Virtual record label guide and frequently asked questions

Getting started

An Ethereal Label is a fan-curated virtual record label for music discovery inside Indie Music Bus. It is not a legal or real-world record label. Society curators maintain labels. Artists may use restricted artist accounts for exclusive participation. Listeners may browse charts and vote without an ELS account.

A music fan may apply to become a Society curator. After email confirmation and operator approval, WordPress sends the restricted account password setup. An invited artist starts with the private invitation link. A listener starts on a public Ethereal Label or Master Chart page.

Society curator guide

• After Indie Music Bus creates your restricted curator account, use the standard WordPress password setup email to sign in to the front-end Studio. Accept the Society curator terms before creating your one Ethereal Label.
• A curator account does not provide WordPress Admin access, and one person may operate only one Ethereal Label.
• Set the label name, philosophy, approved color scheme, logo, and allowlisted social profiles. A new or replacement logo remains private until review.
• Choose a nonexclusive chart that you curate directly, or exclusive participation that requires the artist to create an account, confirm email access, accept the invitation, and receive your final acceptance.
• Publish 3 to 10 artists as either an unranked roster or a ranked chart. A new ranked chart edition may publish once every 7 days after review. Unranked roster publication does not use the chart interval.
• A roster-only label remains public and discoverable. Its artists keep the curator's published order without rank numbers. Only a current ranked chart can supply a number-one artist to the Master Chart or qualify for chart-based recognition.
• Curators may add a short description and up to three supported social profile links for each artist. These details appear only on the individual label page, not on the Master Chart.
• The number-one artist from each eligible current label chart may enter a frozen 7-day Master Chart cycle. The Master Chart needs at least 3 eligible labels and 10 valid votes for an official ranking.
• Established Ethereal Label recognition begins with objective eligibility and operator review. It is free, cannot be purchased, and does not affect ranking, voting, or editorial decisions.
• Use the correction workflow for accidental errors. Serious rule concerns are reviewed by Indie Music Bus and may result in suspended access. Use normal account recovery if you cannot sign in.

Artist guide

• A restricted artist account begins with a private invitation. Email confirmation proves control of the supplied email address only. It does not verify legal identity, authority to represent an artist, or ownership of a Bandcamp or Spotify account.
• A curator may place an artist on a nonexclusive chart without creating an ELS participation relationship. Artists can still request a correction or removal from the public route.
• Each public label card links to the correct artist request. Nonexclusive labels accept chart-consideration requests. Exclusive-participation labels accept requests to join. The private email to the curator is an expression of interest only and does not add an artist, guarantee placement, or replace the invitation and approval process.
• Exclusive participation requires your consent and the curator's acceptance. It applies only inside ELS. It does not change music rights, management, representation, ownership, or other real-world relationships.
• Public charts may show artist name, release title, Bandcamp or Spotify listening link, chart position, label context, and edition history. Private email and account details are not published.
• Bandcamp and Spotify links are listening or support destinations. ELS does not claim that the link verifies the artist or account owner.
• Optional Spotify and Bandcamp players load only after you activate the player control. The plain provider link remains available when a player is blocked or unavailable.
• An artist may leave an exclusive-participation label at any time through the protected departure flow. Published historical editions remain unchanged as history.
• Use the permanent correction or removal route for public information concerns. Use WordPress account recovery for sign-in problems and Indie Music Bus support for unresolved access or privacy concerns.

Accessibility and voting guide

Choose one Master Chart contender, then either hold the vote control continuously for 5 seconds or activate the separate timed option. HOLD works with pointer, touch, Space, or Enter. The timed option can be activated again to cancel.

Releasing early, moving the page to the background, losing required focus, or cancelling resets the attempt. Reduced-motion and forced-color preferences are respected. If JavaScript, the challenge service, or the network is unavailable, no vote is claimed or stored.

One first-party browser token may cast one accepted vote in a cycle. This makes accidental repeat voting harder, but it cannot prove one human or identify a voter. Temporary pseudonymous vote records are removed 30 days after the cycle closes.

Frequently asked questions

For Society curators

For artists