The consumer-electronics giant, which happens also to be the third-largest music seller behind Apple's iTunes and Wal-Mart, is considering devoting eight square feet of merchandising space in all of its 1,020 stores solely to vinyl, which would equate to just under 200 albums, after a test in 100 of its stores around the country proved successful.
Though vinyl represents less than 5 percent of Best Buy's music sales, the format is growing while CD sales continue to shrink.
Vinyl sales grew 15 percent year-over-year in 2007 and 89 percent in 2008, making the 1.9 million vinyl albums purchased last year the most since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991. This year is shaping up to be even better, with 670,000 vinyl albums sold through mid-April.
By contrast, CD sales have fallen at a roughly 20 percent clip for the past few years.
To be sure, the growth in vinyl, even when combined with digital sales, isn't enough to offset the decline in CD sales. But it does show that consumers haven't abandoned the physical format.
And the fact that a retailer of Best Buy's size is willing to expand vinyl offerings is an incremental positive for the beleaguered music industry. A typical Best Buy store features about 16 square feet to 20 square feet of music merchandise and displays about 8,000 CDs.
"Our goal is to occupy as much square footage as possible with music products," said Atlantic Records CEO Craig Kallman, whose personal vinyl collection numbers more than 300,000, making it one of the largest private collections in the world.
Hoping to capitalize on the renewed interest in vinyl, all of the major record labels have combed through their catalogs to remaster and re-release marquee titles with their original artwork and packaging -- both of which are essential elements for the vinyl consumer.
For instance, EMI in September 2008 launched its "From the Capitol Vaults" vinyl initiative with such titles as The Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds," Jimi Hendrix's "Band of Gypsies," and Radiohead's "OK Computer."
Compared with a CD, vinyl costs more to make and retails for a higher price -- $22.95 vs. around $13.99 for a CD -- but has lower margins.
Both Kallman and Jason Boyd, EMI's senior director of catalog sales, said profits made from vinyl were acceptable enough to warrant producing the format.
The situation is the reverse for Best Buy. Chris Smith, the company's senior music merchant, said margins on vinyl sales are "healthy enough" to mitigate the risk that comes along with not being able to return unsold inventory like it can with CDs.
Showing posts with label sales. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sales. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Sell It Yourself.....
The system is bullshit that you only make about 77,000 dollars from sales topping 2 million.....let's say each copy was sold for 15 bucks each. At 2 million copies, that is 30 million dollars. And she only sees 77 grand? She is right, someone is getting rich off those sales and it sure as hell aint the one who wrote the material.
Lily Allen Angry for Not Earning Enough Money From Album Sales
Lily Allen is unhappy when finding out that she has earned only 50,000 pounds from her debut album "Alright, Still" despite its impressive selling point, which reached almost two million copies worldwide. "I don't make any money out of record sales at all. I make money out of touring and syncs, publishing," she says during an interview in Q Radio.
"My songs being put on 'Grey's Anatomy' things like that," Lily reveals further. "I don't make any money at all from selling an album, which is probably why I feel so angry about doing all this promotion because I am not earning any money out of it, someone else (is) and they don't have to live with the lasting effects."
In related news, Lily Allen has hinted to make a live appearance at this year's Glastonbury Festival during an interview with Absolute Radio Hometime DJ Geoff Lloyd. "I will be playing lots of festival this year. I'm not allowed to say which. But yes, one begins with a G," she states.
Lily's second studio album "It's Not Me, It's You" meanwhile is due to hit the U.K. market on February 9. Its sounds will reportedly range from jazz, country to dance music.
Lily Allen Angry for Not Earning Enough Money From Album Sales
Lily Allen is unhappy when finding out that she has earned only 50,000 pounds from her debut album "Alright, Still" despite its impressive selling point, which reached almost two million copies worldwide. "I don't make any money out of record sales at all. I make money out of touring and syncs, publishing," she says during an interview in Q Radio.
"My songs being put on 'Grey's Anatomy' things like that," Lily reveals further. "I don't make any money at all from selling an album, which is probably why I feel so angry about doing all this promotion because I am not earning any money out of it, someone else (is) and they don't have to live with the lasting effects."
In related news, Lily Allen has hinted to make a live appearance at this year's Glastonbury Festival during an interview with Absolute Radio Hometime DJ Geoff Lloyd. "I will be playing lots of festival this year. I'm not allowed to say which. But yes, one begins with a G," she states.
Lily's second studio album "It's Not Me, It's You" meanwhile is due to hit the U.K. market on February 9. Its sounds will reportedly range from jazz, country to dance music.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
A Recession Is Great For Freelance Work
Now would be a good time to concentrate on making money with your talents, not skills. Get out and talk to people and offer your services. Advertise your services.
Always thought about freelance work but have not found the right time? Well, if we are faced with a recession, experience shows that a recession can be a good time to be a freelancer.
Many larger companies and organizations lay off full-time employees and contract the work out to freelance professionals. It's cheaper for the some companies because they don't have to pay related benefits or long-term employment issues.
How do you get started? You don't need to even quit your full-time job. Becoming a part-time freelance professional has never been easier. Then, if you decide you have enough work and want to switch to full-time later...you can. Some people just stay part-time and enjoy the extra income.
In order to get started, the first step is finding a good freelance community and search for work that may be of interest to you. There are many different freelance communities with thousands of different jobs available. You will just have to find the one that fits your interests and goals.
Once you have found work that you are interested in, you will either apply or bid on the available work. You may not be chosen for every assignment, but with so many available, you are certain to find just the right work for you.
Then you work with employers, complete your assignments, and receive payment.
As you complete more and more work, you will earn a reputation as a freelance professional...so if a recession hits, they will pick you as their worker of choice.
Always thought about freelance work but have not found the right time? Well, if we are faced with a recession, experience shows that a recession can be a good time to be a freelancer.
Many larger companies and organizations lay off full-time employees and contract the work out to freelance professionals. It's cheaper for the some companies because they don't have to pay related benefits or long-term employment issues.
How do you get started? You don't need to even quit your full-time job. Becoming a part-time freelance professional has never been easier. Then, if you decide you have enough work and want to switch to full-time later...you can. Some people just stay part-time and enjoy the extra income.
In order to get started, the first step is finding a good freelance community and search for work that may be of interest to you. There are many different freelance communities with thousands of different jobs available. You will just have to find the one that fits your interests and goals.
