Disc Makers client The Jason Parker Quartet was featured two weeks ago in one of our Artist Showcases. At their CD release party for No More, No Less, they tried the “pay what you can” model for their CD sales. I asked Jason to report back to me after the show and let me know how the test worked out. This is what he had to say:
Throughout the CD Release Party on Saturday I announced that I wanted everyone there to leave with a CD, no matter what it took. I had a “suggested donation” price of $15, but told the crowd they could pay $10, $5, $2…or just take one for free.
Unfortunately, not everyone took me up on my offer. But in comparison to my last CD Release Party, where all CDs were priced at $10, I sold twice as many CDs this time, and made more than twice as much money. 50% of the sales were for the suggested price of $15, 42% paid less, and 8% paid more. I also sold 3 CDs the next day through Amazon, which may or may not have been people at the show.
All in all I think it was very successful. I succeeded in getting more CDs into people’s hands, which was my goal. I think I’m going to do that at all my shows now and continue to see what happens.
Thanks to Jason and his quartet for keeping such good records and sharing them with us!
Have you used the “pay what you can” idea at one of your gigs? How did it turn out? Please leave a comment to let us know!
