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Looper's Delight
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The limitations of Kunaki (lack of control over packaging, et. al.), as cool a service as it is are one of the reasons why I do everything for my own releases. It takes more time, but artistically, I'm really happy being able to control the minimal artwork that I do. My costs? Printing Ink on a good color printer? An interesting looking colorful Clamshell or custom CD holder, the label, and the CDR. Some people are suspicious of CDRs, but I find that if you do really creative and artistic packaging............something I love to do on a minimal basis that people will accept them (with the exception of in Japan where they were rejected by fans, hands down , oddly enough). It's funny, too.........................you either duplicate the digital media yourself or you have someone mass duplicate it....................it seems ridiculous that people draw a distinction. Even if you dont' have digital artistic chops (and I have precious few myself) I've seen local groups just use paper bags and do hand colored artwork so that each one is different.............it still feels special to buy one of these (just because it's so obviously artistic and creatively inspired if low budget and even silly). Anyway, This keeps my cost down to well under a dollar per unit. If I do sell a CD then I am making $9 - $14 profit PER CD depending on who buys it. I am currently considering making a business card with all the information in the CD and links to websites and bonus tracks and then having it professionally drilled so after one takes out the CD (with attendant artwork) there will be this CD underneath with all the goodies in it. In that way, I can use the tranparent nature of the CD case to show off artwork that is only on the CD itself (no booklet, in other words). It's definitely Champagne living on a Beer Budget but it works for me. Also, one thing that noone has mentioned that is really salient in this discussion is that no one is buying CDs anymore.............or rather, CD sales have dropped to nearly nothing. I"ve asked artist after artist in 15 countries how their sales are and the lion share say that no one is buying them. I used to average 20-50 CDs a concert at one point and now I frequently don't even take them. I do hand out business cards (that are quite professional---two sided with nice photographic artwork on both sides) and get some sales from people after the fact. I look at the CD, however, as a very, very elaborate business card. I give them away liberally if I think someone may hire me for something and it works like a charm It seems that music is heading toward a service provision orientation as opposed to a commodity orientation. I make most of my money now, peripherally to my artwork, but DEFINITELY because my reputation is enhance BY THE ARTWORK. See what I mean (sorry for the shouting................lol) Whatever is said and done................putting a lot of energy into 'putting your art out to the world' is a really good thing no matter where you are in the 'music biz'.