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How can I record directly to my Yodio account?
We've made it very simple. You can call from most anyplace at anytime to the Yodio phone number. So long as your caller I.D. is enabled on your phone that you included in your account profile, you will be greeted by name and your recording will be saved directly to your account.
Of course there a lot of ways to make it more complicated. Such as recording through your PC, recording onto your PC, recording into your MP3 player, etc. We like the on-the-go nature of using your cell phone to call and record from anywhere at anytime.
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Can I call from any telephone to make my recordings?
You certainly can, and we’ve created an easy way to make sure the recording goes directly to your account. If you are not using a phone number that is registered with your Yodio account, the greeting when you call Yodio may very well be response like, “We don’t recognize the number you’re calling from”. Thus, we implemented a second step so you can make recordings at anytime and from anywhere when calling Yodio™ from any convenient phone - cell phone, home phone, whatever. Just enter a 4 digit PIN of your choice when you call. In your Yodio account, go to "Upload" and enter the phone number that you placed the call from and the 4 digit PIN that you used to begin recording. The Yodio™ system will associate your call/recording with your account. You can make a recording from your (or any) phone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Currently, there is no limit to the length of your phone recordings; however there are limits to how long your audience wishes to listen to you. Members may create recordings up to one minute in length to share freely with friends and post publicly. Authors are not limited in length of recordings; however authors must post "for sale" any recordings that are more than one minute in length.
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What number do I call to make my recordings?
Call 877-MY-YODIO (for Blackberry and Trio users, the number to call to record is: 877-699-6346). Listen for prompts. Please join first, then register your phone number on the site so your recordings are associated with your account.
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How do I upload my pre-recorded files to Yodio?
Once you register as either a Member or an Author, you will receive your own MyYodio account. In this account, you will have the option to click on “YO” and then select "upload" to begin uploading your previously recorded MP3 track(s). The process is simple and takes only a few minutes.
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I can't get through/ phone busy
If you have problems getting through to the Yodio number, please be patient! We are growing very fast and that means traffic is increasing. We are constantly monitoring usage and upgrading as applicable. Please give it another try in a little while. If you aren't able to get through after the second try, send an email
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Help!! When I call to record, it does not recognize me. What do I do?
If your caller ID is blocked, this would also prevent Yodio from identifying you as the caller. This means that it's difficult to automatically link your recording with your account. The one-time-fixes-all solution would be to unblock your caller ID, so you are identified by Yodio.
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Can I listen to my voice recordings on my phone?
Yes! When you call to record, you can listen to your recordings prior to saving them. Simply use your registered phone to dial 877-MY-YODIO. Follow the prompts, and you’ll be able to record as well as listen to your recording. After you complete your recording you will be given the option to choose #2 to review your recording. The other options are to choose #1 to save or #3 to re-record. We encourage you to re-record until you are satisfied.
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Can I make a recording with my MP3 recorder?
Of course, because we believe in the digital lifestyle of being on-the-go. At the Yodio site, you can upload any MP3 recording made with any digital recording device. You can also upload recordings you have made on your PC. Once your recording is saved on your PC, then you can go to the “produce” section to upload your .MP3 file to Yodio.
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Can I charge for my recordings?
Yes. Register as an author (it’s free). In fact, Yodio permits works that are less than one minute in length to be published for free distribution to the world or limit it to friends and family. For recording longer than one minute, the author must post "for sale". For titles that have multiple recordings and multiple photos (booklets, tours, etc.), the author can only post these for sale. The author can also identify which titles they will accept paid sponsorship by a company or organization. We make it mega easy for you to make money with your audio content. When you publish a new title (and at any time after), you can price the title with the amount you would like to charge – Yodio takes care of every thing from this point on. Members Yodio can sample your titles to determine if they wish to download them. We also recommend that you produce a YodioCard (under one minute) to send, share, and post as a promotional piece for your title being published for pay. When your account balance gets large enough, you can elect to payout your earnings to yourself through PayPal (it’s part of the author registration process). For more details, please visit our Tips/Royalty section after you join.
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Can I record a phone conversation for Yodio?
It’s a definite maybe. It’s recommended that before you record that phone call, you should review the recording laws for your state and country, while considering these following questions:
- What is the purpose for the recording? Is it an interview? Is everyone aware in advance that the recorded call may be published?
- In what state are you originating the call, and in what state is the call being made to? Then research the laws for these two locations in regards to recording phone calls.
- Is the call made across the traditional landline phone network?
