CDs a NO NO NO!!!!!!!!!!

Spektor said:

WOuld you make ur music available on Itunes, would u let people know they can dowload your music on Itunes?
​
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I think somebody covered it but the more available formats you have the better. I don't think iTunes is a necessity because it does the same thing as any other service it's just that it's the most popular and the one where it's easy to get people to stray away from their initial intent because of all of the glitzy ads for established artists.

You can't really paint with such a broad brush anymore. Some people may still want CD's but I think you only need to burn as many as you think you're going to give away. I knew dudes that would order like 3,000 CD's and end up with 2,500 'em taking up corner space. The sound of the music on the CD's got old, the slang on the CD's got old, some of the people on the CD had dropped out of the group... etc. So having CD's on hand is a good thing because somebody might flat out ask you for one but don't order bulk quantities because you don't know how fast you're going to be able to off load them on people. I remember when people started to say "Don't say the year in your raps..." it was because dudes were giving out CD's with lyrics that had lines in them from 3 years ago and the first impression was "This ish is old". Now,... the sound, slang, etc has a shelf life of about 6 months.

I remember a guy trying to get me to buy his CD and I said No so he gave me a small flyer and said "Still check us out whenever you get a chance, we have music available on our website" I kept the flyer and I did go to their website and their music was good. It's a try before you buy world now, if you aren't giving the CD away for free... people are going to be skeptical about the content on it. Even on sites like Datpiff... before you take the 1 minute it takes to download a mixtape - they give you a preview of the entire thing.

I agree with Troup that people in the street probably won't remember a website (unless you give them a little flyer like that guy gave me). Think of anybody selling anything on the street... it can be hot dogs, cotton candy, or window cleaner... you're going to have to give them a sample of your product to sell them on it and then have a homebase / hub where they can contact you to get more if they like your product.

... and I don't know about you but depending on where you are a lot of people would rather interact with a female moreso than a male. Get a female friend to hock your stuff and I bet she'll do triple the sales / give-a-ways that you do. It's easy for them to get conversation from dudes and women in general don't "initially" hate other women that are offering them something. Just an observation.
 
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j.troup said:
"send" people to your site?


Nobody's going to your site to listen to your music. If they ain't got your music in hand, they ain't gon go out of their way to find it.


That's just the reality of the situation.



Put that music on a CD, and sell them something tangible...or give it to them flat out.



But that whole "go to my website" thing doesn't work. Because they've gotten bombarded with about 100 other songs/artists on the radio/ipod/streaming before they even get home where they can go to your website.


Out of sight, out of mind.


That's the REALITY of how things work.
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I believe in having many ways to provide your music for customers/fans

watching Discmakers DVD's I understand the value of having your music on tangible format as well as having it for download
the key is to have your music available for online and offline.
have some available for every kind of customers

those who want digital
those who want physical CD
those who want specialized packages
those who want to buy nothing but single
those who want to buy nothing but remixes
 
SwagProductionz said:
As a producer you need to keep a cd on you at all times. .. Here's my story: "i live in noth jersey .. I literallly took off from work and went shoppin one day.. And guesss who i ran into shoppping in paterson.... Jim jones! I approached while he was on the ohone with cam or somethin (lol) he was loooking at sneakers and i was like was good jim i produce iyou gotta hear my shyt i got playin on my mp3 right now he was just like"cd's only cd's only!" i ll never forget those words or my chance to make it big"
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Damn, Homie...I feel you man.
 
fataltone man, please learn how to type.

I don't understand why you continue
to do this with the text. Why do you cut the text into
smaller
parts? You're the only person
on this
forum that does that lol.

---------- Post added at 10:31 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:28 AM ----------

On another note, who the hell even read artist bios? I swear that shit is so outdated and boring. You are better off having someone interview you about your life on video. Makes it more personal.
 
Troup dropped some knowledge in this thread man.
Remember kids, if you're investing, investing with THOUGHT. Don't go buying shit just because you think it works AUTOMATICALLY.
But I'll say this Troup, Fatal's market is actually VERY different. Take no offense Fatal, but the Christian market can be much easier to flourish in because the people care more about what you're saying and not the quality of it.
Christians are interested in Bios and pics and extra videos. This gives them the story, the artist's testimony, ect. ect.
And Christians ARE willing to pay just as much for a Christian Indie album as others would for a Mainstream album because devout christians SHUN worldly music. If you live in the right areas of town/nation, there are PLENTY of devout Christians.
Also, what other market has building that basically say "Here are a bunch of Christians! They like Christian things! Most are willing to BUY Christian things!" (Churches/Ministries)
It's always a market where damn near anyone will help you just because you're spreading a good message...there's a reason so many people try to exploit it.
But Fatal I would assume isn't exploiting. Cat seems to convicted for that. Power to him.

---------- Post added at 11:37 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:21 AM ----------

Look, for anyone wanting to make money period, you have to understand business and why people sell their product in a certain fashion.
People assume business is cats in collars in offices or restaurants ect. ect.
It is.
But it's also the woman who pushes a shopping cart full of corn on the cob and condiments and sells them for a buck in a iMPOVERISHED neighborhood.
It's the cat selling candy inside a High School because the school CAN't sell candy.
It's the sad, hungry looking hobo who stands at the corner of a FREEWAY OFFRAMP during RUSH HOUR.
Opportunity is to be FOUND and EXPLOITED. You have to seek it, and seek ways to capitalize on it.
Other cats selling corn too? then LOWER your prices. or make DEALS. Buy 3, get one free. The product was cheap to get anyways.
Other people starting to sell candy too? Alright, BOOM I'm selling COLD SODA now chumps. Freeze it at home and carry it in a duffel bag. Pretend I'm in the Track team, people don't look into it.
Other Hobos taking up the same section? how to beat them without going to jail for jumping them? Let's run down to the arts and crafts store and start making nice drawings that say "Thank you and God bless You" and hold it in front of you with a little stack lying around. People feel that HUMAN essence. (I've seen this done)

Just following what every other ****er does doesn't guarantee success. the market's change. The people's demands change. What's effective changes with it.
Use your head, don't assume things work. Explain to yourself WHY they work and then really ask if that explanation is VALID.
 
