Thread: Guide to good ratio on Music Trackers

I know there is a sticky that says 'how do I keep a good ratio if there is no one leeching... ' but I feel ratio management at music trackers are fundamentally different from scene/general trackers..

So here it goes.



I am gonna write some tips but please feel free to add more if you feel it might be beneficial



1. Don't download whole bunch of stuff (at least without a good buffer) - I know it is very tempting to go crazy and wild when you first step into the music tracker and you see hundreds and thousands of albums you've been dying to get your hands on - but if you end up with tons of downloads with very little upload, you will be banned and bye bye stmusic/waffles/what.cd/softmp3.. whatever. Unlike other sites, music trackers rarely offer donate-upload credit trade so there literally is no way to rescue your ratio once it dips super low.

2. SEED - I know it is basic but guide to having a good ratio on music tracker is to seed it - for eternity. Something like Heroes or Desperate Housewives would have lots of leechers for first couple days but significantly decrease in number of leechers after couple days. Such trend is not noticed in music trackers. There are very few albums that have such explosive response - but there will be always few random people here and there that will want the album that you've got - whether it is one day or couple years from the date of release. As opposed to videos, that usually include scene release groups' names on the file, music - quality is not guaranteed, especially if found on demonoid or mininova. Music trackers have VERY tight regulations about the quality (including ripping, bitrate, file naming, nfo/log/cue/m3u files, tagging, etc.) so if somebody wants a quality rip of a CD, then they turn to music trackers...

3. upload your own stuff - videos are hard to upload. You need to have all the necessary hardware to record, encode, etc. but for music, you only need your CD and a CD ROM (plus few softwares) - 0 download, and only upload counts - the best way to boost your ratio

4. Be smart about what KIND of music you rip and upload - although it is desirable that you rip your entire CD collection, if you are lazy (like me), rip and upload the CDs you know that are more likely to be downloaded (and isn't already on the site). I am a huge classical music fan and I've noticed that it is usually a safe bet to do classical music. Plus, a lot of people are willing to download FLAC for classical music even if they are choosing v0, v2 or CBR320 for pop/rock music... Which means larger file size, hence greater upload amount. Electronic music seems to be fairly popular too. I'd say ALL poular top40/rock music are already up on the trackers but if you upload the less-popular ones (which is still highly encouraged), it is not as likely to garner all the leechers..


Any other tips?

Well,I guess it's a very good Idea to have this topic stickied since I was gonna post something related to this issue myself a couple of hours ago but Just wanted to wait....so as more people everyday just ask for tipc/techniques to keep good ratios wither on Music,Games,Movies or any kind of trackers,so here is my 2 cents about it :

1. Jump on newely added torrents from time to time once they are added as soon as you can....also you would like to concentrate on large packs (20GB+) which barely lack of leechers especially for the first 3~4 days of adding...by getting those files done fast you will enter the seeding swarm while there are plenty of leechers out there waiting for any connected seeds to start their download.

2. Take Advantage of FreeLeech Events being held ocassionaly at those trackers to build your buffers.I know that those events don't occure alot,but at least be ready when any of them comes,and always remember,Large packs are the best files to Boost your ratio up.

3. Do some partial seedings....I know how aweful that sounds especially that most of the high level trackers already prohibit this technique as they are kinda sure that their own uploaded packs won't get outside the tracker,then how come you got a completed file on your HDD ? Also they might be wondering what source did you use to obtain those files knowing that most of the 0day/0second files aren't being shared public trackers or low level ones on the spot (they mostlikey take a couple of days till some one get them then upload them over there).Still some trackers won't mind source nor type of file you have,all they care about is your ratio to be fixed ASAP.One last note,I don't recommend using such technique on high level trackers even if nobody noticed,eventually you will get suspicious as time passes.

