new album, what to charge? or give it away?

[ambient]

I like the way that Bandcamp lets users search for music from the tags that you the artist have put to the music, I don't think that applies to either Amazon or iTunes.

I've had people contact me via Bandcamp that have just found my music on there.

I'm doing a collaboration with a guy that used to be in Rothko for instance, he just happened to come across my music, just through the search function and the tags.

[heminder]

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1416076193' post='2606669']
This coffee analogy doesn't work though, if star bucks are comparable with a band like kings of Leon then your little coffee brand is no more than a cart in the street so no matter how Nice your coffee is unless you can get a few people to taste it those £3s are going to keep heading to star bucks. As musicians we make out that we are the only ones having to do this,I can't think of a business that hadn't had to sell them selves short initially to get a foot on the door.
[/quote]

The analogy also breaks down in that recorded music can be replicated infinitely with no effort, whereas coffee requires a significant amount of labour to produce every single individual copy.


[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1416079053' post='2606705']
It's not just my music, or the OP's music that people expect for nothing, it's music in general.

The huge problem is that big name bands give theirs away. U2 for instance, and Radiohead with their pay what you want.

They can afford to give their music away, it doesn't really matter to them, because they're not really giving it away free. Radiohead made more from [i]in rainbows[/i] than their previous album, and U2 got a fortune from iTunes. The public however, perceive that it's for nothing.

It's also not a question of getting a foot in the door, the precedent is set so that it's just for nothing, whether you're an established band, or total newcomers.
[/quote]

It's not that they can "afford to give music away", it's that they know what they're doing and are with the times. You're essentially saying that they shouldn't do it because you don't want them to, even though they can make their recordings as available as they desire. If you really think that distributing your recorded portfolio with bytes is all "just for nothing" then just don't bother. All creative fields do it, it's easier now than ever before, and only certain musicians want to nickel and dime for it.

You're right in that it's not about getting a foot in the door; it's about putting some shoes on first before going out there.

Edited November 16, 2014 by heminder

[ambient]

[quote name='heminder' timestamp='1416086151' post='2606812']
The analogy also breaks down in that recorded music can be replicated infinitely with no effort, whereas coffee requires a significant amount of labour to produce every single individual copy.




It's not that they can "afford to give music away", it's that they know what they're doing and are with the times. You're essentially saying that they shouldn't do it because you don't want them to, even though they can make their recordings as available as they desire. If you really think that distributing your recorded portfolio with bytes is all "just for nothing" then just don't bother. All creative fields do it, it's easier now than ever before, and only certain musicians want change for it.

You're right in that it's not about getting a foot in the door; it's about putting some shoes on first before going out there.
[/quote]

But they're not giving it away, U2 got paid by iTunes, it was iTunes who gave it away.

[Guest Jecklin]

Liking the discussion here.

What was the Prince album that got given away with a weekend newspaper a few years back?

I want to say it was the daily mail, but I can't remember.
Anyway, prince made more from that deal with the paper than he had with his previous album even though the end product was "free" to the consumer.

This does build an expectation.

[MiltyG565]

I've never gotten to the point in a band yet where we had written and recorded a full album of songs, so I speak from ignorance (although that won't stop me from speaking, obviously), but 2 thoughts spring into my mind with this thread.

1 - everyone loves something for nothing
2 - if something is too cheap, people question the validity or quality of it.

If you're in it to gather a following and make this your main source of income, I'd say give it away for free, and annoy all your mates to spread the word to all their mates. Get as many people to download the album as possible (you'll make a good start with Basschat!). Get your band out there and gigging, and start working on album number 2.

If this is just a sideline for you, and a bit of fun, and you really aren't bothered about building up a fan base or a following, you could charge for it - maybe £3 for the download and £5 for the CD?

I reckon people will be more open to the idea of downloading your music if you show them where to get it and say "It's free!". People can be reluctant to part with their cash, and they generally won't, unless they've decided they like your band and want your music, but they could only know that if they've seen you live (which is your time to capitalise and sell CDs).

But don't undervalue your music either. I know I said £3/£5, but I say that as a "sell it cheap, build a following" tactic. Charge £8 for the download if you wish. A lot of albums on iTunes are £12 and more. If you think you can happily sell it at £8, go for it!

When you're releasing, let me know

Good luck.

[MiltyG565]

[quote name='Wooks79' timestamp='1415908910' post='2605208']
I once had a photographer friend tell me that he had increased his business tenfold after taking the advice to increase his prices, as people thought cheap meant crap.
[/quote]

Exactly what I meant in my last post! If something's too cheap, people wonder what's wrong - is it broken? Stolen? Crap? And usually, it's just cheap because it's cheap, and no other reason. But people (men, usually) think that cheap=crap.

It's odd, because one can increase the price, and people think it makes it a premium product, but nothing has changed other than the price. It's weird that your mate had to increase his prices to get more business, isn't it? It feels counter-intuitive to us.

[timmo]

Seeing as there are a fair few people with bands, perhaps we should have a new heading soley for people to post a youtibe clip or soundcloud of music that people could listen to, download, or buy. I am at an age where i rarely know what music is out there, and most of the bands i followed as a youngster and grew up with, are no longer around. Would be nice to learn about a few more bands. Most of the bands i watch seem to charge around a tenner for a CD, which is usually signed.I usually buy one if i like the band, and obviously have looser pockets after a few, but i am rarely disapponted on listening the next day

Edited November 16, 2014 by timmo

[BigRedX]

[quote name='timmo' timestamp='1416132819' post='2607089']
Seeing as there are a fair few people with bands, perhaps we should have a new heading soley for people to post a youtibe clip or soundcloud of music that people could listen to, download, or buy. I am at an age where i rarely know what music is out there, and most of the bands i followed as a youngster and grew up with, are no longer around. Would be nice to learn about a few more bands. Most of the bands i watch seem to charge around a tenner for a CD, which is usually signed.I usually buy one if i like the band, and obviously have looser pockets after a few, but i am rarely disapponted on listening the next day
[/quote]

There's several threads and a whole sub-forum dedicated to this (although the sub-forum can get a little over-run with YouTube "bass covers"), but like yourself most Basschatters don't seem to want to go there, so all the savvy bands still post details of their new releases in this forum where after a while they will have disappeared never to be seen again.

[Lw.]

Quite a few people seem to be stuck thinking of recorded music as a revenue stream but the industry has moved on. I see recordings as a marketing tool for other band activities; building some excitement about your music is easier if people aren't umming & ahhing over the price.

For small-ish time bands this idea can be hard as they're having to put their own money into the recordings but I feel it pays off later down the line and studio time & cd manufacturing aren't hugely expensive. I would always argue that bands should charge [size=4]for physical copies (be that cd, vinyl, tape or other - remember the USD stick fad?) but make digital copies available for free somewhere (you can still charge if you're on iTunes).[/size]

Who really cares what the royalties are at the smaller stages in a bands career when the ability for some random to add you to their Spotify playlist is worth so much more?

[winterfire666]

thanks again for all the input folks, if anyone is curious i have posted a link to a track in the share your music section

http://basschat.co.uk/topic/249688-new-winterfire-track-melodic-metal/

:^)