How do release EP/Album for free ?

[G1]

Since my last thread about getting yourself 'out there' on the internet.

I need to really sort out how im going to go about making sure it doesnt cost our fans anything to get a hold of the EP

I've thought about building a website with a link to a server etc etc

Then again i saw reverbnation let you set your own prices.

I just need to work on a fail safe way (i dont mind if it costs me to upload to websites or programs aka spotify / itunes etc) on making it free and available...

help ?

 

[Pman]

Since my last thread about getting yourself 'out there' on the internet.

I need to really sort out how im going to go about making sure it doesnt cost our fans anything to get a hold of the EP

I've thought about building a website with a link to a server etc etc

Then again i saw reverbnation let you set your own prices.

I just need to work on a fail safe way (i dont mind if it costs me to upload to websites or programs aka spotify / itunes etc) on making it free and available...

help ?

On our myspace, we have a rapidshare link to our album. If you dont have an account, it only lets you have 10 downloads before the link expires. We've had 94 downloads from the link so far since it was uploaded in December 2009.

Also made a handy button for it.

 

[drew_drummer]

Dropbox Public folder.

 

[Fifth_Horseman]

1. Upload album to any kind of online storage service
2. Put download link on MySpace
3. ...
4. No profit!!!

 

[Russtopher]

http://www.bandcamp.com

 

[DanLights]

Dropbox dude, if it's for free just put it in your public dropbox folder, it's the easiest way.

Of course link to it in your myspace, facebook, reverbnation, soundcloud, twitter, etc etc etc

 

[HeadCrusher]

If you get a lot of traffic Dropbox will eventually delete the files.

 

[smy1]

I am with Russtopher. Bandcamp is the best way to do it. They allow fans to preview in good quality, download different formats (mp3, FLAC, etc.) and either get it for free or give you an amount of money that they think is deserved. It's all free and super easy to set up. The embeddable player is really cool too and includes a "download song" link automatically. They also give you nifty stats.

Go to http://www.myspace.com/faderhead666 and scroll down to see how I used their embeddable player and got rid of the shitty-ass myspace player.

 

[G1]

With bandcamp is it possible to upload the whole EP in one go rather than having to do it track by track ?

 

[robfromthedeep]

Bandcamp is the shiiiiiiiiiiit

 

[smy1]

With bandcamp is it possible to upload the whole EP in one go rather than having to do it track by track ?

No.

 

[rchoi54]

just have a flash player that has all your songs to be able to be previewed, and then simply put the album into a .zip or .rar and put it into dropbox. it's what my band's doing and it's working out great.

 

[guitarplaya18]

bandcamp is the way to go, you can customize it and whatnot to an extent. If you need help settin one up, let me know

Shameless self promotion haha, here is the one for my old band
www.whenforeverfails.bandcamp.com

Also, what other good sites are there to distribute music for free? Any blogs that put up peoples music that yall know of? Any sites that review cd's for random bands as well?

 

[Russtopher]

There's also http://soundcloud.com/ but I have not used them or know anyone who uses them; the latest issue of Sound On Sound had an article about how they've moved their audio content to them, which is how I found out about them.

FWIW I really like Bandcamp, their stats and ability to get email addresses of downloaders is great. You can upload album art, liner notes, booklets, add in "hidden tracks" for those who purchase the whole album, etc. Also, in a weird twist, I found that when I changed releases to "name your price", I actually got MORE per release than I was originally charging in a few cases

 

[guitarplaya18]

yea, bandcamp has alot of neat features. You can do hidden tracks but also include bonus stuff like videos and what not with your cd if you want. They also have discount codes that you can give to people so they can download your album for a lower price. The stats alone are incredible. They tell you how many times each song was (played, partially played, and skipped) as well as what websites people visited your bandcamp from. Lot's of good stuff

 

[DanLights]

If you get a lot of traffic Dropbox will eventually delete the files.

I had no idea this was possible. How can dropbox delete my files? they are backed up on my hard drive, they can't possibly delete it from my own public folder in my hard drive can they?

Anyways, Bandcamp seems like the way to go, after hearing all the awesome things it offers

 

[G1]

bandcamp is the way to go, you can customize it and whatnot to an extent. If you need help settin one up, let me know

Shameless self promotion haha, here is the one for my old band
www.whenforeverfails.bandcamp.com

Also, what other good sites are there to distribute music for free? Any blogs that put up peoples music that yall know of? Any sites that review cd's for random bands as well?

That looks awesome !

I think we will be going with bandcamp now esp with how you can customise it and shizzle

Cheers man !

 

[drew_drummer]

If you get a lot of traffic Dropbox will eventually delete the files.

Calling BS on that one.

 

[guitarplaya18]

That looks awesome !

I think we will be going with bandcamp now esp with how you can customise it and shizzle

Cheers man !

Thanks man! and no problem.

 

[DanLights]

Calling BS on that one.

yeah I mentioned a couple posts up that I had no idea that happened, and I doubt it actually does