1.1 IS THE S.I.A.E. STICKER MANDATORY?
As of November 15, 2024, the obligation to apply the anti-piracy sticker (SIAE sticker) on media distributed in Italy containing sound or moving image works protected by copyright (musical, theatrical, cinematic, literary, etc.) will be abolished, following a legislative change to Article 181bis of Law No. 633/41. It will remain optional to request the stickers from SIAE for the usual anti-counterfeiting purposes.
It is important to note that it remains mandatory to obtain a regular license from SIAE for the following media:
- AUDIO CDs (even if containing self-produced music or distributed for free)
- VIDEO DVDs (even if self-produced or distributed for free)
- CD-ROMs (if they contain music, voices, videos, works protected by copyright, even if distributed for free)
- VINYL RECORDS
- AUDIO
1.2 HOW MUCH DOES THE S.I.A.E. STICKER COST?
The cost for each sticker is €0.0310; this is reduced to €0.0181 for stickers applied to media distributed for free or in editorial bundles sold without a price increase. The cost of the sticker will be added to the copyright fee if the author of the works is registered with SIAE or another authors' society, including foreign ones.
1.3 WHAT IS THE COST OF THE COPYRIGHT FEE?
The copyright fee is calculated by SIAE based on collected information such as the number and duration of audio tracks, whether the authors are members, the intended use (gift or sale), the sale price, and other factors. It is therefore not possible to quantify the copyright fee without knowing these details.
1.4 BY PAYING THE COPYRIGHT FEE TO SIAE, CAN I PRODUCE A PREMIUM COMPILATION TO GIVE AWAY TO CLIENTS THAT INCLUDES ORIGINAL TRACKS BY FAMOUS ARTISTS?
Yes, as long as the artists and their publishers have granted permission for such use of the works. It should be noted that if the selected works belong to major labels (Universal, Sony, EMI, Warner), it will be virtually impossible to obtain this permission, especially if the quantity to be produced is not particularly high.
1.5 I'VE REPERFORMED SOME FAMOUS TRACKS AND NOW WANT TO CREATE A CD/LP, WHAT SHOULD I DO?
To obtain the license, you will need to inform SIAE of the title and original author of the tracks, declare that you have re-performed and re-recorded them, and pay the copyright fee if it is not expired (the copyright lasts 70 years from the death of the original author, and if there are multiple authors, it is calculated from the date of death of the last surviving author).
1.6 CAN I HANDLE THE SIAE LICENSE REQUEST MYSELF?
Certainly. In this case, you will need to indicate CD STAR in the "manufacturer" field of the application form. You will also need to provide us with a copy of the documents that SIAE will issue, such as the "work sheet/label request" (if requested) and the "license request" (drm4).
1.7 CAN YOU HANDLE THE SIAE PRACTICE FOR THE LICENSE REQUEST?
Yes, in this case, one of our representatives will collect the necessary data, prepare and check the required forms, submit the application to the SIAE office, and monitor the process until the license is issued.
2.1 WHY DO I HAVE TO PAY A "TAX" ON VIRGIN CDs / DVDs / BDs?
Private copying is not a tax, but a fee that is applied through a royalty on phonographic or audiovisual blank media, in exchange for the possibility of making recordings of works protected by copyright. In this way everyone can make a copy with great savings compared to buying an original. Before the introduction of private copying, it was not possible to register copies of protected works. In Italy, as in most of the States of the United Europe (with the exception of Great Britain, where reproducing copies even for private use is considered a crime) this possibility was granted, against a lump sum royalty to compensate for the missed purchase the authors and the entire cultural industry chain. The amount of the fee takes into account the fact that material not protected by copyright can also be recorded on the media. Siae collects this fee and distributes it to authors, producers, publishers and performers.
