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Weird Ways to Distribute Music: Do They Work?

I came across an interesting article over at wired.com about new ways that artists are marketing and selling their music. Check out the article here.

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According to the article, teenagers are less frequently downloading music and more frequently using online radio sites like Pandora. To combat this trend, artists are trying to find more creative ways to market and sell their music. Some of these are a bit absurd, and range from offering a free music download when you purchase a can of soup, to selling music in older formats (8-Track anyone?). Some artists are even offering t-shirts that include a download of their album. The question is “Is any of this effective?”.

It’s anyones guess which, if any, of these things will catch on. However, I’m willing to bet that at least a few of them will NOT catch on. Especially the ones that use older media formats…

While selling music on a cassette tape would certainly make you different, I don’t think it would necessarily increase sales. I doubt that the current generation of iPod users would trade their iPod that carries multiple thousands of songs, for a walkman just to listen to one cassette. In fact, check out another article on that subject here. The same is true of artists who are offering their music on the new ancient 8-track.

Some of these methods, on the other hand, have great potential.

Some artists are offering iPhone apps that allow users to not only listen to their music, but remix it as well. In my opinion, something like this could really take off. It can be downloaded instantly, used wherever you are, and is compatible with an iPod. I can fully imagine many teens using something like this, where I cannot with something like an 8-track version of an album.

Make sure to check out the article here.

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Michael Tuschman

COPYCATS Media Marketing Intern

Happy 4th of July from COPYCATS Media

We’ll be closed tomorrow, July 3rd, for the holiday weekend, but we’ll be back at it on Monday morning.

If you are forgoing the lake cabin getaway and staying in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area for the weekend, here’s a sampling of good concerts around town:

Dillinger Four is playing at the Triple Rock Social Club on Saturday night.

Legends of Rock and Roll Tribute Show at the 501 Club on Friday. Local bands play tribute sets to the Ramones, Nirvana, and Rush.  Now that’s a great mix of music!

Lookbook and Ghost In The Water at the 331 Club. As always, the 501’s sister club never charges a cover.

Elvis Costello playing at the Taste of Minnesota festival on the 4th of July at Harriet Island in St. Paul.  The festival runs throughout the entire weekend and features other national and local bands such as Staind, Throw The Fight, The 757’s, Judas Priest, Jason Shannon, and others.

The Roots are playing tonight at the First Avenue Mainroom.

Head to the MN Zoo Amphitheater for Soul Asylum tonight and Toots & The Maytals on Friday night.

Haley Bonar is playing at the Walker Art Center’s Free First Saturday concert in the Sculpture Garden.

If that isn’t enough music for one weekend, there’s still a couple more shows on Sunday: Charlie Parr is playing the Turf Club and No Doubt is at the Xcel Energy Center.

That’s what caught my attention for the weekend.  Anything else going on worth checking out?  Let us know.

And now, I’ll leave you with this patriotic tribute by the Muppets.  Have a great weekend!

Duplicated CDRs On-Demand: Are They Worth It?

There was an interesting little article over at Billboard today the problems of on-demand CD manufacturing.  On-demand CD manufacturing is the process of duplicating, printing, and packaging a individual CDs as they are ordered.  The article mentions that customers do not like the lower quality print and packaging that come with these duplicated CDRs.  But there are ways that you could improve the product quality with this distribution method.  Below is a real-life example:

At COPYCATS Media, we had a client who was in the business of recording live concerts and selling freshly recorded, mastered, and printed CDs within an hour or two after the show.  They had some big name clients and were hired to record a summer tour for the Black Crowes.  So how did we provide CDs, print, and packaging for a customer who needed a 2-hour turnaround time?

We printed up blank CDRs and empty packaging for each show.  The client that recorded the shows would have a big truck with all their equipment outside the concert venue.  Once the show was finished, they’d start mastering the recorded concert inside the truck.  When the mastering was finished, they would start burning copies using the printed CDRs we made for them in advance.  Then they’d take the duplicated copy of the CD and package it in the pre-printed digipaks we provided for each show.  This was how they got their products to the fans almost immediately after the performance.  They would then duplicate and package the rest of the CDRs and sell them through their online store.

The only downside to this method is the packaging did not contain the tracklisting because most touring artists don’t play the exact same setlist at every show.  However, we did print seperate packaging for each date, so they would have a different color scheme along with the date, city, and venue printed on it.

