An Interesting Strategy

I was just checking out the music of John Wesley, a singer/guitarist/songwriter who does his own music when not touring as an additional guitarist with Porcupine Tree. John lives in my area (Tampa) and sometimes gigs locally.

John has released many albums, and his strategy is interesting. From what I can tell, you enter in your e-mail address, and it links you to a page on his site where you can download any of his previous CD's for free... except his most recent CD, for which he charges. He also has a Paypal donation button. In an interview I read, he said that he released his back catalog for free because he basically got tired of people not hearing his music. That's a statement I can relate to. John had 15,000 downloads in the first 10 days.

I wonder if it's working for him. If I can get a bunch of his albums for free, why would I want to pay for his newest? I'd have to really, really want it, I'm thinking. Would people be tempted to say "I'll just wait a year or two and this new one will be free." Does the Paypal donation button idea work?

I can sell CD's at live gigs still, but online sales have totally tanked for me. Sometimes I feel like I'm sitting on the side of the road with a table set up and a sign that says "Glass of Water - $10." John's had way more success in the music biz than me, and he's doing it. Seeing guys do stuff like this makes me want to rethink my own opinions. Do I continue to insist on my $10 water even though no one is buying?

Hey Marc,

You raised some really good points. Assuming your music is good and people dig it there are a few things to think about.

From a purely economic standpoint there are a few factors you should always be thinking about if you're not getting the success you're looking for.

1) Is your advertising/marketing strategy working? The way to tell this is by actually keeping track of how people are finding your music online and whether or not the time put into marketing it is paying off. For example, if you put in 10 hours of "advertising" time a week on myspace for a 3 months and you only sell one disc this way. Well that's a fat 8 cents an hour on your time return. What do you get the highest rate of return on your time when you advertise your CD? That's where you need to be putting all your energy.

2) If you're getting lots of hits but no bites then consider rewording your page and advertising strategy on the page. If you go this step make sure you keep accurate records to see what's working and what isn't. Be compelling!

3) If still none of this is working consider changing the price of your disc.

I wrote all this because you mentioned changing your price right away to boost sales. Always keep in consideration that pricing is only a single factor when people are purchasing.

Good luck!