2.2 HOW MUCH DOES THE PRIVATE COPY FEE COST?
The cost varies according to the type of media and the capacity in Mb, currently the legislation provides for a fair compensation of € 0.05 for the 700 Mb CD media and € 0.10 for the 4.7 Gb DVDs
3.1 WHAT DATA DO I HAVE TO PROVIDE YOU TO PLACE AN ORDER?
To place an order, you will need to provide us with the tax information necessary for issuing an invoice.
- Company name / surname and name
- Full billing address
- Full shipping address if different from the billing address
- VAT tax code
- Telephone number
3.2 I DO NOT HAVE A VAT NUMBER BUT I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE MY CD TO YOU, IS IT POSSIBLE?
Of course, we will issue a regular invoice to a natural person, he will have to provide us with his tax code.
3.3 I AM A PRIVATE PERSON, THE INVOICE DOES NOT INTEREST ME, CAN WE DO WITHOUT?
The issue of a regular tax invoice is a legal obligation as well as an essential ethical duty for our company. Our company ALWAYS issues an invoice for each work performed, in case of invoicing to subjects without a VAT number we will issue an invoice indicating the tax code.
3.4 WHEN AND HOW CAN I MAKE THE PAYMENT?
Unless otherwise agreed, payment must be made in full together with sending order, by bank transfer. If the order is placed through the website, it will also be possible to pay by credit card, Paypal, Stripe. All the prices indicated on this site refer to the method of payment by bank transfer. No additional cost is applied for payment by credit card through the Stripe circuit, while payment through the Paypal platform may be less convenient due to the lower discount applied to this means of payment.
4.1 WHAT CHARACTERISTICS SHOULD THE FILES HAVE FOR PRINTING PAPER PARTS (COVERS, BOOKLET, INLAY, DIGIPACK, ETC)?
The files must be made with CMYK color method, resolution of 300 dpi, abundance for cutting of 3 mm on each side, texts converted into a path, file saving in PDF format. For more details visit the dedicated section (from the "specifications" menu select the "graphic" item).
4.2 WHAT IS ABUNDANCE FOR CUTTING?
Bleeding is an excess portion of graphics, which is necessary for a correct cut. The background image should overlap 3mm beyond the line where the cut will be made. The templates for the realization of the graphic project can be downloaded from the appropriate section of this site (from the "specifications" menu select the "template" item)
4.3 WHY SHOULD I LEAVE ABUNDANCE FOR THE CUT?
Abundance is necessary to prevent white lines from appearing at the edges of the graphics after cutting. It is also essential that the texts are positioned within the cutting line by at least 3 mm.
4.4 I HAVE NOT LEFT ABUNDANCE BUT THE FILES ARE READY, CAN YOU EDIT THEM?
It is often not possible to rebuild abundance when abundance was not foreseen from the start. Sometimes the operation is possible but it requires a lot of time of graphic work, we therefore recommend to prepare the files correctly from the beginning so that it is not necessary to reject them and / or charge you hours of graphic work for their restoration.
5.1 WHAT CHARACTERISTICS SHOULD THE FILES HAVE FOR CD - DVD - BLU RAY LABEL PRINTING?
The files must be made with CMYK color method, resolution 300 dpi, texts converted into a path, file saving in PDF format.
Avoid creating graphics with the hole in the center, let the background image continue even in the area of the hole, it will be our care to correctly center the graphics on the disc.
For more details visit the dedicated section (from the "specifications" menu select the "graphic" item). The templates for the realization of the graphic project can be downloaded from the appropriate section of this site (from the "specifications" menu select the "template" item).
5.2 CAN I USE PANTONE COLORS?
Of course, we can print up to 5 pantone colors + any white background, but to do this it is necessary to provide a file in vector format. Screen printing with PANTONE colors has higher costs than offset printing and digital printing, so please specify this requirement when requesting a quote.
