A question to all music consumers and artists

[totsandnotions]

Hello Everyone. I've been following the whole evolution of the music industry lately and i just want to pose this question to all concerned.

Which would you rather prefer?

Artists selling their albums at a more expensive price with a superior CD quality (i.e. pressed CDs/printed CDs)?

or

Artists selling their albums at a least expensive price but with a lesser CD quality (i.e. CDRs/burned CDs) but with an album full of songs that would use up the entire 80min CDr?

My take for this one is that in the advent of MP3 players and Ipods, people usually just rip the CD's songs to MP3 formats and play it in their mp3 players, leaving the CD in their cabinets gathering dust. So in my opinion, less and less people will be using the CDs. So having a superior quality CD is no longer important if this would be the case. People would just rip it, transfer it in their Mp3 players.

I am asking this question because we have plans in releasing a new album. And we are thinking of using this line of positioning. More Songs for a lesser price but using CDrs only. Cds would be sold maybe around P150-200/CD. Compared to pressed CDs which are now being sold at P280-300/CD.

Now people would just say why not purchase the song via download? I think if you download 1 song, it would cost you around P20-30/song. And as an artist, i still can't find a way to reconcile how we would be able to monitor the downloads and be assured that we are getting the right numbers from the dowloading service providers. But if we are selling the CDs, then we would be able to keep hold of our physical inventories and our number of units sold. And if we would be consuming the 80min CDr, then that would give us around 17-18 songs which if you would compute it by the price of the CD that we are selling, it would cost you something like P11-12 per song. So still very much cheaper than what the downloading service providers are giving.

Another thing is that by producing CDs instead of just having it available for downloads, we are giving graphic designers/Artists a chance to promote their works by giving them an opportunity to design our album's packaging.

so the selling point for this idea is:
1.)Giving people more songs at a lower price
2.)Giving graphic artists an opportunity to showcase their skills
3.)Maximizing the profitability of the artists to help them earn the right money that they deserve.
4.)inventory controls

Guys? what do you think?

[drummervocalist]

hmm... *think*

[blueplata]

practicality wise, it's better to sell cheaper cd's to people. in this way people would be able to buy more cd's of bands or artists they love listening to. also music industry in the philippines would boom because of this 'cause reality wise, people don't really buy expensive things nowadays, if it's cheaper than what they are now they would be able to spend their money with buying let's say 3 cd's compared to buying just one.

[BassCog]

practicality wise, it's better to sell cheaper cd's to people. in this way people would be able to buy more cd's of bands or artists they love listening to. also music industry in the philippines would boom because of this 'cause reality wise, people don't really buy expensive things nowadays, if it's cheaper than what they are now they would be able to spend their money with buying let's say 3 cd's compared to buying just one.

but there is a lower limit, which is the cost of the album's recording, production and marketing. not to mention distribution costs and artist's copyright, along with other related costs. If you go below that, then it better be for love. or you're effing rich.

[drummervocalist]

but there is a lower limit, which is the cost of the album's recording, production and marketing. not to mention distribution costs and artist's copyright, along with other related costs. If you go below that, then it better be for love. or you're effing rich.

you have a point there...

[blueplata]

but there is a lower limit, which is the cost of the album's recording, production and marketing. not to mention distribution costs and artist's copyright, along with other related costs. If you go below that, then it better be for love. or you're effing rich.

as a band/artists you need to really spend money for all of these. but what i'm saying is that, you'll earn it eventually.

you gotta share good music.. basically, if  you can give it away for free why not?

the point is, as an artist you need to reach out to each and every one, not just your rich fan, but the masses as well.

there are a lot of struggling people nowadays that are really wanting to get their fave bands/artists orig cd, but failed to do so since it's not practical. so they settle for less, hence pirated music...

so, why not sell it for a cheaper price?

[BassCog]

as a band/artists you need to really spend money for all of these. but what i'm saying is that, you'll earn it eventually.

you gotta share good music.. basically, if  you can give it away for free why not?

the point is, as an artist you need to reach out to each and every one, not just your rich fan, but the masses as well.

there are a lot of struggling people nowadays that are really wanting to get their fave bands/artists orig cd, but failed to do so since it's not practical. so they settle for less, hence pirated music...

so, why not sell it for a cheaper price?

Because, my friend, our musical intruments need maintenance, our cars need gas to get to gigs, and bills have to be paid, both for music-related stuff and our own actual lives. As I said...unless you're really effing rich, you have to worry about real-life expenses.

As for the idea of "earning it eventually" - that's a fallacy! you never know if you will. unless you really preach to the lowest common denominator and sell out. to keep the faith with good music - or at least, uncompromised music - is a lesson in faith: you will make good music, but you better be prepared if it never hits big.

Besides. a true artist makes money and a living off his art - that is the measure of a true artist, to be able to live off the dream - even if it is not as rich as he would like it to be...so...how do you become a true artist if you keep on giving everything away for free?

And let's not get into the Radiohead argument here - because they were already an established band before they did their thing - they already have the money and the clout to do what they did.

If y9ou really believe in your favorite artists...then you make sure they can keep on doing it. and that means...give them a livelihood!

There's no such thing as free!

[Helmet]

It depends on where do you stand as a band meaning if you're looking at launching your career and want to achieve airtime, develop a fanbase, reach out beyond borders then the cheaper option might suit you but for a limited amount of time. How many tracks are you going to record with the cheaper option anyway?

And I agree that everything comes with a price

Looking at the flipside; going down the road of producing a top quality cd might be too risky. Are you planning to distribute them via record bars? It's going to be a tough competition there and if the placement of your cds are well at the very edge of each counter then you've got tighter chances.

And on the graphic designers providing them the chance to showcase their skills, the CD cover is not the only medium. You've got the web where millions of people dive into. How about endorsing your album on the radio and tv? I dont know how they work but it sure is worth the shot.

Good luck on your CD/MP3, hope to get a copy soon.

[rockyteer]

mejo off topic,

In your opinion, which band here in the Philippines has gained the most buzz using Internet distribution? Myspace, friendster, multiply, soundclick, etc