I like all your ideas except being able to purchase individual songs. The price of the transaction is too much. For now I'm using Paypal, and each transaction costs at least.33 cents.
Down the road I can come up with minimum order requirements, maybe that will help. I suppose I coudl sell music in packs. Meaning you pay ahead for 6 songs or whatever, then after paying you pick the ones you want.
I just started, and fornow just because of the small amount of music I'm offering (about 10 albums by next week), and the low prices..I'm just going to stick with selling a full album.
However, as I find more free time to enhancethe system I'll probably do what you suggested..but that is month away.
I spoke to several labels, and some of them aren;t willing to do FLAC yet..or any other format that that offers lossless sound. I'm not sure I understand thier fear really..but I have to follow thier wishes.....I guess they someof them thinkfor $4 you get this, and for $10 you get THIS. I'm sure I can work on them in a few months if sales are "significant". Significant for a small label isn't very much either....
Hmm...you are right. I didn't realize this..they want 2% of my related revenue! Hmm...still I do need to sell MP3. I'll excluding lots of people by not using MP3. I think in the ocming weeks I'll at least add OGG Vorbis for those that wish to purchase OGG.
Yes....one of the labels any I had a talk similar to this. They are protective of thier artowrk, and don't want it to be represented in a "cheap looking fasion". So we threw around some ideas similar to what you said..to augment the purchase. It may be a PDF of extra info, pictures, lyrics, history, ect ect. We didn't think of the postcard idea though. That's a pretty nice one....I did the limited edition thing.
But MP3's are widley supported, and everyone knows what to do with an MP3. Even people that don't knwo anything about computers kind of know what an MP3 is and know how you can listen to them and burn them to cd.
The response to this has been very very positive
I will eventually add support for other formats, but I chose to concentrate on what takes care of the most people first..thats just common sense to me.
I coudl care less that the music I am selling comes encoded as OGG,MP3,AAC what matters is how universal and accepted the format is.
I would love to build somehitng for you people that want FLAC and other such things, but I can't support that at this time.
well....people are divided on this. Some just want lean and mean. Others want all kinds of extras that come in a sort of kit that you assemble yourself. So...its not much trouble to add the extras, and you don't have to take them if you don't want them
I am interested in offering the highest quality audio..but I can't at this time. It woudl cost me more in bandwidth charges than I could sell it more. I only get a fraction of each sale.
If there were a high enough demand, I coudl buy my own pipe and then supply the highest quality audio. My throughput woudl be smaller, but my bandwidth charge woudl be fixed and predictable.
second, while I personally think there is nothing wrong with getting music from p2p networks..i think its important htat you put something back into the karma pool...buy a band tshirt, see them in concert, ect ect. If you don't do this, you are a leech.
third, just because piracy exists doesn't mean you should not sell or create.
serutan,
so far, the artists get around $1.40 on a $4 sale. Thats prety good. Yes, the artist get paid. In some cases it will be by me, in other cases it will be by the label.
The rest gets split between the label, paypal fees, and me. Now..I have to pay my colcoation fee for 2 boxes, plus the bandwidth charges.
I'm not really planning on making any money on this..but I am hoping to generate some revenue to offset the money I've been spending to keep the radio station running. I do this bedcause I enjoy doing it...if I were to make money great...if I'd be thrilled if I broke even and very hapy if I coudl cover 50% of my monthy expenses.
The only one makign any money in this situation is the artist.
Well, I got some good feedback today, thats for sure. I just hope I can keep up the marketing. That is one of the most time consumeing parts.../. gave it a nice boost today:)
But I'm sure the/. buzz will be worn off by tomorrow *sigh*
Sleeper,
Good advivce. I followed most of it without even thinking about it.
I do not yet have free samples. I probably shoudl ad these, just have to negitate with the labels again. Probably not a big deal.
And ya, realize MP3's and other compressed audio formats make up a microscopic market share. I'm not really doing this to make money, but I hope to generate some revenue to offset the cost of my hobby/hopeful business.
I only offer 192Kbs right now, but I am thinking about offering lower (and higher) rates for other people. I was just saving time by only doing 192.. plus hardly anyone listens to my station over dialup so that prompted me to just sell 192kbs files. Maybe ina week or two I'll suport lower bitrates.
I have more ideas for the future...I just wanted to make something simple for the first run...becauseliek you said.l I didn't want to put massive amounts of effort into somehting that could flop.
I wasn't meaning to sound snippy myself. I've just gotten so many emails its hard to write something short and respond to everyone without sounding curt and nasty:)
>The first copy is sold, pirated, and dumped to newsgroups, peer-to-peer, and the net... and everyone gets it free.
This happens with regular CD's as well. It only takes ONE person to pirate the music...and I can't stop that and I can't worry about what I can't control.
The music is there for those that chose to buy it... They buy or they don't. thats the bottom line. If they chose to get it from Kazaa or whatever.. oh well... out of my hands.