5.3 WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SCREEN PRINTING, OFFSET AND DIGITAL OFFSET?
Digital offset printing on the cd - dvd - blu ray label is carried out with digitally controlled machines on specific media, boasts a very high definition of images and faithful colors, does not fade over time, does not discolour in contact with water. It is in many ways comparable to an offset printing with the only difference that since it does not require plants, it is convenient for small runs. Offset printing like digital offset printing boasts a great definition of the images, however it requires plants and setups that make it convenient for runs of at least 300 copies.
Screen printing is used when pantone colors are to be used on the cd - dvd - blu ray label and is suitable for graphics without images, characterized by spot colors and text.
6.1 WHAT DIFFERENCE IS BETWEEN BURNING AND REPLICATION WITH GLASS MASTER?
The difference is in the production method used for transferring the data between the source and the copy. The duplication (burning), is carried out through the use of particular towers of extremely precise and reliable cd-burners, able to verify copy by copy the exact correspondence between the data on the master and those written on the duplicated support. It does not require any type of plant and therefore is extremely convenient for small quantity productions.
Replication (glass master) is the industrial duplication method that involves the construction of a particular plant: the GLASS MASTER.
The Glass Master is a matrix containing the data to be duplicated, from which the copies are mechanically replicated using specific injection molding machines.
The replication with glass master, considering the production and setup costs of the matrix, is used for industrial runs starting from 300 pcs.
6.2 WHAT IS THE MINIMUM QUANTITY FOR THE PRODUCTION OF CD-DVD-BD WITH GLASS MASTER?
The minimum quantity for production with the “glass master” industrial method is 300 pcs.
6.3 DOES THE CD IN GLASS MASTER SOUNDS BETTER?
There is no difference in sound quality between a burned cd and an industrial cd.
6.4 ARE THE BURNED CDs READABLE ON EVERY PLAYER?
A distinction must be made between audio CDs and data CDs. The cd data will always be readable by any pc even if dated. The burned audio CDs may not be recognized by those devices (mostly very old) without the specific cd-r (cd recordable). The compatibility of burned audio CDs has become almost total in recent years and can be estimated at 99%, while it is 100% with the latest generation players that can read CD-R technology.
6.5 WHAT REQUIREMENTS MUST THE MASTER HAVE?
The answer is quite complex, we have created a specific page, to visit it enter the "specifications" menu and select the "master" item).
7.1 HOW CAN I SEND YOU THE GRAPHIC FILES FOR PRINTING?
The sending of graphic files can be done via the "wetransfer.com" site by sending to produzione@cdstar.it. If the files to be sent are small (less than 10 Mb) they can be attached to an e-mail message and sent to produzione@cdstar.it
If the order was placed through the site, you can upload the files from your private area, in the "order history" section.
7.2 HOW CAN I SEND YOU THE MASTER TO DUPLICATE?
The master can be sent online (using "wetransfer.com") or if the order was placed through the site, you can upload the files from your private area, in the "order history" section.
If you wish to provide the master on physical support, you can deliver it to our office or send it by post / express courier, addressing to CD STAR - VIA TOSCANINI 9 - 40055 CASTENASO (BO).
To find out the types of files accepted and how to send them, visit the appropriate page by entering the "specifications" menu and selecting the "master" item.
8.1 WHAT ARE THE PROCESSING TIMES?
For all the most common processes, the standard order fulfillment time frame is 10-12 working days for CD/DVD media and 5-6 weeks for vinyl discs from the delivery of the compliant master and graphic design, as well as from the sending of the signed order form and the relative payment. The request for SIAE stamps, if made by us, will not extend this timeframe provided that the customer promptly provides the data necessary for the purpose and makes the payment of the amount due to SIAE as soon as he receives communication of the amount and method of payment.
8.2 WHAT ARE THE SHIPPING TIMES?
Thanks to agreements with the major national couriers, the shipment will take 1 working day to reach its destination on most of the Italian territory. It will take 2 working days for Calabria, Sicily and Sardinia. It may take up to 5 working days for the smaller islands and disadvantaged locations.