If you're an upcoming artist you need CD's PERIOD. Whether its 100 or 10,000. Especially in the south if you're trying to build a buzz. If you cant find duplication spots with reasonable prices then I suggest you in contact with me:

dcinnthegrindingtonflyer.jpg
 
SFTRAXX said:
I think the point in the thread was missed.....
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I think the truth that emerged is what still being missed:

"The young need to heed the words of the older and more experienced"

Troup dropped a lot of serious words of wisdom, and I really doubt any of the younger cats even paid attention. Old cats like myself just sat here nodding in agreement with every sentence.
 
Here's a QR Code Generator - QR Code Generator: QR Stuff Free Online QR Code Creator And Encoder For T-Shirts, Business Cards & Stickers

It lets you download the code in .png format - you just type in th URL you want the code to point to... I haven't used it but I will today just to see if it works. I'm a nerd like that.

So is the consensus to get a QR Code that will download / go to whatever link you assign to the code?


Here's another - http://goqr.me/

they're trying to sell you business cards with the code on it.


I went to Jack n the box the other morning and some rapper has put a sticker on the card swiper that's in the drive thru... I thought that was creative. It just had his stage name - no contact info - so they probably couldn't say he was responsible, he could say he lost a batch of stickers or something.
 
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RealA3 said:
Everything is digital nowadays.
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roughly 50% of the worldwide market is STILL CDs. Just saying. CDs are digital data, so that doesn't undermine your point.
But you probably mean "non-physical data formats". Then yeah, the distribution model clearly heads in that direction.
Still, while concentrating on digital/internet-based distribution, you shouldn't forget CDs completely.
 
SwagProductionz said:
As a producer you need to keep a cd on you at all times. .. Here's my story: "i live in noth jersey .. I literallly took off from work and went shoppin one day.. And guesss who i ran into shoppping in paterson.... Jim jones! I approached while he was on the ohone with cam or somethin (lol) he was loooking at sneakers and i was like was good jim i produce iyou gotta hear my shyt i got playin on my mp3 right now he was just like"cd's only cd's only!" i ll never forget those words or my chance to make it big"
Click to expand...


I hate to say it, but the reality is even if you had your CD there's no guarantee he would have listened to it. In fact, most people in that position don't listen to music from random solicitations. You actually would have been better off just striking up a conversation and just being coo' with him rather than rushing him to peep your music.

But I do feel your point homie: Be prepared and ready at all times.
 
spektor said:
how important is it for upcoming artist.........to know the various forms of audio platforms in order to push their music???


I mean theirs itunes, ipod, mp3, and less and less people are listening to cds, streaming videos......................................

What would you do as a producer or artist, to have success in this area?

Would you make ur music available on itunes, would u let people know they can dowload your music on itunes?​
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dis pissed me off^^^... Cuz i literally.... Literally ran into jim jones shoppin in paterson nj... And i didn't have shyt on me.. All i had was my ipod at the time and he wasn't tryna hear that... I remember it like yesterday "cd's only cd's only" lol he did give me his email though...
 
Why would some artist listen to someone's music in the streets anyway. Why would they take your CD home when they probably aren't in "music mode" when you saw them?

They have numerous avenues and resources to get music from (PMP, Twitter, agents, SOUNDCLICK!)

It's like you walking up and telling Eddie Murphy - "Hey Eddie, I got a funny joke you can use! I know you're on your way to see your grandson being born but this joke is worth it... if you miss your flight you can afford another one... hold on.... wait, wait... one second... here it comes... you ready.... Eddie are you RED DEY a ha ha ha.... let me calm down, I been waiting for this moment forever... man when you did Tyrone Green Kill My Landlord I was crying!... oh and Buckwheat singing Ouna Panona Bankaaaaa a hhhhaaa!!! and James Brown celebrity hot tub was... oh wait, here's the joke... A man walks in to bar.... and he gets KTFO! lolololololol! that's it! it's wasn't a bar you drink at, it was a steel beam! Oh my gawd, lololololololololol!!!!!"
 
CTFU!

Why does that sound like something Eddie himself would have said LOL.

You dumb for that one Rome!


But yea that's exactly what I was trying to say. That's why I said folks are better off just being coo' and striking up casual conversation. You'd be amazed at how much of a better impression that makes.
 
Jlacck said:
But yea that's exactly what I was trying to say. That's why I said folks are better off just being coo' and striking up casual conversation. You'd be amazed at how much of a better impression that makes.
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Yeah, just being cool takes the groupie effect off. Sometimes these artists are "at work" and sometimes "they're not at work".

I saw Juvenile and Ali from the St. Lunatics the same day in about a 20 minute span at the Cincinnati airport. Ali was out there to pick up an old school car and Juvenile looked tired... not many people bothered them and I think they appreciated it.

Man, you know you laughed when BuckWheat sang Ouna Panona Bankaaa a ahhhhaaa, lol.
 
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