Once you have found work that you are interested in, you will either apply or bid on the available work. You may not be chosen for every assignment, but with so many available, you are certain to find just the right work for you.
Then you work with employers, complete your assignments, and receive payment.
As you complete more and more work, you will earn a reputation as a freelance professional...so if a recession hits, they will pick you as their worker of choice.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Making the Most Out of Online Resources
Written by Daylle Deanna Schwartz
Author of "Start & Run Your Own Record Label" and "I Don’t Need a Record Deal!"
© 2009 All Rights Reserved. Used By Permission
Indie artists often complain about not having the budget they’d like to market and promote their music. Nowadays, digital marketing offers a plethora of opportunities for marketing yourself and your music that doesn’t cost anything in dollars. But, it can be hard to know where to begin—and end. While much of it is good for those of you with small to no money budgets, there’s still a big expense for taking advantage of so many opportunities—TIME.
The good AND the bad news: the cost to break an independent act can be more in time than in dollars. It’s great to have free tools! But you could spend all of your waking hours going onto all the different social networking sites and other avenues of promotion and still not make a dent. With all the artists and labels vying for online attention, you must work to make your music stand out.
It’s important to brand your name online. The more people see it, the more curiosity can be generated, which leads to potential fans or clients checking you out. The more you respond to fans who write to you, the more loyal fans you’ll have. But so much of the efforts to find fans is one by one, which accounts for a lot of the time you need to put into it.
It’s not enough to just register on all the websites. While there’s unlimited space for everyone online, you can get lost in it all and not make any constructive progress. I know. I’m always getting links to sites I “should check out.” People email me both to my server and on the social networking sites. It gets overwhelming. Another day ends and I haven’t done any writing. So I must get tough with myself in order to function.
Time isn’t FREE when it costs you your sleep, your personal life and even your sanity. But you can take control of online activities to make the most of the best opportunities. Here are so DOs and DON’Ts for getting the most out of your online resources.
DON’T jump around to everything that seems interesting or the new flavor of the month.
DO force yourself to stay on track. Put aside things you want to check out for when you have some time or accept you can’t look over everything. Learn the benefits of hitting DELETE.
DON’T immediately answer emails when they come in or click when you get a link.
DO: Prioritize what most needs to be done at this point. I have a NEED TO ANSWER folder and put personal emails and those asking questions into it. Have a block of time set aside when all you do is answer emails. When time is up, leave the rest for the next block!
DON’T jump from one site to another and register with every one you can.
DO plan your direction carefully and prioritize your needs to work them properly. Social networking sites allow musicians to seek fans out and interact with them. But working one or two hard is strongly advised as opposed to doing a little bit on many. If you have too many, you don’t work anything well and you can spread yourself too thin. Decide which sites are best for you and concentrate your energy to build up relationships with fans on them.
DON’T try to do everything yourself. DO mobilize fans to help. Get volunteers to assist you in following up with online activities. Ask them to tell other musicians on the site about you, use your music as their default on their MySpace page and drive potential fans to your sites. If you have a budget, hire an online marketing specialist to direct your efforts and do some of the legwork.
DON’T register with any social networking site that you’re not prepared to follow up with.
DO answer every email and make your presence known. Respond to comments. Nowadays, when people hear an artist they like or see you perform, they’ll leave a comment on your MySpace page. It’s important to respond. Musicians who keep in touch with their fans religiously build the strongest communities and get the most support.
DON’T focus just on MySpace and Facebook.
DO diversify. While pure social networking sites are great to exploit, get your music in places where people can find it. Do as many things as you can that don’t require constant attention that give your music potential exposure. Create iMixes up in the iTunes music store. Get your music into streaming radio sites, such as Last.fm, Pandora, Launch, iLike, etc. Send it to MP3 bloggers who review your genre of music. Post videos on YouTube. And get yourself on wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia. These efforts often just require doing something once and can drive people to find your music.
DON’T think that selling and promoting your music online is all you need.
DO everything you can in real life too. Touring is still important for creating a strong connection with fans. People do live a good part of their lives off the computer so follow traditional promotion routes too.
DON’T put all your energy into inviting people you don’t know to be your friend or worry about having big numbers of them.
DO be more concerned with connecting to real fans. Successful artists say they don’t worry about how many friends they have on MySpace. What’s important is that they’re real fans who care about reading bulletin posts and getting invitations to your gigs. Of course you can invite people to be your friend if you want to know them. But do that with an email to introduce yourself so they know who you are and why you’re requesting them as a friend. Just inviting for the sake of upping your numbers is a waste of time these days. I don’t have thousands of friends on MySpace but every one of them came to me. I like that better! www.myspace.com/Daylle
Before you begin, make sure you’re ready to commit the time. Even with limits, you’ll spend hours a day keeping up. Find sites that are the likeliest to reach your audience and work them with a vengeance. Take advantage of every function they offer. Join relevant communities. Interact on them as much as you can so people get to know you. Eventually some will come to your page and hear your music.
Being online can be a full time job and you might only have a limited amount of time to devote. ReverbNation www.reverbnation.com has many helpful tools that can save you a lot of time and maximize your online reach. Some people hire a promoter to do it for them. If you don’t have a budget, I highly advise that you put aside time every day to work this new model for marketing and promoting music online, with a real plan.
Author of "Start & Run Your Own Record Label" and "I Don’t Need a Record Deal!"
© 2009 All Rights Reserved. Used By Permission
Indie artists often complain about not having the budget they’d like to market and promote their music. Nowadays, digital marketing offers a plethora of opportunities for marketing yourself and your music that doesn’t cost anything in dollars. But, it can be hard to know where to begin—and end. While much of it is good for those of you with small to no money budgets, there’s still a big expense for taking advantage of so many opportunities—TIME.
The good AND the bad news: the cost to break an independent act can be more in time than in dollars. It’s great to have free tools! But you could spend all of your waking hours going onto all the different social networking sites and other avenues of promotion and still not make a dent. With all the artists and labels vying for online attention, you must work to make your music stand out.
It’s important to brand your name online. The more people see it, the more curiosity can be generated, which leads to potential fans or clients checking you out. The more you respond to fans who write to you, the more loyal fans you’ll have. But so much of the efforts to find fans is one by one, which accounts for a lot of the time you need to put into it.