Learn more about United States recording laws:
http://www.rcfp.org/taping/
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What should I say?
There are countless types of Yodios that you could produce that would be of interest to other Yodio members around the globe. Educational study guides, cooking tips, campus tours. . . the list goes on and on.
If you are a travel buff, Travel Tours are incredibly popular and the possibilities are endless. When recording a Travel Tour, ask yourself this question? When will the listener be listening to it? Before their trip? On their trip while on a plane or in a car or hotel room? Or will they listen to it at the very moment that you describing what they are seeing? This question must be answered before you start. If you are producing a “virtual tour” where they are listening while at their destination and you are guiding them, then the following are some tips for what to say:
- A tour usually consists of a series of stops or views. So plan sequential points that flow with path typically taken by tourists visiting these locations and sights.
- Have a theme (examples: time period, neighborhood, historical figure, historical period, historical event, movie shoot locations, club tour, etc.)
- Select an easy to identify starting point for each mini tour. The point should be easy to describe, so listener can easily confirm their location. (intersection, building entry, storefront, sign to stand under, etc.)
- For each single tour or change of position, give a reference point, such as: “ when standing with your back to ______________, you should see straight ahead __(name of object)_____describe ___(height, width, color, exterior, next to, etc.)________. Once you’ve clearly developed focus on correct view, then cover relevant information. (The challenge is to give the listener confidence that they are looking at what you are talking about, and that they are seeing it the way you are thinking of it as you talk.) The key is visual references in your recorded tour to substitute for your absent ability to physically point at some object or building.
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At end of a stop in the tour, you would reference walking or driving time to the next point. If a true walking tour, then it is advisable to describe points of reference to confirm the right path is being followed and additional sites are incorporated. This helps confirm that the right path is being followed,
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Tips:
- What surface are they walking on?
- What road are they crossing?
- What building are they next to or in the shadow of?
- What is on the left or right, if they are standing in the right spot and looking ahead at a building, site, etc.
- Reminder: Be visual in comments and descriptions.
- Walking tours: recommend that you walk through as you record, so you can insure your commentary fits the walking pace. You can re-record after the timing is established.
- Give perspective – surrounding setting, surrounding objects, lighting, historical markers, street signs, etc.
- Enunciate clearly – very important to be easy to listen to and easy to understand.
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I can't hear my voice recording on my computer when I click play.
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Why does my recording display an incorrect length?
We don't have a good answer for this. But if you like tech talk . . . If the recording has a variable bitrate, it will display an incorrect recording length on your Yodio profile. Recording with a fixed bitrate will correct the issue in future recordings. Don't you feel better knowing this?
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What is an M4A file?
Many people have questions about M4A, since it is pretty new. M4A stands for MPEG 4 Audio, and it is a popular file extension used to represent audio files. Most people are familiar with MP3 and how it shrinks down the file size of songs and other audio files. M4A and MP4 do the same thing as MP3 does, but even better. Quality is better and file sizes are usually smaller than MP3 files. Unlike MP3, no licenses or payments are required to be able to stream or distribute content in M4A format (MP3 requires you to pay royalties on content you distribute in MP3 format). This is why many choose (due to the extreme cost savings) to use M4A files instead of MP3 files. Also, M4A files tend to sound better than MP3 files when encoded at the same bitrate.
In order to upload to Yodio, however, you must convert your M4A to either an .MP3 file.
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Who can listen to my recordings?
Anyone who wants to is able to listen to your publicly posted titles. So this literally means the whole world, or maybe a handful of people, or not a single set of ears. You make the decision on publicly posting or not for each of your titles. You can change the level of publication at any time.
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How do I share my recordings?
You can share with the whole world by publicly posting your titles. You can be more specific in your sharing if you e-mail a link to your friends or associates that will connect to your YodioCard. You can also keep your title private and post your link on a web page, blog, MySpace page, etc. You can embed your link into electronic promotional messages. It’s really up to you.
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Can I add an audio profile to my Blog, MySpace or Facebook?
Certainly. Click on the title of your YodioCard. The YodioCard page will include some common tasks on the right hand side of the screen. Included in those tasks is “html” where you’ll find the html code to copy and embed. Once you’ve copied it to your clipboard, follow the instructions that your Blog, MySpace or Facebook accounts provide, to embed the link. If you want to remove the audio file later, go to the “edit profile” page on your respective account, and simply find the html code and delete it. Then press save. It'll be gone.
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Why won’t the voiceplayer show up on my MySpace page?
