Is this a scam?

[TheChopsyWanker]

I just released an album last week and I got a message from this guy today:

 

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=93178158

 

He said he would like to play my release on his radio show and asked if it was ok that I send him a promo copy. That's it. My first thought automatically when I read these messages is that they're all scams. But with this one I'm not so sure. The fact that I'm not paying for anything and am only sending a promo copy (just like any other radio station) leads me to believe it's legit. What do you guys think? It's tough these days to decipher between good and bad with these things.

[ddeerreekk]

Sounds ok to me. Most con-artists would try to pull something that would involve you paying them money upfront, so it sounds legit. It could still go either way though, so like everything with the internet, approach with caution.

[Instrospection]

Yep, that sounds okay to me, too. Sometimes you get burnt by guys looking for a freebie, but most of the time, people are pretty good that way about playing promos and whatnot. The worst that you can be out is some postage (shipping to Europe, unfortunately, is always expensive) and the cost of the cd.

[TheChopsyWanker]

Thanks for the responses guys. I think I might go ahead and give it a shot and see what happens.

[daddymack]

Europe is a great market for American bands...why not?

[Poker99]

Seems ok. When they don't ask money... You have nothing to lose.

[Instrospection]

A word of advice: slimline cds may be a great option. You pay about half in shipping, as opposed to the regular cds. Shipping is a REAL killer if you're promo-ing on any sort of mass scale--we promo'd all the stations in Canada here, and that was about 50. Make sure that the spine is labelled, though, just so people can locate it in their collection.

[masterbuilt]

Google the guy. Find out. There are lots of people in Europe, especially the former block nations, that will make pirate copies of western artists works and sell them on the cheap in the streets. Find out if the guy is legit by looking into his "business" and radio station. Does the station exist? Is this guy listed on staff? Who is the ISP he uses? Check the "whois" databases to see who registers the name of his domain, if it is a real domain.

 

Since I am in the publishing business, I have been involved with promotional stuff from camera and software companies. You'd be amazed at how many digital images are stolen and resold as original works world-wide because people don't know how to protect themselves. All of my companies e-books, for example, feature DRM (digital rights management). They are sold via Amazon, MobiPocket, and their partner sites, but, they cannot function unless the file was downloaded from an authorized server.

 

Eastern Europe is a haven for counterfeit music CDs.

 

Sorry about the length of this response... but, these are a few ways to protect yourself.

[daddymack]

Google the guy. Find out. There are lots of people in Europe, especially the former block nations, that will make pirate copies of western artists works and sell them on the cheap in the streets. Find out if the guy is legit by looking into his "business" and radio station. Does the station exist? Is this guy listed on staff? Who is the ISP he uses? Check the "whois" databases to see who registers the name of his domain, if it is a real domain. Since I am in the publishing business, I have been involved with promotional stuff from camera and software companies. You'd be amazed at how many digital images are stolen and resold as original works world-wide because people don't know how to protect themselves. All of my companies e-books, for example, feature DRM (digital rights management). They are sold via Amazon, MobiPocket, and their partner sites, but, they cannot function unless the file was downloaded from an authorized server. Eastern Europe is a haven for counterfeit music CDs. Sorry about the length of this response... but, these are a few ways to protect yourself.

true, but, since the OP would likely never have a chance to sell a CD in the former Eastern Bloc, he really has nothing to lose if the guy does burn a zillion copies and sells them cheap. Look at it as free promotion in an inaccessible market, and its a win-win. If the band becomes popular...then the follow-up CD would of course be a totally different story...

[Instrospection]

 

Google the guy. Find out. There are lots of people in Europe, especially the former block nations, that will make pirate copies of western artists works and sell them on the cheap in the streets. Find out if the guy is legit by looking into his "business" and radio station. Does the station exist? Is this guy listed on staff? Who is the ISP he uses? Check the "whois" databases to see who registers the name of his domain, if it is a real domain. Since I am in the publishing business, I have been involved with promotional stuff from camera and software companies. You'd be amazed at how many digital images are stolen and resold as original works world-wide because people don't know how to protect themselves. All of my companies e-books, for example, feature DRM (digital rights management). They are sold via Amazon, MobiPocket, and their partner sites, but, they cannot function unless the file was downloaded from an authorized server. Eastern Europe is a haven for counterfeit music CDs. Sorry about the length of this response... but, these are a few ways to protect yourself.

 

 

Good advice, but too paranoid. Who is going to honestly go through all of that? I wouldn't. And i've shipped out tons of promos. Some honest people get screwed in the music business.....even in the underground on a smaller level. That's the risk of playing.

 

People can counterfeit cds in the US, too. They can even counterfeit them if they BUY them. I guess we should all just not even offer our music at all!

[masterbuilt]

It takes a couple of minutes to Google the guy. How long does it take to package a CD, take it to the post office and ship to someone. Don't forget the Customs Form. So, in the time it takes to Google the guy and check WHOIS, you could find out if the guy is legit and that is not a waste of time. Just sayin'

[Instrospection]

Perhaps, but when you're sending out a couple hundred promos to radio stations, DJ's and people online that have shows or podcasts--thorough checking isn't a very wise thing to do, simply because you have to gauge what your time is worth to you. When i'm wrapped up in mailing envelopes, bios and customs forms, the LAST thing I want to do is check who's legit and whatnot.

 

WHOIS won't still tell you whether they'll play the disk or not. Some guys have great intentions and BS to get freebies; some guys you piss into the wind and risk it and they end up playing the stuff more than you anticipated (ie: more than one or two spins). Like I say, promos are a risk in many senses and sometimes you'll get burned from many different directions.

 

In the end, count yourself LUCKY that someone is even interested enough to send an email or note back that they enjoyed your material. You don't want to scare those people off. I mean, yeah, every once in awhile, my BS radar goes off and I give them the "quantities are getting low, so promo is getting scarce" message, but i'm generally pretty liberal, because this is what people won't tell you: you have to send promo into the great wide open just to see if people will even give you a bad review, or pay attention at all to what you're doing--ie: not just chucked into the garbage.