Frequently Asked Questions

Answers to common questions about Zippgun reviews, feedback services, booking, payments, and privacy.

About Zippgun

Zippgun is a platform that helps independent artists gain visibility, receive professional feedback, and continue developing their craft through a combination of editorial music reviews, promotion, and one-on-one feedback services. It is both an independent music publication and an artist development platform.

Zippgun was created to help independent artists navigate a music landscape where visibility and meaningful discovery can be difficult. The platform exists to connect artists with listeners, provide constructive feedback, and support long-term artistic growth.

Zippgun is designed primarily for independent artists, bands, producers, singer-songwriters, and other creators looking for visibility, feedback, or professional insight.

Yes. Zippgun works with artists across genres and styles. While many artists come from independent and underground music communities, the platform is open to a wide range of musical approaches.

Zippgun combines editorial music reviews, artist promotion, and professional feedback services within a single platform. The goal is not only to help artists get noticed, but also to help them continue improving over time.

No. While published reviews remain an important part of the platform, Zippgun also provides songwriting feedback, production feedback, and general artist development services.

Yes. Artists may use review services, promotional services, and feedback services independently or together, depending on their goals.

Reviews & Promotion

You submit your music, complete checkout, and your submission enters the editorial workflow. Once completed, eligible reviews are published on the platform.

Eligible submissions are reviewed and published. However, submissions must meet platform eligibility requirements. Incomplete or ineligible submissions may be declined.

In order to receive a proper editorial review (not feedback) we require that your song or album has been released, or is publicly available through a distribution platform – Spotify is preferred but we also accept releases that exist only on SoundCloud.
A quick note on SoundCloud (and why it works differently)
There are currently two ways in which you would be officially releasing on SoundCloud:
Scenario 1
The song or album you are submitting is only published on SoundCloud via a public link – and it’s not distributed anywhere else, nor did you use a major distributor like DistroKid, TuneCore, CDBaby, etc.
This is completely legitimate but, if this is how you have decided to officially release, we will require:
  • Song/album artwork (a high-quality JPEG or PNG at 3000×3000 pixels) – the same asset a major distributor will require.
  • The official title of your song or album.
  • That your track has been mastered (via an mastering engineer, mastering tools in your DAW, or automated tools).
Note: these requirements exist to encourage consistency across all of our reviewed artist reviews but, most importantly, we want you to put your best promotional foot forward. Making sure your tracks are meeting industry standards will only help promote your artist brand.
Scenario 2
You have used “SoundCloud for Artists” to distribute your track outside of SoundCloud (similar to major distributors like DistroKid or TuneCore) to platforms like Apple Music, Amazon, Pandora, and Spotify.
If this is how you’re released your song or album, please just provide the Spotify URL, as your music will have been published there.

This is actually a very simple matter (and is also why we allow for SoundCloud as well): tracks on Spotify don’t require an paid account to listen to an entire track. If we were to share the song being reviewed via Apple Music or Amazon Music, it would require anyone reading the article to log in and/or already have an account.

Yes. Incomplete works, rough snippets, test uploads, unfinished projects, or other material not reasonably presented as a finished release may be declined. If a submission is deemed ineligible, the artist will be notified and refunded.

Feedback Services

A feedback session is a one-on-one service where an experienced contributor reviews your music and provides constructive, professional insight designed to help you improve your work.

Feedback is provided by approved Zippgun Feedback Contributors who are assigned to service requests through the platform workflow.

Professional feedback provides objective, actionable insight from someone outside your immediate circle. The goal is to identify opportunities for growth that may be difficult to see on your own.

Yes. Feedback is intended to be constructive, actionable, and honest while remaining respectful and focused on helping artists improve.

Standard feedback sessions are 90 minutes long.

Follow-up sessions, when offered, are 45 minutes long and are designed to address remaining discussion points or review progress made since the original session.

These sessions are offered at a discount.

Note: only one follow-up is allowed per song or project.

It’s helpful to think about your goals, identify specific questions, and be ready to discuss what kind of feedback you’re looking for.

You will be required to fill out this information, along with a audio file reference, during the submission process but we recommend you bring any additional materials you may have (audio references, notes, etc.) to the session.

Every feedback session is designed to provide two primary outcomes:

  • Dedicated one-on-one discussion focused on your music and goals.
  • Written feedback notes that summarize key observations, recommendations, and discussion points from the session.