The most common reason for this is that the html code was not copied correctly. So delete the code you pasted in and try again. Usually that does the trick. Some formatting or other widgets may interfere with the voice player. In this case, try to avoid conflicts by placing the voice player in a section that does not contain any other html code.
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I've recorded an awesome YodioCard personalized with my digital photo. How can I share my YodioCard with the world?
For starters you can send an email to your friends with a link to your YodioCard, and they can forward it to others. There are three ways to do this;
- You can send directly from the Yodio site when you publish the card,
- Anytime after you have published the YodioCard, you can go back into your account, open your YodioCard, and choose “Forward” to send a message and link to more people,
- Also, you can send it to yourself and then forward it as often as you wish. Note: be sure that the link to your YourCard remains as a hyperlink in the email you are sending.
- Last of all, you can send it to yourself, and then copy the link into your own e-mail message to send to friends, business associates, etc.
Remember, you can post your YodioCard button on your own website or page. And you can also post your YodioCard on the public page of Yodio.
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How do I email a recording?
Select the Yodio by clicking on the recording title. Fill out the “Forward to:” section with your friend's e-mail address and a personal message in the message box. Press the 'Forward' button, and the linkyou’re your Yodio is on its way.
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Can I keep my recordings private?
Absolutely. Simply choose the "me only" choice in the "Share with" drop down when you publish your YodioCard. At any time you can go to your account, select one of your YodioCards and change the level of distribution. The drop down listing runs from “me only” to “everyone”.
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My YodioCard is public – can I change it back to private later?
If you initially made your publication public but would now like to change it, Simply log into www.yodio.com and click the "YO” tab then select Yodios. Click on the YodioCard that you wish to make private – change the “Share with” choice from “Everyone” to “Me Only”.
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How do I delete a YodioCard that I do not want?
You can only delete recordings, as long as they have not been used to create a YodioCard, YodioCast, or YodioTour. (you wouldn’t want to publish something and then break it by deleting the recording portion). You cannot delete a YodioCard, but you can access it under “Manage” > “Yodios” and “Unpublish” it by changing it from Public to Private.
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Does Yodio have a policy regarding external URL's?
Yes, Yodio's External URL Policy is as follows:
All URL's within Yodio properties should remain within the Yodio.com domain, except in these instances:
- A review from an enthusiast or news site is cited
- In the case where a title is available for FREE to customers due to a sponsorship. The sponsor may have a promotional link that is posted through the formal sponsorship process.
- All other URL's not mentioned above are subject to removal at Yodio's discretion.
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What is "My Recordings"?
"My Recordings" holds all of your recordings. The second you make a recording - from your phone, Skype™, or by uploading from your digital recorder or PC - it's automatically stored under "YO -Recordings".
To permanently remove a recording from your Yodio account, you must delete it from your "My Recordings" section.
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What is tagging?
Tagging is just another way to organize your recordings. A "tag" is a word that captures the essence of your recording. A tag can be a descriptive name or a place, an adjective or a verb, concrete or abstract. And you can add as many tags to your recording as you want.
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What are groups?
Groups allow you to create a space where you and other Yodio members can share their recordings. Each group has a unique RSS feed letting you subscribe to it instantly creating a form of "Podcasting". With an RSS reader, you will know as soon as someone has added a recording to a group. RSS will be available on Yodio very soon.
There are 3 types of privacy settings for your groups: private, semi-public and public:
- Private groups allow you to share your recordings only with people who you personally invite. Yodio members will not see your private groups and will not be able to listen to private recordings contained inside them. Members of your private group will be able to listen to private recordings you have in there. Also, members you have invited will be able to add recordings and share them with you too.
- Semi-public groups will let you share your recordings to the world, but Yodio members will only be able to add a recording to that group by requesting permission from the group creator or "administrator".
- Public albums let any Yodio member listen and add a recording to the group.
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How can I know when a new recording has been added to a group?
This feature is coming soon! Each group has a unique RSS feed. You can also bookmark the group with the friendly URL we provide with each group. You will find both options on the main group page.
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What's an RSS feed?
RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. To read RSS feeds, you will need an RSS reader. So, once you subscribe to an RSS feed, you will be notified when a new recording has been added. It's the best way to spread the word to your group - and fast!
RSS feeds are also used with Blogs and Podcasts. Whenever a new entry or podcast is available, the RSS feed will let you know right away.
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How do I become a Yodio author?
Simply go to www.Yodio.com and choose JOIN.
- Enter your desired username as a Member. There are several possibilities:
- This can be your actual name (JohnDoe) if you would like other members and customers to know you by name.
