How are you gals & guys releasing music these days?
Self released or label?
Is vinyl still the goal or are we cool with online only?
Any ideas to give digital music a tangible presence?
Worth it to spend money on a nice video?
Albums? Still necessary? Better to break things up?
Do you use a digital distributor? DistroKid? Tune Core?
Do you submit tracks to playlists?
College radio still a thing? Indie PR?

Big question - what's the goal/constraint here? For us, it's always been that each release at least pay for itself.

Self released or label?
Self via our tiny label.

Is vinyl still the goal or are we cool with online only?
I like vinyl and I think there's a shared sense of value about it in the community where we release music. So it's worth it for us to create records when we think it will meet our big goal/constraint. But vinyl means additional expense, wait, and – I suspect this will become more of a deal over time – environmental impact.

Any ideas to give digital music a tangible presence?
Nothing that hasn't felt like a gimmick from a user perspective.

Worth it to spend money on a nice video?
You certainly can if you want to. Videos don't make any money, so it will likely be a net-loss from a budget sustainability perspective. Still, some folks like these as a way to connect with audience or give another outlet for creative expression.

Albums? Still necessary? Better to break things up?
Whatever people's listening habits may be, the music environment I'm most familiar with still treats a full length record with a certain amount of attention that other stuff (EPs, singles, promo things) doesn't get.

Do you use a digital distributor? DistroKid? Tune Core?
We use DistroKid. It's okay for the money ($80/year for the label), gets stuff out where it says that it will, has good reporting if you need to get granular. We don't subscribe to their add-ons

Do you submit tracks to playlists?
No. Maybe we should.

College radio still a thing? Indie PR?
Is it for you? I think if you're into music as a listener, think about how you find out about, listen to, and purchase music. Then get into those channels. For my band, a lot of that is about Bandcamp, which offers great tools for direct-sales and communication. I'm always of the mind that I want to reach out to people the way that I would want to be reached out to. I don't like getting 5 unsolicited, marketing-speak emails about anything, so we don't send out unsolicited, marketing-speak emails because that would bum me out.

Indie PR is going to add onto your budget. At the rate we sell records (~500 physical records per release) we wouldn't make enough to make it worth hiring a PR firm. (This from a good friend who works as a band PR agent.)

= Justin

I put out a release every so often, either the band I'm in or solo stuff on my own little label. At this point, almost 15 years in, I don't fool myself that it will make money. It costs money! But, for me, it's a labor of love and sometimes I break even. Small vinyl run with digital availability. Bandcamp is the best. Like, so so good. I do all the fulfillment myself, so I see where every order comes from, and people really do look for, find and buy music on Bandcamp.

I've written my share of one sheets and sent out tons of promotional copies. And it's lucky to hear back from one place in 30. I was just talking to a friend and label owner about this stuff today. It can be tough to navigate. It is expensive, a lot of work, and it can be depressing if you are expecting to get this wave of interest and excitement back. At first you hear little to nothing back and you have to make each connection one at a time. Keep your expectations realistic. If you are gonna do a promo push, look for the blogs, radio stations, publications, sites, or whatever that you want to reach and send an email asking for an address for physical submissions (if you are going to send a physical submission). Then it's not just another unsolicited promo that gets tossed. It also helps to find out if your stuff might appeal to a specific reviewer or DJ and put it at their attention. I send out promo LPs because I figure that is going to be the most attention getting, rather than a cd, cdr, link, etc., and the most likely to actually end up on someone's hands who will give it a spin. It can really go either way though and there's no accounting for it, I did a big promo push for my band's last album and heard back from just a couple places that I submitted to. I did absolutely zero promo for my solo release save a few instagram posts and it ended up selling more copies to date and generating about the same or even a bit more press. I'll never understand how it all works, but can attest again to the fact that people really did find it on Bandcamp.

TL/DR; if you're gonna do promo at your own expense, research who you want to submit to and get the most for your money. Send a nice product. Package it nicely. 20 promo packages sent to people who might actually appreciate what you have is better than 200 sent off randomly into the void.

As a DJ at a freeform college station, I can tell you that it is very much still a thing and not just with people over 40. It's honestly inspiring how much people love their independent radio stations. Each station is it's own little community, so scope out their website, figure out where your music might fit in, email their music director, ask what their submission guidelines are, stuff like that. Anything is better than just sending crappy unsolicited cdr promos.

But absolutely do Bandcamp.

Good luck!

That the guy with a record label with nearly 100 releases under his belt is asking this makes me think we're all a little screwed!

penningtron wrote: Tue Sep 28, 2021 3:59 pm That the guy with a record label with nearly 100 releases under his belt is asking this makes me think we're all a little screwed!

1. Times they are a-changing
2. Dont want to just fall into the same old habits
3. It’s not like I was great at it

Lots of opinions here I connect with (my band does limited release vinyl for love not money, and I'll put just about any curiosity on bandcamp).

I will say that after doing a digital-only solo project, and helping some friends with a couple other things, a video really draws a lot of attention. That attention is short term of course, such is the nature of our times. In fact a clever video might get as much engagement as a good release show.

The problem is that doesn't directly tie into cash money, so spending a ton of money on a video is not necessarily money recouped. It's more a vehicle for people to listen.

I'd say the only money we ever really make is when we get to play some good shows with a square deal at the door. Everything else is just people sitting with the music and notching the band account slowly out of the red, but for a non touring band, I'd say the shows pay for the record and if people in the band don't have to shell out much for pressing, mastering etc that's really cool.

We just put it on Bandcamp.

Gets ignored as well as everything else I've ever done.

(Is funny joke! But also is sad truth.....)

A word of warning about using a PR company- the guy who put out our last record hired one, and it was a total waste of money. Most of the promotional opportunities (reviews and interviews) came out of our own connections. I’m still not sure what that company did. I’ll never agree to hiring one again.

A lot of exposure is temporary in a sense, even for the biggest bands out there. Because it's like, ok, the albums out, people listened to it and let you know they love it. Now what? What are you trying to do here?

The most recent ways I've found new music I've actually purchased:

1. "What's in my bag" from Amoeba
2. Alternative Press Mailing list
3. Looking through Recording Engineer discographies online.
4. YouTube recommendations.

I personally put up some music online I wrote myself and got a whopping 30,000 plays on it through YouTube, but I've only sold around $25 worth of downloads with a direct link to my Bandcamp, Spotify, etc.

I imagine if you write a song that garners plays on YouTube in the multi-millions (like 5 million or 10 million plays) and you're all setup with links to purchase the music and merchandise you could expect to NET $5,000 or so.

jason from volo wrote: Tue Sep 28, 2021 7:23 pm

indiegrab_360 wrote: Tue Sep 28, 2021 7:18 pm but I've only sold around $25 worth of downloads with a direct link to my Bandcamp, Spotify, etc.

This just makes me think that I should just put up my band's music for free.

I mean, all of that trouble for $25? I'd rather just say: here, just listen and download my stuff for free if you really want.

Bandcamp's pay what you want or free settings are nice. I wonder if the days of paid downloads are already slipping away. Streaming services make the idea of owning a file seem even more obsolete.