Together, these help artists continue applying feedback long after the session has ended.

Yes.

After your session is completed, your contributor will provide feedback notes that summarize important observations, recommendations, and next steps discussed during the session.

These notes are available for future reference and can help guide future revisions, releases, and creative decisions.

Your feedback notes remain permanently attached to the original feedback request and can be accessed at any time through My Feedback under My Account.

Whether a request appears under your active requests or your past requests, the associated feedback notes remain available for future reference.

Booking & Follow-Ups

Most feedback requests are assigned within 24-48 hours, depending on current demand and contributor availability.

Once assigned, you'll receive access to your contributor's booking calendar and can select an available appointment time.

Once assigned, you'll receive access to your contributor's booking calendar and can schedule a time directly through their availability.

Feedback sessions are conducted through Google Meet because it provides reliable scheduling integration through Google Calendar and offers strong audio quality for discussing and reviewing music in real time.

Because scheduling occurs through Google Calendar rather than directly inside Zippgun, booking confirmations help keep the platform synchronized and ensure everyone has visibility into the appointment.

Follow-up sessions are optional, discounted sessions offered after a completed feedback request. They are designed to address remaining discussion points that couldn't be covered during the original session or to review updates and revisions made based on previous feedback.

Each feedback request may receive one follow-up opportunity. Follow-up sessions remain tied to the original project, contributor, and service type.

Yes. Follow-up sessions are separate purchases and are offered through a private invitation sent after a contributor marks a request as eligible for follow-up.

Follow-up sessions are offered at a 40% discount from the standard service price and are intended only for continued work on the original project. Follow-up sessions are 45 minutes in length and remain tied to the same contributor and service type.

New projects or unrelated feedback requests require a standard service purchase at full price.

Yes. Customers may request a reschedule through the platform workflow. Reschedule requests are reviewed and processed before a new appointment is booked.

If a contributor is unable to attend a scheduled session, Zippgun will work with you to resolve the situation. Depending on the circumstances, this may include reassignment to another qualified contributor, rescheduling with the original contributor, or a refund. Customers will not be penalized when a missed session is outside of their control.

My Account & My Feedback

Yes. A Zippgun account allows you to purchase services, manage requests, receive updates, and access platform features related to your activity.

Each feedback request includes a progress tracker showing the current stage of the workflow.

Stages may include:

  • Booking
  • Feedback
  • Follow-Up
  • Completed

Updates are communicated through My Feedback under My Account and by email notifications.

Zippgun communicates important updates through two primary channels:

  • Email
  • My Feedback available under My Account

Status changes, assignment updates, booking confirmations, completed feedback sessions, published reviews, and other workflow milestones will be reflected through one or both of these channels.

Yes. Completed requests remain available in My Feedback under My Account, where they can be referenced at any time.

Payments & Policies

Payment is collected during checkout when you purchase a service through the platform.

Refund decisions are reviewed on a case-by-case basis and depend on the circumstances surrounding the request.

You may request a cancellation through the platform. Cancellation requests do not automatically result in refunds and are reviewed administratively before a decision is made.

Platform Trust & Privacy

Music submitted for feedback services is only shared with the people necessary to provide the service. Review submissions are intended for editorial processing and potential publication of a review article.

Visibility depends on the service.

Feedback submissions are shared only with the people necessary to provide the service, including the assigned contributor and Zippgun administrators.

For review submissions, the public-facing material is the published article, the artist name, and the public Spotify or SoundCloud song link used for the review. Other submission details are used for editorial processing and are not automatically published.

Yes.

Artists retain ownership of their music, recordings, lyrics, compositions, branding, and other creative work submitted through the platform.

The purpose of feedback sessions is to provide guidance, perspective, and professional insight. Any ideas, suggestions, recommendations, or creative feedback provided during a session become part of your project and are yours to use however you choose.

Zippgun does not claim ownership of your music or the feedback you receive.

No. Feedback sessions are not recorded by Zippgun.

Artists and contributors should assume sessions are private, live conversations focused on discussion, feedback, and collaboration.

Zippgun focuses on providing written feedback notes rather than session recordings.

Written notes are easier to reference, remain permanently attached to your feedback request, and help highlight the most important observations, recommendations, and action items discussed during the session.

The goal is to provide artists with clear, actionable takeaways they can revisit long after the session has ended.