- To maintain more confidentiality, choose a catchy screen name such as TravelWriterBob or TeacherMary, etc
- Or you can use a variation of your website or blog name as well; ie: AdventurousTravels, etc. (You cannot use a "." in a screen name, therefore you may not use your entire URL) You also may not use a Trademarked name.
- Enter your profile information including tags that fit what you're doing,
- Select to upgrade your membership to AUTHOR, then complete author registration.
- Click on Produce, choose the type of Yodio you'd like to produce and get started!
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How do I view the Yodio content distribution agreement?
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Is there a fee to join Yodio's publishing program?
No. There is no cost to becoming a Yodio author. Once your application to be an author is completed, it includes information required to make pay outs to you. With this information on file, then you are ready to produce, publish, and profit. You record and post titles for sale, and we collect the money for you and share the proceeds (excluding taxes and transaction charges) for titles products sold through the main Yodio Web site at www.Yodio.com. If you sell nothing, we earn nothing. Yodio is 100% in favor of your success. You have nothing to lose except the increased revenue you could earn by having your products available through Yodio's distribution channels!
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Why is additional registration required for authors to post their work for sale?
Yodio requires authors to register with additional information that allows payout of author’s royalties earned on content sold through Yodio. In addition, the information meets some governmental requirements for those engaged in business activities that generate revenues. Authors who post their work for sale on Yodio are engaging in business. Yodio needs this additional information to insure proper payment of your royalties. And last of all, this type of information about authors will discourage abuses in the recording and distributing of the graphically enriched audio content.
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Is there any benefit to authors from all of this member information?
Yes, there are benefits to authors. Although Yodio never displays or shares information about individual members, it does create a “profile cloud” of members purchasing each of your titles. The “profile cloud” is an aggregation of the member’s information to create general information that can be beneficial to authors as they evaluate the persons purchasing their works and the groups it appeals to.
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Can I earn money from my audio tours & recordings?
Yes, absolutely. YodioCasts and YodioTours require a payment by consumers and a portion of that payment is returned to the author as a royalty.
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Do all Yodio products pay royalties?
No, YodioCards, which are single recordings of less than 1 minute, are free to other members and do not generate royalties. Purchase fees apply to YodioCasts (single track recordings over 1+ minute) and YodioTours (multiple audio tracks/photos) and therefore they are eligible for author royalties.
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How are royalties earned for YodioCasts and YodioTours?
There are three ways that YodioCasts and YodioTours are charged:
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Tours available for purchase by other members (ie: an author-member produces an audio tour of Seattle’s Pike Place Market and a member who plans to visit Seattle purchases it)
- The author receives a percentage (based on their overall purchase volume) of the sales collected.
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Coming Soon: Tours that are free to members and sponsored by a business or organization. (ie: a hotel sponsors a city tour or museum tour; tour is free to member downloading it.)
- The author receives a percentage (based on their overall volume) of the monthly sponsor fee as well as a percentage of the per-download fee.
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Coming Soon: Tours that are “self-sponsored” by the author. Examples of this might be corporate trainings, fundraising, personal recordings sent to friends and family, etc (the tour is free to the member downloading it)
- The author pays per download when self-sponsoring their own content. (no author “royalty” is applicable for self-sponsored sales)
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What percentage could I earn from each download?
The percentages depend on your overall volume. Authors start at 20%. The percentages increase with volume as follows:
| Exclusive Content Distribution Basic Agreement |
Sales volume for Ranking |
| Audio Author Ranking [?] |
Audio author Commission % |
Audio Titles Sold |
| |
Cumulative |
| Level 1 |
20 |
1-100 |
| Level 2 |
25 |
101-1,000 |
| Level 3 |
30 |
1,001-5,000 |
| Level 4 |
35 |
5,001-10,000 |
| Level 5 |
40 |
10,000+ |
A higher royalty commission is available for a monthly fee:
| EXCLUSIVE AUTHOR DISTRIBUTION by YodioTM Author Publishing Agreements |
Monthly Agreement Fee to Yodio |
| Audio Author Agreement |
Audio Author Commission % |
Monthly |
| Level 6 |
Amateur* |
50 |
$7.00 (70 points) |
| Level 7 |
Professional* |
70 |
$35.00 (350 points) |
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How do I get paid?
Royalty payments are sent within 24 hours of being requested by the author. A Royalty Report is available at any time for all of an author’s sales or for an individual title.
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Do you offer any payment options other than by PayPal?