It’s not enough to just register on all the websites. While there’s unlimited space for everyone online, you can get lost in it all and not make any constructive progress. I know. I’m always getting links to sites I “should check out.” People email me both to my server and on the social networking sites. It gets overwhelming. Another day ends and I haven’t done any writing. So I must get tough with myself in order to function.
Time isn’t FREE when it costs you your sleep, your personal life and even your sanity. But you can take control of online activities to make the most of the best opportunities. Here are so DOs and DON’Ts for getting the most out of your online resources.
DON’T jump around to everything that seems interesting or the new flavor of the month.
DO force yourself to stay on track. Put aside things you want to check out for when you have some time or accept you can’t look over everything. Learn the benefits of hitting DELETE.
DON’T immediately answer emails when they come in or click when you get a link.
DO: Prioritize what most needs to be done at this point. I have a NEED TO ANSWER folder and put personal emails and those asking questions into it. Have a block of time set aside when all you do is answer emails. When time is up, leave the rest for the next block!
DON’T jump from one site to another and register with every one you can.
DO plan your direction carefully and prioritize your needs to work them properly. Social networking sites allow musicians to seek fans out and interact with them. But working one or two hard is strongly advised as opposed to doing a little bit on many. If you have too many, you don’t work anything well and you can spread yourself too thin. Decide which sites are best for you and concentrate your energy to build up relationships with fans on them.
DON’T try to do everything yourself. DO mobilize fans to help. Get volunteers to assist you in following up with online activities. Ask them to tell other musicians on the site about you, use your music as their default on their MySpace page and drive potential fans to your sites. If you have a budget, hire an online marketing specialist to direct your efforts and do some of the legwork.
DON’T register with any social networking site that you’re not prepared to follow up with.
DO answer every email and make your presence known. Respond to comments. Nowadays, when people hear an artist they like or see you perform, they’ll leave a comment on your MySpace page. It’s important to respond. Musicians who keep in touch with their fans religiously build the strongest communities and get the most support.
DON’T focus just on MySpace and Facebook.
DO diversify. While pure social networking sites are great to exploit, get your music in places where people can find it. Do as many things as you can that don’t require constant attention that give your music potential exposure. Create iMixes up in the iTunes music store. Get your music into streaming radio sites, such as Last.fm, Pandora, Launch, iLike, etc. Send it to MP3 bloggers who review your genre of music. Post videos on YouTube. And get yourself on wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia. These efforts often just require doing something once and can drive people to find your music.
DON’T think that selling and promoting your music online is all you need.
DO everything you can in real life too. Touring is still important for creating a strong connection with fans. People do live a good part of their lives off the computer so follow traditional promotion routes too.
DON’T put all your energy into inviting people you don’t know to be your friend or worry about having big numbers of them.
DO be more concerned with connecting to real fans. Successful artists say they don’t worry about how many friends they have on MySpace. What’s important is that they’re real fans who care about reading bulletin posts and getting invitations to your gigs. Of course you can invite people to be your friend if you want to know them. But do that with an email to introduce yourself so they know who you are and why you’re requesting them as a friend. Just inviting for the sake of upping your numbers is a waste of time these days. I don’t have thousands of friends on MySpace but every one of them came to me. I like that better! www.myspace.com/Daylle
Before you begin, make sure you’re ready to commit the time. Even with limits, you’ll spend hours a day keeping up. Find sites that are the likeliest to reach your audience and work them with a vengeance. Take advantage of every function they offer. Join relevant communities. Interact on them as much as you can so people get to know you. Eventually some will come to your page and hear your music.
Being online can be a full time job and you might only have a limited amount of time to devote. ReverbNation www.reverbnation.com has many helpful tools that can save you a lot of time and maximize your online reach. Some people hire a promoter to do it for them. If you don’t have a budget, I highly advise that you put aside time every day to work this new model for marketing and promoting music online, with a real plan.
43 Places to Promote Your Music - February 2009
This month's newsletter features the listings that were submitted to me this past month. The contacts listed are sorted into FIVE sections.
- Publications that will REVIEW your music
- Radio Stations/Shows that will PLAY your songs
- Labels, Vendors and Promotional Services that will help you to SELL your CD
- Sites where you can UPLOAD your band's MP3s or videos
- A wide range of Helpful Resources for recording artists
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Monday, February 9, 2009
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Digital Boom Creates Music Sales Record
British music sales are booming as young fans increasingly buy songs online rather than illegally downloading them, the country's industry body said Wednesday.
The BPI, formerly known as the British Phonographic Industry, said big-selling releases by artists including Leona Lewis, Coldplay, the Killers and Take That also helped drive sales to record levels last year.
The industry has struggled in recent years to adapt to rapidly changing technologies, and has been hit hard by illegal downloading of music via peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing websites.
But download sales grew by 33 percent last year, while 2008 was the biggest sales year on record in terms of singles sales in all formats, with 115 million single tracks sold.
The deepening recession has hit some retailers -- notably Woolworths and high street music retailer Zavvi, formerly Virgin Megastore -- but in other ways it could even be helping the industry, said BPI boss Geoff Taylor.
"Every business and consumer in the UK is having a tough time, and these difficult trading conditions make the resilience of the UK's music market all the more notable," he said.
"During a recession, people look for purchases that are excellent value for money and bring a lot of enjoyment, and music does just this," he added.
While downloads of single tracks have soared, the market for albums has also been helped by growing online sales: some 10 million albums were sold, a 65 percent increase on 2007.
Kim Bayley, head of the Entertainment Retailers Association, said traditional high street music sales were also holding up. "Music performed better in UK stores in 2008 than anyone had expected.
"The big lesson of 2008 is that if the music is strong enough and retailers work well with suppliers to get that product in-store, music fans will respond and buy in their droves."
The upbeat British music news came a day after US technology giant Apple said that every song in its iTunes library will be available without anti-piracy software by April.
The BPI, formerly known as the British Phonographic Industry, said big-selling releases by artists including Leona Lewis, Coldplay, the Killers and Take That also helped drive sales to record levels last year.
The industry has struggled in recent years to adapt to rapidly changing technologies, and has been hit hard by illegal downloading of music via peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing websites.
But download sales grew by 33 percent last year, while 2008 was the biggest sales year on record in terms of singles sales in all formats, with 115 million single tracks sold.