In order to make this on-demand CD selling model work, this is what these companies would have to do to improve their product.  But this would negate the reason retailers are interested in on-demand CDs in the first place (larger selection, less shelf space).  The next best option is getting better printing technology to produce single high-quality prints at a reasonable price.  This solution is also a dead-end, as a single high quality print might cost more than the CD, and reasonably priced print is going to be of lower quality.

Here’s an idea that might work for both brick-and-mortar retailers and online retailers: mail a commercial quality printed CD whenever a customer purchases a digital download of an album.  If they purchase the downloads at a store kiosk, they can just dock their MP3 player or USB flash drive to the system and get their music on-demand.  Then they can have the option to enter their address and have a physical copy of the CD mailed to them.  The same would work if you buy from an online retailer like Amazon.  You download the tracks on your home computer and receive the CD a few days later in the mail.  Again, this satisfies the need for on-demand music as well as having a physical copy complete with the packaging and artwork.  They would still need to store these CDs in a warehouse somewhere, but it will save valueable space inside stores.

Just my two cents.  Has anybody ever purchased an on-demand CD from a kiosk? What did you think of the quality?

Get Duplicated CDs If You Want To Be On Pandora

Hypebot is pushing a headline that reads “Pandora Forces $29.95 Payments From Indie Bands.”  The title is somewhat misleading because the $29.95 does not go to Pandora; it goes to Amazon.com.  Pandora now requires submitting artists to have a CD available for purchase on Amazon.  Amazon charges the annual fee to make your titles available for distribution.

From the Pandora FAQ page, here is what they require from you:

* a CD of your music
* a unique UPC code for that CD
* your CD to be available through Amazon (must be a physical CD, not just MP3s for download)
* the legal rights to your music
* MP3 files for two of the songs from your CD
* a free Pandora account, based on a valid email address, which can be associated with your music

While some artists are focusing on the digital realm for music distribution, this is an example of why you shouldn’t abandon physical formats just yet.  The CD still has plenty of life left to it.  If you only sell digital downloads, then you’ll miss out on lots of opportunities to sell your music.  The same goes if you haven’t gotten on board with selling MP3’s yet and are only selling CDs.  It’s best to have a mixed media distribution strategy.

If you get your CD duplication services provided by COPYCATS Media, you’ll be all set to submit your album to Amazon and Pandora.  We provide a free bar code with our projects along with all the packaging and print.

Before iPods, There Was The Walkman

There was a great article over at BBC News written by a teenager who trades in his iPod for a classic Sony Walkman for a week.  It may not seem like that big of a deal to a person like myself who’s in his mid-twenties, because I used to tote one of these around when I was a kid.  It’s funny listening to him marvel at the device, but being that he is a teenager and born after 1990, he’s probably never actually seen or used on before.

It’s a good article to read not just because of the nostalgia, but also because he points out a couple advantages of the Walkman.  It’s funny that Apple has yet to add such simple features to the iPod.  I’m not going to switch back to using a Walkman just for multiple headphone jacks or a built-in AM/FM radio, but it sure would be nice to have it in an iPod.

Cycle Keeps On Spinning: So Long, Trocaderos

Trocadero’s in the Warehouse District of Minneapolis has shut it doors and put up a “For Sale” sign.  Our own Zac Boyd was disappointed at the sudden closing and feels this may be a reflection of the Twin Cities music scene itself.  You can read his blog here for some more in-depth thoughts.

It was about a month ago that we were celebrating the arrival of a brand new music venue in Downtown Minneapolis.  But with every new beginning, there comes another beginning’s end (or however that line from Semisonic’s “Closing Time” goes).  Gained the 501 Club, but lost the Trocadero’s a few weeks later.  As long as there are good bands out there and fans who want to listen to them, we’ll continue to have good music venues in the Twin Cities.  Clubs will come and go, but the music will always be here.

COPYCATS Featured Artist: Mary Mack

While music albums make up the bulk of our projects at COPYCATS Media, we also have customers who produce comedy albums.  Lately, nobody has been funnier than Mary Mack.  Being from Minnesota and Wisconsin, her style and material are both big hits with the employees in this office.

