Members Sheraton Player Posted January 14, 2010 Members Share Posted January 14, 2010 I've got a few albums out which I have been giving away for free download. Before you all start a debate about the pros and cons of giving it away, I'll just say that if I hadn't done that I would have no listeners. But I have managed to get people downloading my albums, and they still are, and I've seen some of my songs pop up on foreign radio stations, so it's worked so far! But of course I'd like to sell some when I'm ready to. It's getting to the point that I'm thinking about starting to sell. But I don't want to suddenly stop giving it away and start charging, as it might lose me potential fans. The reality is - I have got fans through giving away which I would not have got otherwise. Some people want it all for free, and I cater for them. Others want to pay me, and they have no way to do that. Some want a physical copy. Others aren't bothered. There are surely some fans who would buy the CD just as a way to show their support, even if they continued to listen to the album on their computers. The ideal solution I see is this - I keep the free downloads up, and sell cds. That way, the people who have downloaded it and have been asking "How do I pay for it?" can be directed to where to buy a physical copy. The people who have downloaded it and want it on CD can go and buy one. The people who have no interest in owning a physical copy can continue to download it for free. Those who just want to support me can purchase a product.If I was to offer it for free AND paid downloads (let's say on two different websites) I think that would be too unfair... some people might be upset if they bought it to find that they could have got it for free. So I'm thinking I will print a test run of cds and sell them somewhere.But how shall I sell them?I've been turned off CD Baby by all the things I've read about how it's gone downhill since being bought out... I'm thinking ebay.Have all the CDs up as Buy It Now, so it's not an auction but effectively a shop (You can leave Buy It Now items up for as long as you want, and sell several copies through the same item).I could happily package and post the CDs myself.Now here's the question...Most (if not all!) of my fans are in foreign countries, so I'd be posting abroad.Exactly how much does it cost to post a CD abroad?And how long would it take to get there? Anyone ever done this? Any thoughts on the matter are welcome! P.S. - if anyone says it would be too much hard work packaging and posting myself, this would of course just be a test run. I'd print a small quantity and see if I actually sell any. If none go on ebay, I will of course hang on to them and make use of them further on down the line. If they all sell really quickly and it's a total hassle, I can then consider the demand high enough to try something else out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Poker99 Posted January 14, 2010 Members Share Posted January 14, 2010 I can't answer your question about shipping costs (I'm sure some will do, and I'm quite interested), but I think you should use BANDCAMP to sell your music. They now sell physical CDs. You do the packaging. www.bandcamp.com Check them out. Their cut = 0$ !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sheraton Player Posted January 14, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 14, 2010 I do use bandcamp, that's how I've been giving away the albums so far. But I didn't know they dealt with CDs! Thanks, I'm on it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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