4. Don't pick up a file that is already shared & available on public or low level trackers,since IMO High Level trackers are made for rare stuff/0day releases.So when you just need to get a couple of months old movie,game,show or even an application,just browse any low level tracker unless you are sure you can seed it back on those high level trackers upon completion to avoid HnR & low ratio warnings.

Hope that you would benifit from those tips knowing that all of them are already been tested & verified by me during my long BT experience...So Just NJoy your account with high buffers... :D

cool..i am a member on what.cd but i cant seed at all..i have downloaded 100mb and uploaded only 11..it doesnt seed..lol..
i am thinking of donating but i see it doesnt fix your ratio..
also i am thinking to upload something but i dont know at all..it has so many rules and i am afraid..lol..
if anyone is a member on what.cd or somewhere and knows what to do plz help.

Jump on anything that doesn't count towards your ratio. Or go elsewhere and download the packs then continue to seed. That is the best advice I can give to start off your ratio..

Originally Posted by XDot

cool..i am a member on what.cd but i cant seed at all..i have downloaded 100mb and uploaded only 11..it doesnt seed..lol..
i am thinking of donating but i see it doesnt fix your ratio..
also i am thinking to upload something but i dont know at all..it has so many rules and i am afraid..lol..
if anyone is a member on what.cd or somewhere and knows what to do plz help.

did you even read the first two posts of this topic ? I doubt it ! Read carefully & you will be just fine,after that if you had any problems,I will glady assist you...

Another tip for sites like what.cd: avoid the big applications even if they have a lot of leechers. They will kill your ratio and most of those leechers aren't even downloading at all, so you will have no chance to upload your files. Only exception: if a big application comes out (eg: adobe master collection last week) and that you know everyone will want and you catch it just as it comes out, grab it and seed. Just make sure that you get it when the number of seeders is very low or you will never make the download back up. These are the only files that will really get you a big amount of upload quickly on a site like what.cd

Also, scan the list of recently uploaded torrents for popular ones. If you find one that has been out for 15 minutes and already has a lot of activity you can probably download it and upload a fair bit back.

Finally, when you join a music torrent, download up to the limit while you are in the buffer zone and your ratio doesn't count (5GB on What.cd for example) then seed all of those files 24/7 for a week or so. This should get your ratio up to a good level. Just don't download past the buffer zone!

Originally Posted by evilrabbit

Another tip for sites like what.cd: avoid the big applications even if they have a lot of leechers. They will kill your ratio and most of those leechers aren't even downloading at all, so you will have no chance to upload your files. Only exception: if a big application comes out (eg: adobe master collection last week) and that you know everyone will want and you catch it just as it comes out, grab it and seed. Just make sure that you get it when the number of seeders is very low or you will never make the download back up. These are the only files that will really get you a big amount of upload quickly on a site like what.cd

you are partialy true man but still not all files even if they aren't popular will hurt you ratio coz most of the guys over What.cd are freaky heavy downloaders who just jump on any newely added torrent to reach high buffers,so I don't think that downloading every new file won't leave a change for a good seed,nah I barely ignore a file on What.cd & now I have almost 500GB buffer in 5 months...so it's kinda Cool but needs lots of patience & seeding around the clock...

Originally Posted by Jacko

did you even read the first two posts of this topic ? I doubt it ! Read carefully & you will be just fine,after that if you had any problems,I will glady assist you...

lol..of course i read it..
u didnt read my post and u only say u doubt if i read it..
i say cool..and the tips are good..i downloaded from top10 one cd which has 30 leechers but it doesnt seed it 1:1..for example its 20mb..its seeds only 5mb..
thats what i am saying..
i will leave them there though just to see what will happen..
but i think i will upload something in order to get upload credit.

Take your time. ^^ Download as much as you can till the 5GB limit, you might want to take some things that are slightly more popular, and wait! It go's slowly on what, but eventually you will get there. I also won't advise downloading from the top10 most popular torrents, since they already tend to be pretty well seeded. And very big change they all got a better connection than you.

*Greetings, Elonoir.*