Re: where's the money?

[David Gans <david@trufun.com>]

At 9:50 PM -0800 1/9/06, 3nki wrote:
>
>i think you'd be better off giving away CDs to boost your audience 
>so you could charge higher ticket prices for your performances, 
>rather than trying to make money from selling CDs.

There used to be a much healthier synergy between selling records and 
touring: each fed the other.

Nowadays it doesn't make much sense to tour in support of a CD, 
because (a) the big record companies are so irredeemably crooked that 
you don't make money from CDs, and (b) not that many people buy CDs 
any more (they rip their friends' CDs).

I had a conversation about this with my new manager last week.  We 
agreed that the only real value of a record company deal these days 
is in whatever you can get them to spend on promotion and publicity. 
For me - a singer-songwriter who uses loops, as opposed to primarily 
a looping musician - a label that bought ads in 'No Depression" and 
"Acoustic Guitar" and even "Mother Jones" would help increase my 
visibility so I could make more money on tour.

My most recent CD was an entirely homegrown affair.  I compiled it 
from soundboard tapes of live shows and from loop jams I did at home; 
had it duplicated by the same guy who burns my radio show; designed a 
5" square card with track info on one side and a self-portrait on the 
other and had it printed by the guy who does my concert posters; and 
stuffed the cards and CDs into thin-line jewel cases myself for sale 
at gigs and online.  I've sold a couple hundred copies so far, and 
I've made more than $9 on each one because all the songs are mine so 
I owe royalties to no one.  That's a couple grand to plow back into 
my professional development.

I should spend some money on ads, and I expect my manager and I will 
start mapping out a strategy on that front soon.

One thing I hope I'm never stupid enough to do is sign a record deal 
that surrenders ownership of the work.  I've heard too many stories 
over the years of artists whose record failed to meet their labels' 
expectations so they were dropped - but were unable to regain 
ownership of their masters.  Don't ever do that.  Your work is all 
you have in this chickenshit business.



(P.S.  I give away a lot of CDs.  Costs me next to nothing.)


-- 

David Gans - david@trufun.com or david@gdhour.com
Truth and Fun, Inc., 484 Lake Park Ave. #102, Oakland CA 94610-2730
Blog:  http://playback.trufun.com