The promotion of your product...

[Executioner213]

Discuss: What should a band be pushing for their musical distribution right now?

CD's are a tangible product, which you can have lyrics/pictures/artwork/etc in them...but they are starting to fade out the same way every other form of media has (ie tapes/vinyl/etc) in that you only have a handful of people who really want them, everyone else prefers to pay less and just have the songs they can throw on their Ipod.

Itunes, and any other form of selling your music online, seems to be what is selling the most product. So...would a band be better off doing something like a prepay download card that someone can pay you for, and just go online with it and type in their code and start downloading?

Or...I think we've discussed on here that another option would be usb flash drives that you could load up with music and any form of interactive crap, and sell like that. Recently, I saw a show that StaticX was a part of, and (though this is slightly different) they were recording the show direct from the board and selling it afterwards on flash drives for like $25 a pop...and people were buying it up.

Ready....set....go!

 

[Executioner213]

btw...this is what made me think of this topic. Since my band will soon be recording and looking to distribute afterwards, I ponder as to what is going to be most accessible/profitable/affordable/enjoyable/etc.

 

[jrt12]

i voted other, because you should multiple formats to get your music out there. barring financial limitations, these should not be mutually exclusive, but offer your fans options that best suit their lifestyles/preferences.

 

[Wolfeman]

If we are strictly talking promotion at shows, I think CD is the best way to go still. It's something physical and well known that a person can easily take home. In my experience, when at shows and bands give me a website to download from, I either don't remember it the next day or loose the paper with the address on it.

 

[MetalSound]

If we are strictly talking promotion at shows, I think CD is the best way to go still. It's something physical and well known that a person can easily take home. In my experience, when at shows and bands give me a website to download from, I either don't remember it the next day or loose the paper with the address on it.

yep, cds are still the way to go.

 

[MarkG]

I'd just offer a CD as well.

 

[egan.]

CD's. They still outsell downloads and you need an instant exchange of money for goods at live venues. Until everyone is buying direct d/l to their phones you need a physical medium for live sales and it makes more sense to stick with an established medium than to try to "pioneer" a new one when you are on a budget.