full creator toolkit with releases, payouts, analytics, promo forge, and gifting.

👁What you're seeing

1

Profile panel - ARTIST badge, Upload/Bridge/Sign Out buttons

2

Tab bar - 9 tabs: Releases, Your Library, Payouts, Analytics, Signal Inbox, Promo Forge, Discovery, Social, Settings

3

Navbar - Includes Upload and Bridge links (not available for listeners)

4

Streaming info box - "How streaming works on NODE Music" explainer

5

Analytics shortcut - "Analytics are private - only you can see this data"

6

Gift Music - Collapsible panel for gifting albums/tracks

7

Your Releases - Empty state with Upload → and Bridge → links

Label Dashboard Labels get everything artists have, plus the exclusive Roster tab.

👁What you're seeing

1

Profile panel - LABEL badge, Sign Out and Report Bug buttons

2

Tab bar - 10 tabs including Roster (unique to labels)

3

Streaming info + Analytics + Gift Music - Same creator panels as Artist

4

Your Releases - Empty state with Upload/Bridge links

3. The Listener's Guide

3.1 Discovering Music

Welcome Radio loads 30 random tracks on first visit. The /discover page shows a browsable album grid with genre filters. The Discovery tab in your account offers 7 playback modes including Shuffle All, Shuffle Genre, Shuffle Artist, and Album mode.

👁What you're seeing

1

Search input - Search bar centered in the navbar with clear (✕) button

2

Results dropdown - Groups results under "ARTISTS & LABELS" header

3

Artist rows - Avatar, name, and green ARTIST badge

4

Label rows - Purple LABEL badge (e.g. "Armada Records")

5

Player bar - Continues playing in SHUFFLE ALL mode while you search

You don't need an account to search. Click any result to visit that artist or label's page.

4. The Artist's Guide

5. The Label's Guide

6. The Player

The persistent Player bar sits at the bottom of every page with Play/Pause, Previous, Next, progress bar, volume, mute, queue toggle, and automatic loudness normalization. The queue auto-refills when it runs low (if signed in). After ~60s of listening, a tip prompt appears. On mobile, the player collapses to a compact bar.

7. Signals & Comments

Signals are lightweight emoji reactions (🔥 Fire, ⚡ Energy, ❤️ Love, 🧠 Brain, 🔁 Replay) you can drop at specific moments in a track. When many signals cluster at the same timestamp, a "heat zone" glows on the timeline. Artists can also enable text comments with a moderation queue.

8. Notifications & Push Alerts

The notification bell shows in-app alerts for purchases, tips, followers, releases, gifts, signals, broadcasts, and label invites. Enable Web Push in Settings for browser notifications even when not on the site.

9. Settings & Preferences

Manage username, email, password, bio, location, website, language (27 supported), theme (dark/light), and push notifications.

10. FAQ

Is NODE Music free? - Yes, streaming is free. Pay only when buying or tipping.

How much do artists get? - 100% of their listed price. 15% fee is added on top, paid by the listener.

Can I import from Bandcamp? - Yes, via Node Bridge.

Audio formats? - MP3, WAV, AIFF, FLAC, OGG, OPUS.

When do artists get paid? - 7-day hold, then auto-released daily.

Can labels manage releases for artists? - Yes, via the Managing dropdown in Releases.