The general public has this perception that comedians are to be funny all the time.  This often leads to disappointment when meeting them offstage and they are just normal people like you and me.  In fact, some may seem somewhat dull or even shy.  I guess that’s why they call it a comedy “act” or “routine.”  These performers spend time writing these funny jokes and observations to tell over and over again.  But Mary seems to carry the same persona both onstage and offstage (just ask any of our employees who have spoken with her on the phone).  She has a genuine style that relies more on storytelling and life experiences.

Her career is really beginning to take off, as she has appeared on NBC’s Last Comic Standing and on Comedy Central.  If you’re looking to check out some of her material, there’s a lot of it out there.  You can purchase her albums (Either You Wake Up or YOu Don’t and Pinch Finger Girl: A Tragedomedy) at CD Baby or view some video clips at her website, www.marymackcomedy.com.  She also keeps a hilarious video blog at her MySpace page, too.

If you’re simply too lazy to click on any of those links, then check out the embedded video below.

Musical T-Shirts?

I came across this post at USA Today by way of @artisthouse’s Twitter feed.  It highlights an interesting idea dubbed as “The Music Tee.”

Front of music t-shirt, worn by skinny, pretty people

The concept is simple; purchase a band t-shirt that has a website URL and special code on the tag for you to download the album.  The innovators who thought of this idea are going through a fancy-pants clothing company, so the shirt listed here costs $60.  Zoiks!  I understand paying a little bit more for the shirt and the downloads, but my Midwestern sensibilities tell me that is too much.  I think $15-$20 would be a more favorable price, and I’m sure there will be some artists who will sell at that price.

This would be something any artist could do.  COPYCATS Media offers download cards that work on the same principle (give a unique redemption code for consumers to enter online and receive downloads).  An independent artist could print up T-shirts and tag download cards to them.  The only downfall is production cost, since T-shirts cost a lot more to print than CDs.  You could enhance your merch stand by still selling CDs along with the T-shirt/Downloads combo.

Back of the t-shirt with the track listing

There’s also a good opportunity to cross promote items.  If you are an independent artist or label, try to partner up with a local clothing designer to package downloads with their clothing.  The designs wouldn’t necessarily be promoting the band or label, but they could still include a sampling of tracks from them.  This would help get your music into nontraditional retail outlets.  Just an idea.

Benefits of Short Run CD Duplication Service

A significant portion of our projects here at COPYCATS Media are CD or DVD replication projects. This means that they are made from a glass master.  Typically, the minimum quantity for a replication order is 1000 units.  But what if you do not need 1000 copies of your CD or DVD?  That’s when you order a CD or DVD duplication services.

The words duplication and replication may seem interchangeable, but they are not.  As mentioned above, replication is the process of creating a glass master and pressing CDs or DVDs from scratch.  Duplication is the process of taking blank, recordable media (CDRs or DVDRs) and writing the information on these discs with a laser.  This is the exact process that occurs when you burn a CD or DVD on your computer.

With replicated CDs or DVDs, you have the benefit of a lower unit price and a slightly more durable disc than duplicatd CDRs and DVDRs.  But there are good reasons why many customers choose the duplication process.  Here are some of them:

1. Lower Quantities Available
   I mentioned earlier that replication projects often require a minimum order of 1000 units.  This is because of the extensive pre-production work that takes place before the pressing begins.  I won’t explain all of it here, but you can read the Wikipedia entry on CD manufacturing to learn more.With CD and DVD duplication, you don’t have all of that extensive set-up.  Like I said, it’s just like burning a disc on your computer.  You take a blank CDR or DVDR, place it in the drive, and click a button to begin the duplication process.  This allows us to sell quantities as low as a single disc.  Your print options may still be limited at lower quantities, but you’re able to get however many discs as you need.
2. Faster Turn Times
   Because duplication projects do not require the aforementioned glass mastering process, we are able to begin duplicating your discs as soon as you submit your master.  CD and DVD duplication projects are generally completed a few days quicker than a replication project.This is good to know for rush projects.  If you need CDs or DVDs in a matter of days (or just one day), than duplication is often the way to go, even if you are ordering 1000 units.  While the replication process can be sped up to meet your deadline, it will cost you a lot more in rush fees.
3. Thermal Print Option
   While most of our CD and DVD disc faces are screen printed, you can also opt for a full-color thermal print option.  This option produces vibrant, photo-quality images on the disc.  We don’t typically offer this print option for replication projects, because this printer takes a lot longer than screen printing.

Those are just a few of the reasons to go with the duplication instead of replication.  If you need a price quote for either, feel free to contact us.