The deepening recession has hit some retailers -- notably Woolworths and high street music retailer Zavvi, formerly Virgin Megastore -- but in other ways it could even be helping the industry, said BPI boss Geoff Taylor.
"Every business and consumer in the UK is having a tough time, and these difficult trading conditions make the resilience of the UK's music market all the more notable," he said.
"During a recession, people look for purchases that are excellent value for money and bring a lot of enjoyment, and music does just this," he added.
While downloads of single tracks have soared, the market for albums has also been helped by growing online sales: some 10 million albums were sold, a 65 percent increase on 2007.
Kim Bayley, head of the Entertainment Retailers Association, said traditional high street music sales were also holding up. "Music performed better in UK stores in 2008 than anyone had expected.
"The big lesson of 2008 is that if the music is strong enough and retailers work well with suppliers to get that product in-store, music fans will respond and buy in their droves."
The upbeat British music news came a day after US technology giant Apple said that every song in its iTunes library will be available without anti-piracy software by April.
Free PHP Script That Sells Your Beats and Music!
504 Productions (www.504productions.com) will help you install this script for 25 bucks.....customization is extra though! But check it out if you want to sell your tunes. They have a mini flash player plus many many many more features.......
Maian Music
Introduction:
Music is my first love, so its a surprise its taken me so long to develop something music based. I had the idea for this script in 2006 when someone mentioned adapting Maian Cart into an .mp3 system. This script enables you to preview and sell your music in .mp3 format. In the live demo you`ll find some of my own music from a few years ago. Some of you may remember it from M-Dream a while ago. Enjoy the script!
Script Features:
- Easy to use mp3 music store to sell/preview mp3 tracks
- Add unlimited albums
- Group tracks into albums
- XHTML/CSS public layout
- Premium Beat flash music player for mp3 previews
- Store mp3 files outside of web root for security
- Store album mp3 files in their own folders
- Expiry limits for downloads and download page for track protection
- Built in check to prevent linking to download page
- Option for discount if whole album is purchased
- Supports 15 currencies
- Paypal IPN test mode available via Sandbox
- Optional mod_rewrite for search engine friendly urls
- Structure albums as parent/child association. ie: Sub categories
- Optional SMTP send mail option
- RSS feed to show latest albums
- Option to include artwork download link with full album purchase
- Graphical stats to view most popular track/album purchases
- Search engines for both public and admin interface
- Simple cart system
- Option to add smaller mp3 file for previews
- Template driven for easy HTML editing
- Auto installation file
- Public interface contact option
- Option to contact buyers from admin interface
- View sales in admin area with album/track purchase details
- About and Licence pages updateable via settings
- Option to re-send download link to buyer
Requirements/Testing Environments:
PHP v4.3.0 or higher.
Paypal Business or Premier Account
CURL support enabled for Paypal IPN system
GD graphics library with Freetype support for captcha
Browser Testing: IE7, IE6, Opera 9.2.5, Firefox 3.0
Local Server Testing: Apache server (2.2.4) running PHP v5.2.5, MySQL v5.0.45-nt
Production Server Testing: Apache server running PHP v5.2.4, MySQL 4.1.22-standard
Error Reporting Level for Development: E_ALL
http://www.maianscriptworld.co.uk/free-php-scripts/maian-music/free-mp3-music-store-system/index.html
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Digital Distribution for the Indie Artist
I get many emails asking how I have my music available on many download websites such as iTunes and Beatport. I use 2 different services and will go over them for you now.
The first service is offered through CD Baby. Now at this time, you cannot upload a single track to CD Baby. I have read they are moving in that direction. For what they do offer, it is worth it and from a business perspective is a bit more sensible.
Any CD that you sell through CD Baby you can sign up for their digital distribution. The best thing about their program is they take nothing from you ever. The only thing that is required is a bar code. If you have a bar code for your CD, then you can sign up your CD for free with them. If not, a bar code is 20 bucks. Not a bad deal when you see the digital stores you will be submitted too.
- Apple iTunes
- Amazon
- BuyMusic
- GreatIndieMusic
- GroupieTunes
- iSound
- Last.fm
- Mix And Burn
- MP3tunes
- MSN Music
- MusicNet
- PayPlay
- Rhapsody
- Txttunes
- Verizon
- Zune
The only deal with CD Baby is that you must submit your CD to them to sell to be able to enroll in their digital distribution program. To me, I feel it is worth it. You get your tunes on the bigger websites that are for the consumer or fan. Sites like iTunes & Amazon alone are worth it.
From a business point of view, it is smarter to get the CD out before you start to sell your Mp3s of the CD. Milk your CD sales for what you can for at least 60 days. Then get those mp3s listed and promote it as "Now Available on iTunes!"...
The second service I use to distribute to the DJ consumer would be Symphonic Distribution. They deal with labels only. They supply a wide range of websites that cater to the DJ. Here is a list of some of the stores they distribute too.
- Beatport
- Breakbeat Alliance
- Breakbeat Online
- DJ Download
- DJ Mag.com
- DJ Mr
- Juno Download
- Mixmag
Now Symphonic Distribution does distribute to stores that CD Baby also distributes too. Stores such as Apple iTunes, Amazon, and Rhapsody. You can choose from each service what stores you want them to distribute too. Just tell Symphonic Distribution not to distribute to stores that would be a conflict. Most major stores do not appreciate your music being submitted from more than one source.
Now if you are an independent artist, you will not be able to use Symphonic Distribution. They only cater to labels. The only way to get your tunes on Beatport is to find a label that would submit your music to Beatport. Beatport has strict rules and is one of the hardest stores to get your music on. It is also one of the ones with the strictest rules.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
The Vinyl War Begins
Press Editor Mike Lloyd spotlighted me in his weekly column this past Sunday, and he mentioned I started this blog to track what's going on at independent music stores.
While that's clearly not the only thing I write about, the indie-music world has been a big part of it, and I'm grateful to have a mainstream platform to vent on behalf of a relatively esoteric subculture. Here's one of my quotes from his column I'm rather proud of:
The silver lining for indies in the past few years -- the survivors, anyway -- has been vinyl.
The reasons for the LP's most recent comeback are numerous and well-catalogued, and the benefits for retailers are obvious. The customer base is loyal, and the product can sell at a higher profit margin because not many stores carry it. (Disclosure: I hang out at Vertigo, like, all the time.)
