New Album Stats..

[richardmac]

 

Who are these people? Artists? Musicians and artists are the worst at analysing the music business... Because they give music too much importance, because they want to believe the average music fan sees music like they do, and most of all because they want to succeed. Music fans just want to have something cool to listen too. IF that thing has big boobs its even better. If you ask kids today about their music I would guess most of them think it rules, and that Gaga and Perry are the greatest thing ever...

 

 

I agree completely.

 

We should not underestimate how carefully crafted Katy Perry's hits are. Those songs aren't written by hacks - they are written by pros who know exactly what melodies are cool and hip right now, what type of orchestration to set up, what type of sound to go for, what type of lyrics will work best, and there isn't a single person in this forum who could have pulled it off as well as those pros. I'm not saying the music is "good." I'm saying the music is calculated expertly the same way an expert group of programmers can write something like Angry Birds. And unless you are an expert pop song writer with his finger on the pulse, what I'm saying is true.

 

I'm actually arguing the same point you are making. They are making "something cool to listen to." That's what pop music is. I think at some point in the past people stumbled across stuff and it "became" cool, but now the stakes are too high and so cool is manufactured.

 

But I think there's a place in music for such things and I like a candy bar or stick of gum every now and then too. If you want to see this idea taken to the ultimate level, look no further than Pixar. Because those guys make the ultimate pop product with their movies. Everything they do is very highly calculated by formula. Everything. They know exactly when to make you laugh, cry, cheer, etc. Only the most cynical among us is not a Pixar fan. I'm a fan, definitely. The difference is that they leave enough room in their formula for all kinds of personality - in jokes, cool pop references, nods to culture, and all kinds of other little interesting knick-knacks. They sand the underside of the drawers. The result has been that they've made most people very happy and have made crazy amounts of money.

 

On the other hand, who the hell wants a world full of nothing but Pixar movies? Imagine if all of our TV shows were like that too. The newer version of Battlestar Galactica would never have been made because it's far too dark and the heroes are far too flawed. But I'm watching it now (missed it when it first came out) and I really love it. It's brilliant.

 

So where does that leave us? Well, personally, I enjoy making whatever music I feel like making. And doing whatever the hell I want. And if I make a CD and no one buys it, I'm OK with that if the CD came out exactly how I wanted. I'm having a blast with music right now. I feel zero pressure. It's a lot of fun.

[J.Paul]

This thread is starting to get off topic...

If Richard is cool w/ noone buying his (turned out the way he wanted it) CD that's OK...
but it's not OK w/ the majors, the agents, talent buyers, programmers, and every other facet of the industry.
Momentum begets momentum and people work w/ acts that are selling.....
but Cds aren't selling, singles are.

So why make the CD?

[richardmac]

I don't know. A lot of people still like the longer format, simply because if we like an artist, then 10 new songs will be better than 1. As far as the industry, aka majors, marketers, and so on, the industry has a choice - adapt or die. CD's don't make any sense any more. The old methods are expensive and the new methods are practically free. Physical CD's do not make any sense any more. They are great to sell at gigs. But the whole retail chain thing is going to be gone except for maybe the top 40. And in a lot of ways we're already there.

 

And... OK, I admit it, I lied. It WOULD bother me if I made a CD and no one ever bought it. It would bug the living {censored} out of me. I've made 3 CD's so far and have sold small quantities of each, but have never lost money on one. I was trying more to capture the sentiment, but you're right, we're way off topic.

 

I think the new model looks something like this:

 

1. Spend all of your time making your music very good or fantastic.

2. THEN figure out how to market it by combining old school (local gigs) and new school (trying to get a song on a hit TV show.)

3. IF you get to the point where you have a career and the majors come knocking, be in the driver's seat - be willing to say no.

[SLScott86]

 

This thread is starting to get off topic... If Richard is cool w/ noone buying his (turned out the way he wanted it) CD that's OK... but it's not OK w/ the majors, the agents, talent buyers, programmers, and every other facet of the industry. Momentum begets momentum and people work w/ acts that are selling..... but Cds aren't selling, singles are. So why make the CD?

 

 

Are people buying physical singles? Putting an album out doesn't do anything to prevent single sales. Although we just give it all away anyway while we build a market, so my argument is invalid.

[daddymack]

by giving it away, all you are doing is cheapening your brand...do you think the same people who got your music for free today will pay you for your new music tomorrow?

[SLScott86]

by giving it away, all you are doing is cheapening your brand...do you think the same people who got your music for free today will pay you for your new music tomorrow?

 

I would assume a person who liked the first album is more likely to buy the second album than a person who had never heard of us. At least I would. The fact that I got the first one for few would be at worst a neutral factor in my decision.

[richardmac]

This is a side track, or maybe a different thread even, but here's my opinion. I don't necessarily think that the desire to purchase a band's music will be impacted by the cost of their last album. I think the desire will be based on how much the customer wants to buy the music. I am definitely a firm believer in giving away some of your music, in some way/shape/form, even if it's just streaming online.

 

But I don't think giving away a whole album is a good idea. You can sell CD's at a live show, or you can't. I'm not talking about your band specifically SLScott86, but all bands. The old model still works, and that is this: Develop a following locally. And sell CD's at those local gigs. To my mind, if you can't do that, you aren't going anywhere anyway. Unless you're trying to pull off some genre that is totally wrong for the local demographic.

 

If people want to buy the music, that's a good sign. If no one wants to buy it, then why would someone else in another state want to? The theory is that if you give away tons of music, you can make lots of fans and later on convert them to consumers. But I think if they're not willing to buy now, they're not likely to buy later.

 

I think it makes sense to sell a CD at a gig as opposed to giving the whole thing away for free online. The big problem is that in the past a person might buy your CD if they liked your band, but now, it seems like they'll only buy your CD if they loved your band. People are less likely to spend money on "good" music - they want "great" or "fantastic" music. So it makes it a tough sell. It basically means that anyone who wants to sell CD's even at a local gig has to have great music.

[daddymack]

Someone mentioned this in another thread, but I will echo it here: You give away a download card or a free CD at your show...check the parking lot and under the tables after everyone leaves...see how many actually went anywhere...people don't respect free...it says 'not worth the money, not worth the effort, and/or not worth anything'.

Ever go to a trade show? They are giving tons of stuff away...wow! a refrigerator magnet...a potato chip bag/binder clip, a pen...a 1.0gb flash drive...whatever...these little chotchkis do not make you a customer.

I'm not saying a free sample is bad...but the guitar manufacturer is not giving away sample guitars! They know their product has market value. With everyone giving away their music for free, there is no longer a real market, since there is no longer a value to the product.

[SLScott86]

I sincerely apologize for the hijack I started as I'm sure it's been discussed at painstaking length elsewhere. And I don't want to make it about myself either. From an artist's perspective, if you create something you are proud of, you want people to hear it. In theory, that's why you are supposed to be making it in the first place. We undervalue the time required to give music an honest listen. It's hard enough to just get that out of people, let alone have them pay you for your privilege of their time. If they love it and find value, then great! I mean, aw sucks, you sold yourself short. Maybe next time. But the cd under a car seat is never going to be any more unopened and unheard than the one in the merch box. The value of being heard is unquantifiable, but to me and a lot of other artists is very real.

 

Addendum: It's worth noting that I only started perusing these forums after I registered to thank someone for sharing our music over on Guitar Jam, discovered via free download.