[mplpost] Selling cds

[Rick Whitelaw]

Hello to all,

    I've been enjoying reading Bill Usher's postings and the responses
they've generated. My experiences with selling cds are pretty feeble
compared to most of the recording artists who've been replying (James Gordon
for example). Two things come to mind: in the absence of touring, stocking
record stores with four or five copies of a cd per store can be
work-intensive and less than rewarding, especially since it's often done on
consignment and each store must be accounted for seperately. A reasonable
alternative is the Web. Of course, I doubt anything will ever surpass
personal performances for generating cd sales. Shortly after I released my
first and only cd, Nancy White asked me to play a guest spot in the first
act of a concert of hers. I played a solo spot around halfway through the
first act, and then stayed on stage for the next twenty minutes or so (I've
played with Nancy for years). Well, much to my surprise, after spending the
interval in the lobby greeting folks I ended up having a more profitable
evening than I would have had playing the concert as a gig! (And of course,
Nancy pays VERY VERY WELL!) Anyway, it was a good thing for everyone. Nancy
had a guest for a half hour, I got to sell cds. I couldn't believe my good
fortune!
    Second point, hopefully brief: A couple of years ago I was speaking to a
friend who manages a fair-sized label in Canada and we were talking about
the kind of artist he was looking to "sign". He explained that his company
was looking for artists that had product available and were touring a lot.
My reaction was "Why would they need you?" Now I know there are other
reasons to work with a record company, but if an artist can make sure their
product is available when they get to a date (carry it yourself maybe) and
has the means of actually producing the product in the first place, the most
important equation is: audience=cd buyers. Now that's distribution! Of
course there are music stores that fall perfectly into the model of
alternative or folk purveyors and they should not be ignored, but I see
little point in competing with whoever the flavor of the week happens to be
at HMV.
    I suppose one last point is in order. If you're carrying your own
product it gets there when you get there. Many times I've arrived in a town
where the record store (or the venue) is screaming for product that will
eventually arrive a few days after the concert!

All the best,

Rick Whitelaw



****************************************
RICK WHITELAW

website     http://www.rickwhitelaw.com

email:      rick@rickwhitelaw.com
            info@rickwhitelaw.com
           
****************************************

           







-
To unsubscribe: mail majordomo@icomm.ca with
"unsubscribe maplepost" in the body (not the subject line)
Need help? mail owner-maplepost@icomm.ca