Should You Give Your Music Away?
The Great Debate.

March 15, 2010April 2, 2010 Andre Calilhanna

No one’s arguing that the changes in the music industry haven’t tipped the scales in favor of the independents. Not only can you forge a path to success without the help of a label, you can choose from a variety of means to achieve it. But that leaves a number of questions on the table, including whether or not you ought to give your music away for free.

As an indie, CD and download sales can be a huge part of the equation in regard to your income. Read more…

What is a Free CD Worth?

March 9, 2010March 12, 2010 Scott James

I recently had someone on the Disc Makers blog ask me about a promotion they were thinking of doing for their upcoming CD. The idea was to give out 50-100 CDs to fans who were willing to recruit a certain number of their friends to join the band’s Facebook fan page. I thought it brought up some things that are worth thinking about. Here was my response:

My first thought is that you might get a better return on investment with Facebook advertising. Read more…

Digital Mixtapes: The Future of Music Distribution

February 19, 2010February 19, 2010 Dexter Bryant Jr.

Mixtapes have been a staple in hip-hop culture for decades. Artists primarily use them to build buzz for their commercial releases in an effort to increase their album sales. As useful as mixtapes have been for the artists who use them, it wasn’t until relatively recently that their effectiveness as promotional vehicles surfaced in pop culture. Read more…

Reverse Piracy: Pirate Your Own Music

February 15, 2010February 25, 2010 Dexter Bryant Jr.

Face it. Music sales are being bastardized by “pirated” free downloads and the free will of consumers. Sure, the legal digital music market is growing but it won’t pick up the slack for declining CD sales because singles rule the market.

Analyzing the purchasing habits of the music-buying public, it is quite clear that they are much more interested in spending money on singles than on albums. Read more…