Online music Distribution???

[MortSahlFan]

That's a problem with the "democratization" of the internet in general. Yes everyone has a voice, but can one voice in billions of voices truly be heard? A couple of decades ago my parents asked me to help them set up a website, to sell their crafts. This was before Etsy. I told them they'd also have to pay for advertising. It's one thing to have a website. It's another thing entirely for people to actually find it.



With our current high oil prices, you can expect those costs to spike even higher. Sooner rather than later.

Would you recommend Etsy? My items would likely be mp3s of my own music.

[progmatist]

Would you recommend Etsy? My items would likely be mp3s of my own music.

Some of my clients at work have done well selling their visual art on Etsy. Can't speak to how well MP3s will do, as I have no experience in that regard.

[rcarlberg]

Or in my case, Pay to Be Ignored.

There is A TON of music available out there for streaming, and a ton of people streaming it. Does this translate to sales? No, it does not.

Over the past two months Jeff Sherman and I have been putting his music and the music of his band Glass up on Bandcamp. Bandcamp provides stats on how many "plays" you get, how many "sales" you get, and the "sources" of where those people came from. In the case of Glass, he's gotten 388 plays... and exactly 2 sales. Traffic (553 visitors) has come primarily (291 of them) from direct URL entries (from people who heard about Glass somewhere), 153 from Facebook (where Jeff has posted new release notices to over a hundred Facebook groups), 25 from right here at PE, 17 from Google searches, 8 from Bandcamp searches, and so forth.

That's a fair amount of traffic, but not so many sales.

So last week we decided to try out DistroKid, who for $20/yr will post unlimited music to a whole bunch of streaming services (many of which I've never even heard of):

Spotify

Apple Music

iTunes

Instagram & Facebook

TikTok, Resso & Luna

YouTube Music

Amazon

Soundtrack by Twitch

Pandora

Deezer

Tidal

iHeartRadio

ClaroMúsica

Saavn

Boomplay

Anghami

KKBox

NetEase

Tencent

Qobuz

Triller (beta)

Joox

Kuack Media (beta)

Yandex Music (beta)

Adaptr (beta)

MediaNet & many smaller outlets

Snapchat

The process was not too onerous, just a lot of re-typing. We'll see if this raises his profile any. I was already able to listen to a Glass album on Pandora, which was pretty rad.

At this point, with physical media essentially dead (for anybody under 60), our goal is not to sell a lot of CDs. It's to get his name out, to lay the groundwork for the next release, and to find a home for his vast catalog of prior recordings which have so far mostly seen only the inside of Tupperware bins in his bedroom.

[Rarebird]

There is A TON of music available out there for streaming, and a ton of people streaming it. Does this translate to sales? No, it does not.

Over the past two months Jeff Sherman and I have been putting his music and the music of his band Glass up on Bandcamp. Bandcamp provides stats on how many "plays" you get, how many "sales" you get, and the "sources" of where those people came from. In the case of Glass, he's gotten 388 plays... and exactly 2 sales. Traffic (553 visitors) has come primarily (291 of them) from direct URL entries (from people who heard about Glass somewhere), 153 from Facebook (where Jeff has posted new release notices to over a hundred Facebook groups), 25 from right here at PE, 17 from Google searches, 8 from Bandcamp searches, and so forth.

That's a fair amount of traffic, but not so many sales.

So last week we decided to try out DistroKid, who for $20/yr will post unlimited music to a whole bunch of streaming services (many of which I've never even heard of):
The process was not too onerous, just a lot of re-typing. We'll see if this raises his profile any. I was already able to listen to a Glass album on Pandora, which was pretty rad.

At this point, with physical media essentially dead (for anybody under 60), our goal is not to sell a lot of CDs. It's to get his name out, to lay the groundwork for the next release, and to find a home for his vast catalog of prior recordings which have so far mostly seen only the inside of Tupperware bins in his bedroom.

I'm not sure physical media are essentially dead. In Delft, a student-town I live near, there are 3 (or 4) recordstores and I don't think most of their customers are over 60.

[rcarlberg]

Yes there are still record stores (in some places) but when even a HIGH PROFILE progressive rock release sells less than 400 copies... the economics just don't work out. Digital releases are the only ones that make sense.

[Rarebird]

Yes there are still record stores (in some places) but when even a HIGH PROFILE progressive rock release sells less than 400 copies... the economics just don't work out. Digital releases are the only ones that make sense.

Progressive rock is a small market I think.

[rcarlberg]

True. But ALL music sales have fallen off a cliff. It's just a change in how people listen to music, with new technology.
Screen Shot 2022-09-26 at 7.04.18 AM.jpg

[EdWiser]

The problem is there is a vast sea of music out there. Music is readily available for listeners. It how to make your music stand out. So that people that will love it.

[rcarlberg]

And find it.

[Rarebird]

True. But ALL music sales have fallen off a cliff. It's just a change in how people listen to music, with new technology.
Screen Shot 2022-09-26 at 7.04.18 AM.jpg

Still I read that CD sales are rising again, because people seem to prefer a physical product again. Not saying we are going back to the old days, bus still...

[rcarlberg]

And everyone talks about LP sales... but the blue bars on the above chart make it clear we're talking very low numbers overall. That's why they're charging $40 to $50 for an LP: it's the only way to recoup the costs.

Maybe physical media aren't DEAD dead; but they're on life-support.

[hippypants]

Yes there are still record stores (in some places) but when even a HIGH PROFILE progressive rock release sells less than 400 copies... the economics just don't work out. Digital releases are the only ones that make sense.

The thing is, young people aren't buying progressive rock they are buying other things that cater more to their age/generation, not their grandparent's age/generation.

Although I think that cart is pretty accurate, most sales comes from downloads, not physical. I don't know how these younger people are buying that expensive (to me) new vinyl.

[Rarebird]

Well, I suppose there are still young musicians who are have influences from progressive rock, often krautrock. Look for instance at Hunter Complex

[rcarlberg]

Rarebird, I want to correct any incorrect impression I may have left with you.

Physical media is dead, the distribution of music in stores is dead, the number of artists releasing new albums on physical media is near zero.

That DOES NOT mean music itself is dead -- there are more incredible musicians releasing more incredible music every day than ever before. The market is FLOODED with wonderful selections. If anything, removing the middlemen, the gatekeepers from the industry has opened the floodgates to more musicians than any time in history. These truly are the golden times for us music listeners.

It's just all digital. Virtual. Downloads & streams.

[Rarebird]

Rarebird, I want to correct any incorrect impression I may have left with you.

Physical media is dead, the distribution of music in stores is dead, the number of artists releasing new albums on physical media is near zero.

That DOES NOT mean music itself is dead -- there are more incredible musicians increasing more incredible music every day than ever before. The market is FLOODED with wonderful selections. If anything, removing the middlemen, the gatekeepers from the industry has opened the floodgates to more musicians than any time in history. These truly are the golden times for us music listeners.

It's just all digital. Virtual. Downloads & streams.

I doubt that. If a town like Delft still has 3 record-stores, there must be a market. And these are stores that have quite some stuff, both on vinyl and on CD. And considering Delft is a student-town, I suppose a big part of the customers are young.

[Steve F.]

Physical media is dead, the distribution of music in stores is dead, the number of artists releasing new albums on physical media is near zero.

This is completely untrue and you know that it’s completely untrue.

There are still hundreds of physical releases in the USA alone every week.

It’s hugely diminished in terms of the quantites being made and sold, but it’s still definitely happening.

[MortSahlFan]

I wish you luck. I've spent years trying. I'm still trying, even at 40.