No. At this time, payments can only be sent via PayPal. International payments can also be sent via PayPal. Payment information is part of author registration. It is your responsibility to keep this information current.
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Can Yodio only make a payout once my account reaches a certain amount?
Yodio uses the $ 50 minimum threshold for payouts. Your balance accrues until your account balance is greater than $ 50. Once your account balance is greater than $ 50, you can request a “payout” of $50 or more. Your payment will be issued with our next payment batch (normally within 24 hours) processed through Pay Pal and deposited in your Pay Pal account. Regardless of the balance of your account, your account balance is available for purchases on Yodio site.
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How do I check my revenue online?
You can check your revenue by logging into your account. The author “dashboard report” under "Tips/Royalties" will provide a near real time view of your sales, account balances, and other helpful tracking information. These on-line reports are available on daily, weekly, or monthly time periods based on the options you’ve selected.
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How often do I get sales/customer profile information?
On-line reporting of Sales and Customer profile information is available in your author “dashboard report”. Since this is a virtual reporting system, the information should be current and timely whenever viewed. Only you are able to view this information at any time convenient for you.
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How do I change my payment information, email address, etc.?
You can change this information in your Yodio account. Make sure to update this information in all applicable areas of your account information. Your payments are based off the information in your Yodio member and author account.
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Do you send tax information?
Yes, for residents of the United States, we send all tax documents that are required by the IRS when royalties exceed $600 in a year. For foreign authors, we e-mail 1042-S Forms with gross income and withholding rates. For domestic authors operating as individuals, we send 1099 Forms, as appropriate, at the end of the year.
Because we do send tax information to the authors and the IRS, it is extremely important for you to have current information in the author registration section of your account, especially with respect to your social security number, Federal Tax ID, status of your company, correct address, and the name of the company or individual to whom your payouts are made payable. This information is not required to publish; however it is required to withdraw earnings from your account.
Corporations have Federal Tax IDs. We are not required to mail corporations 1099s. However, we do send 1099s to sole proprietorships and partnerships that are domestic. Other forms of business may also have Federal Tax IDs as well. But, if not, then we need the social security number or the EIN (employee identification number).
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What is VAT?
VAT stands for Value Added Tax. A new Value Added Tax (VAT) law, effective July 1, 2003, will impact all online sales in the European Union (EU). Different VAT rates need to be collected for each EU country. The great news is Yodio will handle this new process. We will file in the U.K. and fall under the special provision section. We will collect the appropriate tax based on the country of origin of the buyer (beginning July 1). This will be automated and requires nothing on your part. Yodio will provide all of the reporting and payments to the EU.
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What is the policy on tax withholding for international partners?
The IRS (Internal Revenue Service -- the taxing entity in the US) requires that we withhold 30% from all payments to International companies whose country of residence does not have a tax treaty with the US. This is required by law. If your country has a tax treaty with the US government, the withholding rate will be from 0-30% depending on your country's tax treaty. You may be able to deduct the full amount of the withholding tax from your local income taxes. Because this varies from country to country, we recommend that you consult with your tax advisor. Publication 515 will provide you with more information about the withholding of tax on nonresident aliens and foreign corporations. If you have any questions, please contact us here.
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Other companies are not withholding, why is Yodio?
Yodio cannot speak for other companies as to why they are not withholding taxes. Yodio has consulted with our lawyers and concluded that to abide by US tax laws, we need to withhold and submit the taxes to the IRS. Please refer to the Publication 515 link for more information.
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I do not live in the US, why do I have to pay taxes to the IRS?
The programs are downloaded from a US server on US soil; therefore, it is subject to US taxes. Some countries have credits for foreign taxes paid; please consult with your local government to determine if you're eligible. Please realize that these conditions may change in the future which will allows Yodio to not withhold US taxes on foreign authors. If our success so permits, we will distribute foreign titles from foreign based servers to improve your earnings retention.
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Will I get a document stating the amount deducted?
1042-S will be sent out in March of each year indicating all payments made as well as deductions.
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Do I have to file with the IRS?
No. Yodio is withholding the tax and is submitting it on your behalf to the IRS. To file with the IRS yourself and not have Yodio withhold the money for you, please contact us here. Please note that you will still be liable to pay taxes to the IRS for revenue earned in the US.
If you request to file on your own, we will send you a form to fill out and send back to Yodio once your registration with the IRS is complete. You will first need to register with the IRS, who will provide you with a valid tax number which must be provided to Yodio before we cease to withhold. Please note that this process will take approximately two months.