Many bands and artists now days are cutting their expenses by leaving the physical CDs in the past. They rely on iTunes sales, YouTube plays, and AmazonMP3. Which is not a crazy idea to go with, digital music outsells physical music sales now. Sales is the key word, people buying music, what about the people you show your music to who aren't buying it, but may be buying you so to speak. Many people in the industry still live in the ancient ways of listening to a physical album, I'm one of them. While working for a management firm, we would only send out physical albums to radio stations. that was 2010, and it is still their practice.
It isn't all about the men in suits that you should make some physical copies of music, its for your fans. Not everyone has a computer to download music on, and if they do they may not be ones to do it the legal way that financially helps you. At shows giving them a physical option to purchase, listen to right away, and love, will save you from them stealing the music later digitally where you can't detect it.
As discussed there are ways now days to make low quantity copies of an album through self publishing websites like CreateSpace. Take advantage of this and try it out, if your music is good people, despite being internet savvy will want to buy the music right away at your show. Its the music version of POP sales, you know, where despite not wanting it initially, you walk out of the store with a candy bar because it was there where you were checking out. Same idea applies to having a physical CD, you have the customer there, they love'd your music, paid to see it, not pop in there and get one last little purchase out of them. Unlike a candy bar this is an item that not only satisfies their needs but helps you. It is promotional material, it says your name on it, it can be shared, and it is physically right there for them to touch and play.
You can charge more for a physical CD because it holds art work that many music lovers appreciate, by offering bonus tracks and digital download options free with the physical CD you can easily overcome those price hurdles.
Always remember not all fans are tech savvy, they wont all download the legal way, so offer a solution that is mutually beneficial.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Self Publishing Your Content
It is so crucial to have content available for your fans to purchase, but don't forget about content for potential fans to to uncover. We will cover some inexpensive ways to cover both types of content by publishing the content yourself.
Digital Distribution Options
There are many ways to get your music on all the major online outlets like iTunes, Spotify, AmazonMp3, and hundreds of others. My first choice is Catapult Distribution. Low cost, low share of profits, and best of all super quick. I've seen a turn around of less than 24 hours to all the major online storefronts. You will need a UPC for this process, just pay the extra amount they offer to do it for you. There are ways to go around this and save a few dollars, but it really isn't worth the time and effort. If you already have a physical album done, you can use the UPC from that but it is better to have two different codes because it is technically two different products.
CD Baby also offers similar services and a nice storefront to send fans to but it is becoming a little outdated and not as quick as the up and comers. For physical CDs, you can do both, and getting out and making a presence in every distribution outlet is important.
Self publishing isn't just all about getting your music out, you still need to take the steps to copyright your material and decide which PRO you want to be a part of and register your songs with. There are also things like Gracenote to make sure your final songs are inputed into, this allows devices to recognize the song and provide information like artist and song title. This can be done as easily as clicking a few buttons in iTunes. Check with your digital and physical distributor to see if these little details are taken care of or learn how to do them yourself.
The most important part about self publishing is to read the small print, double and triple read the royalty calculations and compare the features distributors offer. It truly does come down to the details on what is right for you and your band.
Digital Distribution Options
There are many ways to get your music on all the major online outlets like iTunes, Spotify, AmazonMp3, and hundreds of others. My first choice is Catapult Distribution. Low cost, low share of profits, and best of all super quick. I've seen a turn around of less than 24 hours to all the major online storefronts. You will need a UPC for this process, just pay the extra amount they offer to do it for you. There are ways to go around this and save a few dollars, but it really isn't worth the time and effort. If you already have a physical album done, you can use the UPC from that but it is better to have two different codes because it is technically two different products.
CD Baby also offers similar services and a nice storefront to send fans to but it is becoming a little outdated and not as quick as the up and comers. For physical CDs, you can do both, and getting out and making a presence in every distribution outlet is important.
Self publishing isn't just all about getting your music out, you still need to take the steps to copyright your material and decide which PRO you want to be a part of and register your songs with. There are also things like Gracenote to make sure your final songs are inputed into, this allows devices to recognize the song and provide information like artist and song title. This can be done as easily as clicking a few buttons in iTunes. Check with your digital and physical distributor to see if these little details are taken care of or learn how to do them yourself.
The most important part about self publishing is to read the small print, double and triple read the royalty calculations and compare the features distributors offer. It truly does come down to the details on what is right for you and your band.
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