Quick tip 80 Leverage alternative payments for music

So we all know the price we put on recorded music is not anywhere near what it used to be. Back in the late nineties record labels were able to sell a CD for $14, while the production cost was about $2. Of course the independent labels and artists could not compete with that production price, as their sale figures would still be a lot less. Still looking back now, it was a quite remarkable profit margin!

Now it is hard to put a price on recorded music as most of it is consumed online. And once again it is the independents who struggle to make the ends meet when it comes to recorded music. So we need to relay on live performances, licensing (if we are lucky enough to get any) and what ever we can get our hands on.

So I think it s time to look at other ways to utilise our recordings. There was a wonderful article in the New York Times about the early days of music piracy during the week, which concluded in a release of two albums by competing artists. And as a result it turned out that the artist whose album was leaked first actually went on to sell more. In away, the leak worked as a promotional tool as well.

So for example you could reward your fans for sharing your music. You could give your music away to the people who pay in to see your live show, or promote it. Or you could go even further, why not exchange art for art? Obviously a CD cover design is a lot of work for any designer, but you could exchange your music for a small part of the design. You could exchange your music for a usage rights for some nice photos a fan took at a live show.

Get creative, your music has more value than you think.

J.P.

The author J.P. Kallio is a singer songwriter
To get EIGHT of his songs for free go HERE