It was with a bit of sadness, then, that I read this article the other day. The big dogs, apparently, have gotten a whiff of vinyl, whose skyrocketing sales couldn't have stayed under the radar for long.
So the indies gear up for yet another fight. But when it comes to the battle over vinyl, my money's on the record-store geeks, not the blue shirts...
While that's clearly not the only thing I write about, the indie-music world has been a big part of it, and I'm grateful to have a mainstream platform to vent on behalf of a relatively esoteric subculture. Here's one of my quotes from his column I'm rather proud of:
- "There are music fans who appreciate the chance to shop at stores where the personnel did more than put on blue shirts."
The silver lining for indies in the past few years -- the survivors, anyway -- has been vinyl.
The reasons for the LP's most recent comeback are numerous and well-catalogued, and the benefits for retailers are obvious. The customer base is loyal, and the product can sell at a higher profit margin because not many stores carry it. (Disclosure: I hang out at Vertigo, like, all the time.)
It was with a bit of sadness, then, that I read this article the other day. The big dogs, apparently, have gotten a whiff of vinyl, whose skyrocketing sales couldn't have stayed under the radar for long.
So the indies gear up for yet another fight. But when it comes to the battle over vinyl, my money's on the record-store geeks, not the blue shirts...
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Bands Favoring Web Over Major Labels
Thousands of fans. A jam-packed tour schedule. A CD for sale. And no record label behemoth behind it all?
That’s today’s music business, according to Chris Bowes, the drummer for the Connecticut band Columbia Fields. And such independent success is fast becoming music industry standard for up-and-coming musical acts trying to build a brand, a following and a sound.
Columbia Fields, whose sound Bowes describes as a sort of Dave Matthews Band meets John Mayer, is among a growing number of musical groups making music independently, without a record label.
All on its own, Columbia Fields has amassed more than 14,000 fans on Myspace.com, booked shows in venues across the state and landed airtime on local radio stations WTIC 96.5 FM and KISS 95.7.
Over the past decade, the music industry has changed. It used to be that a band needed a record label to hit it big. Labels had the power to finance, distribute and promote new music.
New Opportunities
But starting with the days of Napster, technology has given emerging acts new opportunities. Now, artists can amass a substantial following through Internet music downloads, social networking sites like Myspace.com and individual artist Web sites. They can produce CDs in the comfort of home and sell them through online record stores like Cdbaby.com.
“I’m one of those guys who, when I was a kid, always saw myself up on stage, playing in front of thousands of people,” said Bowes, who’s been with Columbia Fields for about two years. The band’s first CD, “When the Night Falls,” has sold about 750 copies at shows and through online distribution with Cdbaby.com.
“The industry’s a little different now,” he added. “Bands don’t necessarily need labels to get in front of large audiences.”
“The heart of all the [industry] changes is definitely technology, bottom line,” said Adam Gootkin, co-owner of the recording studio Onyx Soundlab in Manchester. Half of his studio’s business is with major labels, artists and corporations, like Dell; the other half is with independent artists.
Gootkin’s latest project is a new track for R&B artist Brandy.
Marketing Tools
The music industry is going all digital, said Gootkin. Album sales are down, he added, and that means less income for labels, which are set up to sell CDs. Without the need for distribution, record labels become little more than banks, he said. Large labels have yet to adjust their business model to fit the digital times.
Declining revenues from CD sales has had one immediate impact on the industry, namely that labels are becoming more selective in whom they choose to sign, Gootkin said. That means musicians who are looking for the financial backing of a major record label need to come to them prepared, pre-packaged with an image, a brand and a following, he said.
“The closer you are to helping them see the vision, the closer you are to getting a deal,” Gootkin said.
Part of that challenge for young musicians is marketing, said Sheri Ziccardi, public relations manager for The Hartt School, the arts school at the University of Hartford. Ziccardi has spent years helping students in creative fields market themselves. The tools certainly have evolved, she said.
“Thinking about marketing and promoting themselves can be a challenge for creative types, who do not necessarily want to think about the ‘business’ side of the industry they choose to enter,” Ziccardi said in an e-mail. “Fortunately, today’s students have been raised in a techno-heavy culture and are comfortable with utilizing technology for self-expression and communication, so marketing themselves may become easier for them in some ways than it was for their predecessors.”
Staying Independent
If musicians can grasp the ins and outs of the industry, staying independent can be a viable option.
Music industry veteran and songwriting instructor Bill Pere maintains that it only takes a band about 10,000 fans to be able to make music full-time and remain independent of a label. He’s seen it happen, when musicians are industry-savvy.
“A person is now able to get their material to a wide audience,” said the Mystic-based Pere, who has put out 16 CDs but makes most of his royalties from digital downloads. “The trade-off is that in the old school … the record label basically does everything for you,” he added. “And all you have to do is your music.”
But artists attached to a label get a small piece of the pie, if anything at all, he said.
For example, a band signs a contract with a label and gets a $500,000 advance to make an album. Any royalties that come from the sale of the resulting album must first go to pay back that advance, Pere said.
“If you don’t sell enough, you don’t get anything,” Pere said. “It takes a heck of a lot of sales to make any money.”
Keeping Profits
The independent market doesn’t offer the connections or the budget. “But you get to keep 100 percent of everything you make,” said Pere, who has remained independent throughout his musical career. “You are the one issuing contracts to other people to do work the way you want it done.”
Downloadable music has also created the need for a more strategic approach to songwriting, Pere said. Sometimes listeners only get to sample the first 30 seconds of a song before deciding whether or not to purchase it. Long intros won’t get a song downloaded; those first 30 seconds have to rock.
“It’s a totally transformed world, with its good sides and bad sides,” he added. “It’s not a matter or right or wrong. It’s about having your eyes wide open.”
That’s today’s music business, according to Chris Bowes, the drummer for the Connecticut band Columbia Fields. And such independent success is fast becoming music industry standard for up-and-coming musical acts trying to build a brand, a following and a sound.
Columbia Fields, whose sound Bowes describes as a sort of Dave Matthews Band meets John Mayer, is among a growing number of musical groups making music independently, without a record label.
All on its own, Columbia Fields has amassed more than 14,000 fans on Myspace.com, booked shows in venues across the state and landed airtime on local radio stations WTIC 96.5 FM and KISS 95.7.
