From an interview with Sam Rosenthal [3rd Nail, 1995]:
Q: What does darkwave mean to you? Is it different from ethereal/ambient?
A: To me, "Darkwave" is just a handy catchphrase for a wide variety of music. From the original intention of dark guitar goth, to even something like Jorge Reyes, who is dark tribal, and mysterious. To me, it means everything in this wide genre . . .

Projekt began as a label / mail-order company back in 1983. As the label expanded it's reach, Sam began carrying non-Projekt bands in his catalog as well. In those early days, this 'catalog' was a single piece of paper printed front and back. In 1993, Sam diversified the mail-order company's focus to include lots of other (non-Projekt) artists; thus Projekt began the Projekt: darkwave distribution branch. There were so many bands to include, that a quarterly 32+ page catalog was printed. Every month Projekt: darkwave discovered more great bands, however there was a problem. A printed catalog was obsolete almost as soon as it arrived back from the printers, there were always new things coming in! Projekt: darkwave continually struggling with this problem, but the internet provides the IDEAL solution!

We keep our website absolutely up-to-date, adding new titles as soon as we get them, making them "unavailable" when we are waiting on more copies. This is helpful both to you as a band and our customers who are your fans.

If you have a release in the darkwave | ethereal | gothic | ambient genres, we want to distribute it. Any relevant band can sign-up for distribution through Darkwave and enjoy the benefits of having their cd available through the same channel as the largest bands in the genre. Read on to find out how it works....

And when you join us, we get more great music to carry at Projekt: darkwave.

How do you join Projekt: darkwave? It's easy!

1. Have a CD manufactured and ready to sell. Sorry, but we cannot sell CD-Rs that have been burned, rather than manufactured (by a plant). Manufactured CDs are made by the pressing plant from Glass-Masters, while duplicated/burned CDs are the kind of thing that your computer makes (some plants do "limited runs" of 100, those are CD-Rs. If you had less than 1000 CDs made at a plant, they are probably CD-Rs, and we can't sell them). Why Not? Because it seems that a lot of people have trouble playing them in their computers / boom boxes / car stereo; and then they return them, and we have to refund their money. Sorry to be harsh, but if you send us CD-Rs (because you didn't read this paragraph) we will not sell them, nor return them, unless you send us money to cover the return shipping. Sorry for this. It has to be this way.

2. Download our invoice. The invoice is available as a printable url page or in the PDF Format.

3. Once you've downloaded the invoice, fill in the blanks (and make a copy for your records). A note about pricing: Projekt: Darkwave usually charges $13.98 for a CD. If you charge us $7.50 or $8.00, we will sell your CD for $13.98. If you want a lower sale price, then charge us less. Such as $6.50 will usually put the CD at $12.98 or $11.98. Please make mention if you want a lower selling price.

4. Send five copies of each cd.

5. Ok. This one is very important! email us (Please remove "NOSPAM" from the address) with information for your album page in the store. Please include:

   1. Item Number and/or Barcode Number (we don't need the image of the barcode)
   2. Record Label Name
   3. Year of Release
   4. Song List (if any of your tracks are available as MP3 downloads, include the link next to the specific song).
   5. Text about your cd. Send us a couple of paragraphs. Assume the customer has no idea of what your music sounds like, so give us as much as possible. The more information, the better for our customers to make make a purchasing decision. Press quotes are very helpful. If the quote is from a website, please include their url, so we can link.
   6. Send your cover image in this format: RGB Jpg. 3" x 3". 150 DPI. Name it with your album title.

   To expedited this process, there are a few things we have learned along the way: Please include the text inside your email message, rather than as an attachment. Do not send the info to us on a floppy or ask that we type it in. If you don't send this info, your cd cannot be added to the store! Thanks!

6. Send the cds & invoice to us at the address on the invoice. Be sure that they are packaged in a box (Not an envelope -- because when they arrived all cracked, that looks bad to your customer!).

7. When we receive your cds + invoice, we add your title here on our web site.

8. We sell your discs, invoice the customers, and ship via priority mail, first class mail, or Fed Ex Ground.

9. Your discs are "on consignment." When your title sells through (and we need to reorder) we pay your invoice in full and order more copies from you. Our preferred payment method is paypal. If you don't have a paypal account, get one! =)

10. If, after one year, your cds have not sold through, we will charge a flat $7.50 to return them to you. This will be deducted from your payment.

Please be sure to mention in your ads and on your website that projekt.com distributes your cds. However, do not print the projekt or projekt: darkwave logo on your discs, or make your ads in such a way that it appears you are a projekt band. I only say this, because people have done it!!! =). Mention that fans can place secured credit card orders on-line at projekt.com and/or with checks by mail. We are offering a service to your fans, by making it easier for them to pick up your release; and your suggestion to visit our site is a big key to selling cds!!! This way we both create awareness and sales. Mention the store at projekt.com in all your advertisements, on your websites, on your mySpace page, in your emails and to your fans. Word of mouth is what REALLY sells music in this genre.

And please include this graphic on your website + myspace page, with the html listed below it:

Curious what your "album page" will look like at the Projekt: Darkwave store? Click here to see an actual page for an artist who signed up for distribution: Chasing The Ghost