There are people out there that care to make sure the parties resposible for the music get some sort of sompensation. The music I'm selling are bands you probably will not be findig in most music stores, they probably will never tour in your area, and you've probably never heard of them. So, maybe someone will splurge a reasonable $4 to get somehitng new.
I don't see E-Music giving up because pirating exists, and I don't see Sony or EMI packing it in either....but those two are a different story we shouldn;t even be talkign about those bastards.
Good idea. I toyed with doing this....well..what I built was done in a/2 day with what limited free time I have. I know I have work to regarding free samples and also offereing samples at lower bitrates for peopel with slower connections
Well....what I am doing is presented as an alternative, and not as a replacement for someone's music listening/collecting preferences.
I do collect music and care about fancy digi-packs and stuff. But I do buy mp3's sometimes has a cheap way to get some new music.....I just can't buy the best of everything I want to...I'd go broke.
Once you make a purchase, you have access to every track on that album "forever". Forever meaning as long as I'm in business.
Everyoen gets fair use of what thy pay for....if they choose to spread it around on a P2P or whatever, I don't like it, but I can't stop it...so why waste engery over it?
Sure, people could find it for free, but so is a vast majority of the music at your favore CD store. People still buy music....
Ya, I hear ya. I just feel artwork is important for those that care. Its there as a freebie with the purchse. Someone can use it or not use it.
I wish I had time to build a devilery system that was little more clever, but this was the best I could do with the free time I had.
There are many great places to spend money on music if you want to avoid Walmart/BestBuy and RIAA.. CD Baby (www.cdbaby.com) is a great placed.
<br> I was also inspired to create my own heavy rock radio station (rock/metal/stoner/punk ect ect) that caters to the little guys. I try to play 40%-50% indie/local/garage bands. So..if you feel inspred check out Fight For Rock <a href="www.fightforrock.com">www.fightforrock.com</ a>. My playlists is small but growing....
Yes, he is right, but he is a cry baby.
Thats like some of us saying we aren't going to drive cars anymore because the roads of people that turn without signaling, speed, tail-gate and cut us off. Yes..those things happen..but you don't drive any more?
What a baby....
I wouldn't be surprised if he gets mad if someone cuts his sandwhich in 1/2 from cornber to corner versus right down the middle.
Slashdot Mirror
I like all your ideas except being able to purchase individual songs. The price of the transaction is too much. For now I'm using Paypal, and each transaction costs at least .33 cents.
Down the road I can come up with minimum order requirements, maybe that will help. I suppose I coudl sell music in packs. Meaning you pay ahead for 6 songs or whatever, then after paying you pick the ones you want.
I just started, and fornow just because of the small amount of music I'm offering (about 10 albums by next week), and the low prices..I'm just going to stick with selling a full album.
However, as I find more free time to enhancethe system I'll probably do what you suggested..but that is month away.
I spoke to several labels, and some of them aren;t willing to do FLAC yet..or any other format that that offers lossless sound. I'm not sure I understand thier fear really..but I have to follow thier wishes.....I guess they someof them thinkfor $4 you get this, and for $10 you get THIS. I'm sure I can work on them in a few months if sales are "significant". Significant for a small label isn't very much either....
You're idea sounds nice...but the labels won't let me give it away. Its not my choice.
Hmm...you are right. I didn't realize this..they want 2% of my related revenue! Hmm...still I do need to sell MP3. I'll excluding lots of people by not using MP3. I think in the ocming weeks I'll at least add OGG Vorbis for those that wish to purchase OGG.
Yes....one of the labels any I had a talk similar to this. They are protective of thier artowrk, and don't want it to be represented in a "cheap looking fasion". So we threw around some ideas similar to what you said..to augment the purchase. It may be a PDF of extra info, pictures, lyrics, history, ect ect. We didn't think of the postcard idea though. That's a pretty nice one....I did the limited edition thing.
But MP3's are widley supported, and everyone knows what to do with an MP3. Even people that don't knwo anything about computers kind of know what an MP3 is and know how you can listen to them and burn them to cd.
The response to this has been very very positive
I will eventually add support for other formats, but I chose to concentrate on what takes care of the most people first..thats just common sense to me.
I coudl care less that the music I am selling comes encoded as OGG,MP3,AAC what matters is how universal and accepted the format is.
I would love to build somehitng for you people that want FLAC and other such things, but I can't support that at this time.
well....people are divided on this. Some just want lean and mean. Others want all kinds of extras that come in a sort of kit that you assemble yourself. So...its not much trouble to add the extras, and you don't have to take them if you don't want them
I am interested in offering the highest quality audio..but I can't at this time. It woudl cost me more in bandwidth charges than I could sell it more. I only get a fraction of each sale.
If there were a high enough demand, I coudl buy my own pipe and then supply the highest quality audio. My throughput woudl be smaller, but my bandwidth charge woudl be fixed and predictable.