Over the past decade, the music industry has changed. It used to be that a band needed a record label to hit it big. Labels had the power to finance, distribute and promote new music.
New Opportunities
But starting with the days of Napster, technology has given emerging acts new opportunities. Now, artists can amass a substantial following through Internet music downloads, social networking sites like Myspace.com and individual artist Web sites. They can produce CDs in the comfort of home and sell them through online record stores like Cdbaby.com.
“I’m one of those guys who, when I was a kid, always saw myself up on stage, playing in front of thousands of people,” said Bowes, who’s been with Columbia Fields for about two years. The band’s first CD, “When the Night Falls,” has sold about 750 copies at shows and through online distribution with Cdbaby.com.
“The industry’s a little different now,” he added. “Bands don’t necessarily need labels to get in front of large audiences.”
“The heart of all the [industry] changes is definitely technology, bottom line,” said Adam Gootkin, co-owner of the recording studio Onyx Soundlab in Manchester. Half of his studio’s business is with major labels, artists and corporations, like Dell; the other half is with independent artists.
Gootkin’s latest project is a new track for R&B artist Brandy.
Marketing Tools
The music industry is going all digital, said Gootkin. Album sales are down, he added, and that means less income for labels, which are set up to sell CDs. Without the need for distribution, record labels become little more than banks, he said. Large labels have yet to adjust their business model to fit the digital times.
Declining revenues from CD sales has had one immediate impact on the industry, namely that labels are becoming more selective in whom they choose to sign, Gootkin said. That means musicians who are looking for the financial backing of a major record label need to come to them prepared, pre-packaged with an image, a brand and a following, he said.
“The closer you are to helping them see the vision, the closer you are to getting a deal,” Gootkin said.
Part of that challenge for young musicians is marketing, said Sheri Ziccardi, public relations manager for The Hartt School, the arts school at the University of Hartford. Ziccardi has spent years helping students in creative fields market themselves. The tools certainly have evolved, she said.
“Thinking about marketing and promoting themselves can be a challenge for creative types, who do not necessarily want to think about the ‘business’ side of the industry they choose to enter,” Ziccardi said in an e-mail. “Fortunately, today’s students have been raised in a techno-heavy culture and are comfortable with utilizing technology for self-expression and communication, so marketing themselves may become easier for them in some ways than it was for their predecessors.”
Staying Independent
If musicians can grasp the ins and outs of the industry, staying independent can be a viable option.
Music industry veteran and songwriting instructor Bill Pere maintains that it only takes a band about 10,000 fans to be able to make music full-time and remain independent of a label. He’s seen it happen, when musicians are industry-savvy.
“A person is now able to get their material to a wide audience,” said the Mystic-based Pere, who has put out 16 CDs but makes most of his royalties from digital downloads. “The trade-off is that in the old school … the record label basically does everything for you,” he added. “And all you have to do is your music.”
But artists attached to a label get a small piece of the pie, if anything at all, he said.
For example, a band signs a contract with a label and gets a $500,000 advance to make an album. Any royalties that come from the sale of the resulting album must first go to pay back that advance, Pere said.
“If you don’t sell enough, you don’t get anything,” Pere said. “It takes a heck of a lot of sales to make any money.”
Keeping Profits
The independent market doesn’t offer the connections or the budget. “But you get to keep 100 percent of everything you make,” said Pere, who has remained independent throughout his musical career. “You are the one issuing contracts to other people to do work the way you want it done.”
Downloadable music has also created the need for a more strategic approach to songwriting, Pere said. Sometimes listeners only get to sample the first 30 seconds of a song before deciding whether or not to purchase it. Long intros won’t get a song downloaded; those first 30 seconds have to rock.
“It’s a totally transformed world, with its good sides and bad sides,” he added. “It’s not a matter or right or wrong. It’s about having your eyes wide open.”
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
iTunes Hits Two Billion Sold Milestone
Apple today announced that more than two billion songs, 50 million television episodes and over 1.3 million feature-length films have been purchased and downloaded from the iTunes Store.
“iTunes has crossed another major milestone by selling over two billion songs—with over a billion of them sold in the last year alone—making it by far the world’s most popular music store,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “And by selling 50 million TV shows and over 1.3 million movies to date, iTunes is already the largest online video store in the world as well.”
The iTunes Store features the world’s largest catalog, with over four million songs, 250 feature films, 350 television shows and over 100,000 podcasts.
“iTunes has crossed another major milestone by selling over two billion songs—with over a billion of them sold in the last year alone—making it by far the world’s most popular music store,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “And by selling 50 million TV shows and over 1.3 million movies to date, iTunes is already the largest online video store in the world as well.”
The iTunes Store features the world’s largest catalog, with over four million songs, 250 feature films, 350 television shows and over 100,000 podcasts.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Digital Distribution?
504 Productions can now help indie artist reach a bigger audience.
If you are wanting to get your music on Beatport, Breakbeat Online, Beatsource, DJ Download and so on.....then give me a shout.
Looking for artists to distribute and promote........
Email me at dantheman@504productions.com
If you are wanting to get your music on Beatport, Breakbeat Online, Beatsource, DJ Download and so on.....then give me a shout.
Looking for artists to distribute and promote........
Email me at dantheman@504productions.com
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
How To Increase Your Online CD Sales
by Tim Sweeney
As the music industry quickly evolves into a more digital and virtual world, Amazon.com and CD Baby have taken the lead in regards to selling the greatest amount of independent artist's CDs. According to various independent researchers, Amazon.com is responsible or approximately 94% of all independent artist sales online. CD Baby is responsible for approximately 3% and the artist's own web sites are responsible for (almost) the remaining 3%. This means that besides your site, Amazon and CD Baby are (practically) the only online retailers music fans will buy your CD from, if you are a true independent artist. What does that mean to all the others? Not much.
Most of the other major music sites focus on selling well known past or current major label artists. Often their largest percentage of sales are Greatest Hits CDs of well established past or current artists. According to research, most if not almost all, of the most popular sites are not interested in carrying independent artist's CDs because of the lack of sales. Which brings us to our key question. If Amazon.com and CD Baby.net, are the two biggest sellers of independent artist's CDs and they want to obviously work with you, how do you sell a lot of CDs through them? Well from my own interviews with the key people at Amazon and CD Baby, it is clear that they almost see identically to what sells CDs through their sites and what doesn't. So lets clue you in, on where you should focus your promotional efforts in the future (that means in the next 5 minutes!)
