"Poll question: $$ you are willing to pay for an album" Wed Dec-25-13 02:56 PM by Raytard
One of my students hit me up yesterday and wants to drop his album 1st week of the New Year. He asked me what price he should make his album (10 tracks). I told him it's a free for all on price. Some charge $5, some charge $8, but I usually see $9.99 on I tunes.
So let's say its a 10 track album. No interludes or skits, 10 songs
I figured I'd ask here too to get a better perspective though.
2. "4.99 is where I'd be with it" In response to Reply # 0
if you sell the songs for a buck each, there's more incentive to get the whole thing since you'd be paying double via piecemeal
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3. "If he's brand new, go for free....." In response to Reply # 0
Let me listen to the music and us the first project as a springboard to the next one. On the second one more people will cop if they liked the first project.
6. "If it's free the first time" In response to Reply # 3
After paying the musicians, recording engineer, mixing engineer, mastering engineer, graphic designer, web designer, etc...if that first project doesn't blow up then how does the artist go back to make another one?
If only a few people buy it, at least it would be some money. Not enough to recoup all the expenses, but maybe enough to make a few more songs, one of which could be the hit
I'm not saying it's a bad idea to make it free, but I don't know how making that first record free is gonna provide the setup to make the next one. It sounds like in order to afford another project, it would have to get funded almost exclusively off buzz-i.e. The artist is blowing up, so the people working on it are working because they hope to get paid off the backend from a career on the incline.
So the thing I'm grappling with is, is it worth risking the ability to go back and make more records for the sake of granting the world a freebie so early in a career?
Also note: I'm not including this musician getting a job because I'm thinking of my student who plays in different bands as a sideman. So he makes enough money to pay his rent and bills, but doesn't make enough to save and doesn't have time outside of those gigs to get a regular day job. He got some money as a graduation gift and is looking at this record as a chance to break out of the gig cycle he's in
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10. "RE: $$ you are willing to pay for an album" In response to Reply # 0
What's their plan?
Videos? blogs they think will post? local shows?
Why sell an album that literally no one will care about.
First things first. Have a plan for visibility. That is the most important thing they can do. I'd say they offer it for free but exchange something....
Have them look into Topspin. They can sign up for an account 9.99 a month that will allow them to do even the most basic "email for download" campaign. Then they'll be able to track who is downloading and monetize them down the line with a single on itunes maybe a t-shirt or a show
The point of a new artist is to spread the word and connect/build a fanbase. MOney comes way later.
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13. "Tell him to drop an EP." In response to Reply # 0
Make it five songs and charge $1 for each one. Give me your five best songs because I don't have time to listen to 10 records at once for a new artist. He needs to perform these records somewhere and build a buzz to attract fans.
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14. "Depends on the genre" In response to Reply # 0
For Hip Hop or Electronic music I would say that most unknown artist should put out free music first to help build up their fanbase and let people know that it's not just some bullshit they threw together. Plus those genres tend to record many more songs and skits and produce music at a much faster pace than most other genres. R&B/Soul/Rock/Singer Songwriter artists I would go with $5-$7 bucks. I think fans of those artists are more likely to drop 5 bucks or so for an unsigned artist and I think people feel more comfortable giving a few bucks to artists like that.
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