I think I'll make one free track available for each album
first, napster is gone
second, while I personally think there is nothing wrong with getting music from p2p networks..i think its important htat you put something back into the karma pool...buy a band tshirt, see them in concert, ect ect. If you don't do this, you are a leech.
third, just because piracy exists doesn't mean you should not sell or create.
serutan, so far, the artists get around $1.40 on a $4 sale. Thats prety good. Yes, the artist get paid. In some cases it will be by me, in other cases it will be by the label.
The rest gets split between the label, paypal fees, and me. Now..I have to pay my colcoation fee for 2 boxes, plus the bandwidth charges.
I'm not really planning on making any money on this..but I am hoping to generate some revenue to offset the money I've been spending to keep the radio station running. I do this bedcause I enjoy doing it...if I were to make money great...if I'd be thrilled if I broke even and very hapy if I coudl cover 50% of my monthy expenses.
The only one makign any money in this situation is the artist.
Well, I got some good feedback today, thats for sure. I just hope I can keep up the marketing. That is one of the most time consumeing parts... /. gave it a nice boost today :)
/. buzz will be worn off by tomorrow *sigh*
But I'm sure the
Sleeper, Good advivce. I followed most of it without even thinking about it. I do not yet have free samples. I probably shoudl ad these, just have to negitate with the labels again. Probably not a big deal. And ya, realize MP3's and other compressed audio formats make up a microscopic market share. I'm not really doing this to make money, but I hope to generate some revenue to offset the cost of my hobby/hopeful business. I only offer 192Kbs right now, but I am thinking about offering lower (and higher) rates for other people. I was just saving time by only doing 192 .. plus hardly anyone listens to my station over dialup so that prompted me to just sell 192kbs files. Maybe ina week or two I'll suport lower bitrates.
I have more ideas for the future...I just wanted to make something simple for the first run...becauseliek you said.l I didn't want to put massive amounts of effort into somehting that could flop.
I wasn't meaning to sound snippy myself. I've just gotten so many emails its hard to write something short and respond to everyone without sounding curt and nasty :)
>The first copy is sold, pirated, and dumped to newsgroups, peer-to-peer, and the net... and everyone gets it free. This happens with regular CD's as well. It only takes ONE person to pirate the music...and I can't stop that and I can't worry about what I can't control. The music is there for those that chose to buy it... They buy or they don't. thats the bottom line. If they chose to get it from Kazaa or whatever .. oh well... out of my hands.
There are people out there that care to make sure the parties resposible for the music get some sort of sompensation. The music I'm selling are bands you probably will not be findig in most music stores, they probably will never tour in your area, and you've probably never heard of them. So, maybe someone will splurge a reasonable $4 to get somehitng new.
I don't see E-Music giving up because pirating exists, and I don't see Sony or EMI packing it in either....but those two are a different story we shouldn;t even be talkign about those bastards.
Good idea. I toyed with doing this....well..what I built was done in a /2 day with what limited free time I have. I know I have work to regarding free samples and also offereing samples at lower bitrates for peopel with slower connections
Hmmm....not a bad idea. I'll see if the labels want to do that.
Of course I want people to check out the site. I'm interested in getting some feedback.....do you have a better way to do this?
Well....what I am doing is presented as an alternative, and not as a replacement for someone's music listening/collecting preferences. I do collect music and care about fancy digi-packs and stuff. But I do buy mp3's sometimes has a cheap way to get some new music.....I just can't buy the best of everything I want to...I'd go broke.
Once you make a purchase, you have access to every track on that album "forever". Forever meaning as long as I'm in business. Everyoen gets fair use of what thy pay for....if they choose to spread it around on a P2P or whatever, I don't like it, but I can't stop it...so why waste engery over it? Sure, people could find it for free, but so is a vast majority of the music at your favore CD store. People still buy music....
Ya, I hear ya. I just feel artwork is important for those that care. Its there as a freebie with the purchse. Someone can use it or not use it. I wish I had time to build a devilery system that was little more clever, but this was the best I could do with the free time I had.
hmm....my html tags looked ok in preview..and they messed up in the actual post..go figure..
There are many great places to spend money on music if you want to avoid Walmart/BestBuy and RIAA.. CD Baby (www.cdbaby.com) is a great placed.
/ a>. My playlists is small but growing....
<br>
I was also inspired to create my own heavy rock radio station (rock/metal/stoner/punk ect ect) that caters to the little guys. I try to play 40%-50% indie/local/garage bands. So..if you feel inspred check out Fight For Rock <a href="www.fightforrock.com">www.fightforrock.com<
Yes, he is right, but he is a cry baby. Thats like some of us saying we aren't going to drive cars anymore because the roads of people that turn without signaling, speed, tail-gate and cut us off. Yes..those things happen..but you don't drive any more? What a baby.... I wouldn't be surprised if he gets mad if someone cuts his sandwhich in 1/2 from cornber to corner versus right down the middle.