1. Live shows and the promotion of them. As you know, live shows are now more than 75% of all independent artist's CD sales around the country. Obviously, people who come to your shows are interested in your music. If you do a good job selling your CDs to them after you have played great show, you will see the sales results you want. If people don't have the money to buy one at your show, push them online with a reminder card and emails the next day. As we have talked about before, the promotion of your live shows beyond your mailing list is critical. Giving out sample tapes to new fans (especially the right ones) which include your contact information, your web site address and the performance date, is still selling yourself short. Put on your sample tapes (or sample CDs) that your CD is available at Amazon or CD Baby. If someone drives around with the tape and likes it, but doesn't want to go to the show and they see Amazon or CD Baby on it, there is a good chance they will buy it from them. Ironically, the independent artists I am working with are selling more CDs from sample tapes, than at live shows. Why? Because they are not waiting for an upcoming show before they hand out sample tapes.
2. Pushing sales to Amazon & CD Baby through your own site. Lets face it. Dealing with merchant accounts is not only costly early in your career, it be a pain in the neck. If you are not getting a lot of direct sales (25+ per week), you may want to consider placing a link on your order page to send people to buy your CD at Amazon or CD Baby. For thousands of artists, it has been easier to deal with. Plus some people just like shopping there. Even in my own case, even though we get thousands of direct orders for the books and audio workshops I have written, Amazon get thousands of orders simply because some people just normally shop there.
3. Free standing Internet radio stations While live shows and the promotion of them, motivate the greatest percentage of online sales, free standing Internet radio stations have moved up to third place. For those of you who may be confused with the term, a "free standing Internet radio station," is one that does not just "simulcast" what the commercial or college radio stations, (which they are part of), is playing. They are Internet only and make up their own playlists of what they are playing. Obviously, music fans have been frustrated by the fact, that they have to sit in front of their PCs to hear the station. But as technology keeps developing, we will take internet radio wherever we go. We have already seen it come into the car and the cell phone. Internet radio stations offer a great advantage in that, if people hear something they like, they will look further online for it and possibly buy it right then. A great advantage over having to drive to the store to get it or even just look for it. While there are hundreds of Internet stations out there, most are fans of or a band themselves, primarily promoting their own music. Look for Internet stations that "personalize" the station to the individual music fan that listens to them. Make sure they have a CD sales program with Amazon or CD Baby. My personal favorite is TuneTo.com.
4. Online magazines - The future of CD reviews While the sales percentages are still small, there is increasing optimism about CD sales through online publications. Many, including myself, feel that online magazines could possibly replace most printed music magazines, simply because of their ability for someone to read the review or article and then instantly hear the music. This is very important. As I have said for years, no one can hear your music on a piece of paper. Even if the reviewer tries their best to describe your music, its still not the same as hearing the songs. So your job is to search for online publications that you feel, best appeal to the right audience for your music. Email and mail them your Artist Profile. Now that you know what generates the largest and the smallest amount of sales on Amazon.com and CD Baby.net, let me share with you those promotional strategies which basically do not generate any sales.
* College & Commercial radio airplay While it seems odd even to say it, college and commercial radio airplay, does not generate any real sales online for independent artists. That's not to say there isn't a few sales here and there, but we want to focus on what is going to bring us the greatest amount of sales. Basically, people who listen to traditional radio stations will instinctively look for the CDs at record stores. Unfortunately, if they don't find it, most do not look for it online. Their interest just fades away. This is why online radio stations provide you with more value. When someone hears something they like, they can easily push a few buttons and buy it!
* Reviews in the print media As we talked about before, no one can hear your music on a piece of paper. Amazon and CD Baby will get copies of print reviews from bands who are all excited about the reviews until, they see it has done nothing to sell CDs. My suggestion: a lot of traditional media is waking up to the fact that they can't just "reprint" what's in the print version of their magazine. To add more value, they need to cover other items online to make their web site more valuable. Look in your home market to start with and see if this is the case with, your major daily newspaper and alternatively weeklies. So now that you know what to focus your efforts on and what to take your attention off, there are 3 key points to leave you with.
1. Your web site is key. Having one that is built upon the proper elements of your Artist Profile, will generate sales. DO NOT use your press kit for a foundation. Your web site is there for information and a means in which fans can contact you, but its main purpose is to generate sales.
2. Deal with Amazon and CD Baby directly. Both agree that it is a great disadvantage to have your distributor try to place your CD in their sites. In the case of Amazon, if your CD comes from a distributor, it will be listed as "special order" and they won't stock it. By the time someone places an order it could be 4-6 weeks before they get it! Explore the Amazon Advantage Program. Amazon will stock your CD, list that it ships in 24 hours and pay you directly in 30 days! Plain and simple. They have it and ship it to the person who gets it in the mail in 2-3 days and you get paid shortly after. CD Baby works the almost the same way. Dealing with them direct means they stock it and ship it in 24 hours and pay you in a week! The distributor isn't going to pay you the full amount for 3-6 months. Good luck, if people still want your CD after they are told it will take a month to get it. Deal with Amazon through the Advantage Program and CD Baby direct.
3. Think creatively when promoting your shows online. Don't make the same everyday mistake, thousands of bands do when sending out email announcements for their upcoming shows. Bland doesn't work. Do it in a charming and personal way that continues the "bonding" feeling your fans have. Visit sites and fan clubs of larger established artists, who are your influences. Let them know how, that artist has influenced your music and invite them to check it out for themselves through your site. One point that should be obvious but is commonly forgotten, is to place the "order" link on every page on your site. Don't be humble; your site is there to sell CDs. I know this is a lot of information to take in but hopefully this will help thousands of you, who email me asking the question, "How do I increase my sales on Amazon and CD Baby?"
As the music industry quickly evolves into a more digital and virtual world, Amazon.com and CD Baby have taken the lead in regards to selling the greatest amount of independent artist's CDs. According to various independent researchers, Amazon.com is responsible or approximately 94% of all independent artist sales online. CD Baby is responsible for approximately 3% and the artist's own web sites are responsible for (almost) the remaining 3%. This means that besides your site, Amazon and CD Baby are (practically) the only online retailers music fans will buy your CD from, if you are a true independent artist. What does that mean to all the others? Not much.
