Common Questions

How do you charge for postage?

We offer free postage and packing to UK addresses. For all other territories packaging is free and postage is charged on a weight basis.

How will my package be delivered?

We use First Class mail for UK deliveries and standard Air Mail for all other territories, very large orders will usually be sent by UPS.

How do I return damaged or defective goods?

In the event that any products supplied to you by us are damaged or defective, we agree to replace or repair the damaged or defective products or refund your order (including postage & packaging) providing you notify us (either via post or e-mail: orders@acerecords.com ) and return the goods within 28 days of purchase. Physical goods should be sent back to us in the same condition you received them to: "Returns" Bus Stop Mail Order Ltd, 42-50 Steele Road, London, NW10 7AS. Music downloads should be returned to us via the e-mail address above including a copy of your notification.

Can I cancel my order?

You have the right to cancel your order within seven days of purchase, or seven days of receipt of the goods (whichever is the longer). If you choose to cancel your order, full payment will be returned to you. Returned items should be sent to: “Returns” c/o Bus Stop Mail Order Ltd, 42-50 Steele Road, London, NW10 7AS. Music downloads should be returned to us via the email address: orders@acerecords.com including a copy of your notice of cancellation and order number.

Are you hiring?

Not at the moment. Job opportunities at Ace occur very seldom. If we do have to fill a role, we would post the details on this website and advertise in the London press.

Do you offer internships?

Ace's policy is we do not employ interns. As a small company everyone has their own responsibilities and we simply don't have the time or resources to train and supervise anyone employed on a short-term basis. We believe an intern's time and effort would not be rewarded with proper training and experience and we do not wish to exploit people.

How do I download my MP3?

After you have paid for your MP3 you will return to a page where there will be a link to download the MP3 file as a zipped folder. This file will remain active for a limited period only so it is advisable to download it as soon as you can, ideally the same day. If you have missed the deadline for downloading and you file is no longer available, please e-mail orders@acerecords.com

What happens if I lose my MP3 after I’ve downloaded it?

If you have downloaded the MP3 it is your responsibility to ensure you know where it will be downloaded to. The default location, such as your desktop, could vary depending on what it’s been set to on your computer. Try searching your computer for the song or artist name as this may help you locate the file. If you are truly stuck and cannot locate the file, e-mail orders@acerecords.com

What bit rate do you use?

We encode our MP3s at 320kbps using a constant bit rate.

What can I use to play my MP3 file?

MP3 is the most compatible digital music format. Any media player on your computer or any portable device should be capable of playing the file.

Why aren’t all the Ace releases available for download?

Because Ace doesn’t own all the recordings we release, lots have to be licensed in. Sometimes the licensing arrangements mean we don’t have download rights and so can’t release MP3 version of the albums. We try to release as much as we can but this still only equates to around 25% of the total number of albums available on the Ace website.

Why are you guys so expensive?

One of the reasons why these CDs are so cheap is that no royalty is paid to the artists or producers of the masters utilised and so your bargain is in part funded from money that would normally be paid to the talented people who created the music in the first place.

Another major saving in the cost of production is the audio is lifted from other companies’ releases, including those of Ace. In doing this, the labels exploiting the copyright law are saving themselves the trouble and expense of dubbing original 45s and 78s, cleaning them up and EQing the resulting masters to make them sound good. By the very nature of their business these companies are unlikely to have access to master tapes and essentially they are dependent on companies like Ace to produce high quality audio that they can steal. In gaining access to masters, we can maintain high standards of audio and often turn up great previously unreleased material.

So the money you save in buying these CDs is in part due to theft of top quality digital masters from the companies who have done all the groundwork in locating and post-producing the audio. 

Ace also releases music that was recorded after 1962 and this has to be licensed from legitimate copyright holders. These companies cannot be expected to look kindly on us if we issue their pre-1963 recordings without paying for them. So, on that practical basis alone, we cannot benefit from the free ride on royalties, even if we wanted to. And we don’t want to, as we own many pre-1963 recordings on which we continue to pay artist and producer royalties.

As owners we are contractually liable to artists and producers for royalties, since early contracts did not make allowance for expiry of copyright. In any case, as most of these artists are US-based (where the copyright term is longer than in Europe) they would expect to be paid royalties anyway. It would not be helpful for our relationship with them to withhold royalties on sales outside the US.

So we still pay royalties to artists and producers of pre-1963 recordings, not only because we think we should, (and we have numerous examples of gratitude from older artists for whom even the smallest amount due is extremely welcome) but also because we are running a business and have practical considerations to take into account.

Furthermore the copyright in the songs embodied in the masters is protected for 70 years after the death of the songwriter, and without being recorded the income from these songs would be very limited. So the artists and record companies who provide the vehicle for income to the songwriters are denied the same copyright protection and ability to earn.

We like to think that we issue well-annotated, good looking CDs that sound as good as they can and the truth is, it costs money. We have been running a business since 1976, so have a pretty good idea of what it takes to survive in a tough market place and we fully intend to do so as honestly and fairly as we can.

So we ain’t cheap, but that’s because we ain’t cheapskates.

Where is the search button on your site?

The search button is the magnifying glass at the top right-hand side of the page (next to the "?" button).