Most of the other major music sites focus on selling well known past or current major label artists. Often their largest percentage of sales are Greatest Hits CDs of well established past or current artists. According to research, most if not almost all, of the most popular sites are not interested in carrying independent artist's CDs because of the lack of sales. Which brings us to our key question. If Amazon.com and CD Baby.net, are the two biggest sellers of independent artist's CDs and they want to obviously work with you, how do you sell a lot of CDs through them? Well from my own interviews with the key people at Amazon and CD Baby, it is clear that they almost see identically to what sells CDs through their sites and what doesn't. So lets clue you in, on where you should focus your promotional efforts in the future (that means in the next 5 minutes!)
1. Live shows and the promotion of them. As you know, live shows are now more than 75% of all independent artist's CD sales around the country. Obviously, people who come to your shows are interested in your music. If you do a good job selling your CDs to them after you have played great show, you will see the sales results you want. If people don't have the money to buy one at your show, push them online with a reminder card and emails the next day. As we have talked about before, the promotion of your live shows beyond your mailing list is critical. Giving out sample tapes to new fans (especially the right ones) which include your contact information, your web site address and the performance date, is still selling yourself short. Put on your sample tapes (or sample CDs) that your CD is available at Amazon or CD Baby. If someone drives around with the tape and likes it, but doesn't want to go to the show and they see Amazon or CD Baby on it, there is a good chance they will buy it from them. Ironically, the independent artists I am working with are selling more CDs from sample tapes, than at live shows. Why? Because they are not waiting for an upcoming show before they hand out sample tapes.
2. Pushing sales to Amazon & CD Baby through your own site. Lets face it. Dealing with merchant accounts is not only costly early in your career, it be a pain in the neck. If you are not getting a lot of direct sales (25+ per week), you may want to consider placing a link on your order page to send people to buy your CD at Amazon or CD Baby. For thousands of artists, it has been easier to deal with. Plus some people just like shopping there. Even in my own case, even though we get thousands of direct orders for the books and audio workshops I have written, Amazon get thousands of orders simply because some people just normally shop there.
3. Free standing Internet radio stations While live shows and the promotion of them, motivate the greatest percentage of online sales, free standing Internet radio stations have moved up to third place. For those of you who may be confused with the term, a "free standing Internet radio station," is one that does not just "simulcast" what the commercial or college radio stations, (which they are part of), is playing. They are Internet only and make up their own playlists of what they are playing. Obviously, music fans have been frustrated by the fact, that they have to sit in front of their PCs to hear the station. But as technology keeps developing, we will take internet radio wherever we go. We have already seen it come into the car and the cell phone. Internet radio stations offer a great advantage in that, if people hear something they like, they will look further online for it and possibly buy it right then. A great advantage over having to drive to the store to get it or even just look for it. While there are hundreds of Internet stations out there, most are fans of or a band themselves, primarily promoting their own music. Look for Internet stations that "personalize" the station to the individual music fan that listens to them. Make sure they have a CD sales program with Amazon or CD Baby. My personal favorite is TuneTo.com.
4. Online magazines - The future of CD reviews While the sales percentages are still small, there is increasing optimism about CD sales through online publications. Many, including myself, feel that online magazines could possibly replace most printed music magazines, simply because of their ability for someone to read the review or article and then instantly hear the music. This is very important. As I have said for years, no one can hear your music on a piece of paper. Even if the reviewer tries their best to describe your music, its still not the same as hearing the songs. So your job is to search for online publications that you feel, best appeal to the right audience for your music. Email and mail them your Artist Profile. Now that you know what generates the largest and the smallest amount of sales on Amazon.com and CD Baby.net, let me share with you those promotional strategies which basically do not generate any sales.
* College & Commercial radio airplay While it seems odd even to say it, college and commercial radio airplay, does not generate any real sales online for independent artists. That's not to say there isn't a few sales here and there, but we want to focus on what is going to bring us the greatest amount of sales. Basically, people who listen to traditional radio stations will instinctively look for the CDs at record stores. Unfortunately, if they don't find it, most do not look for it online. Their interest just fades away. This is why online radio stations provide you with more value. When someone hears something they like, they can easily push a few buttons and buy it!
* Reviews in the print media As we talked about before, no one can hear your music on a piece of paper. Amazon and CD Baby will get copies of print reviews from bands who are all excited about the reviews until, they see it has done nothing to sell CDs. My suggestion: a lot of traditional media is waking up to the fact that they can't just "reprint" what's in the print version of their magazine. To add more value, they need to cover other items online to make their web site more valuable. Look in your home market to start with and see if this is the case with, your major daily newspaper and alternatively weeklies. So now that you know what to focus your efforts on and what to take your attention off, there are 3 key points to leave you with.
1. Your web site is key. Having one that is built upon the proper elements of your Artist Profile, will generate sales. DO NOT use your press kit for a foundation. Your web site is there for information and a means in which fans can contact you, but its main purpose is to generate sales.
2. Deal with Amazon and CD Baby directly. Both agree that it is a great disadvantage to have your distributor try to place your CD in their sites. In the case of Amazon, if your CD comes from a distributor, it will be listed as "special order" and they won't stock it. By the time someone places an order it could be 4-6 weeks before they get it! Explore the Amazon Advantage Program. Amazon will stock your CD, list that it ships in 24 hours and pay you directly in 30 days! Plain and simple. They have it and ship it to the person who gets it in the mail in 2-3 days and you get paid shortly after. CD Baby works the almost the same way. Dealing with them direct means they stock it and ship it in 24 hours and pay you in a week! The distributor isn't going to pay you the full amount for 3-6 months. Good luck, if people still want your CD after they are told it will take a month to get it. Deal with Amazon through the Advantage Program and CD Baby direct.
3. Think creatively when promoting your shows online. Don't make the same everyday mistake, thousands of bands do when sending out email announcements for their upcoming shows. Bland doesn't work. Do it in a charming and personal way that continues the "bonding" feeling your fans have. Visit sites and fan clubs of larger established artists, who are your influences. Let them know how, that artist has influenced your music and invite them to check it out for themselves through your site. One point that should be obvious but is commonly forgotten, is to place the "order" link on every page on your site. Don't be humble; your site is there to sell CDs. I know this is a lot of information to take in but hopefully this will help thousands of you, who email me asking the question, "How do I increase my sales on Amazon and CD Baby?"
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)