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| Why do I need a traditional distributor? |
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| posted by Dudley on Friday May 02 2008 @ 12:38AM PDT |
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Here's the scoop: I've belonged to a coop label for about a
dozen years and three CDs. We've occasionally had a traditional
distributor, although I never saw a penny from them (and, come
to think of it, I never got my product back either ...)
Now everyone is excited because a new distributor wants to take
us on. But frankly I'm confused: I can't see what good they are?
Does anyone have an answer to this?
Most of my sales come through downloads, Amazon or direct
after-show purhcases. Who is going to go to a brick-and-
mortar store to look for me? And if they come across my CD
there, what would possibly move them to buy it, unless maybe
they just happened to read a rave review somewhere that very
day?
Maybe if there was an ad budget, or lots of airplay in the offing,
or I was on a national tour, I could understand. But people buy
me strictly because they actually heard my music and liked it: a
completely direct connection that has nothing to do with old-
fashioned hype.
The distributor is anxiously pushing me to ship so they can put
me in their catalog, and I've heard nothing bad about them. But
I'm on the verge of just saying no thanks. I have a vision of CDs
mouldering on a shelf somewhere while folks happily download
me in the same town without burning any gasoline.
Am I missing something? Please, input!
Dudley
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You are wise not to go with mainstream distribution. For some time I looked into it, spoke to artists & record companies, and got a load of encouragement from the distributers themselves. I seriously considered it and though they do offer paths into shops, they appear to very little to push your products (they dont have reps inthe UK anymnore for instance - they instead send emails). Plus they ask enourmous commissions to boot. The best way, until you hit the bigtime (radio/tv/magazines, etc) is to use cdbaby and at least its out there in a variety of formats and websites.
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If a distributor really wants to carry your record, they'll BUY copies upfront for a wholesale price.
I've had deals with majors and indies in 36 different countries so far. That is the bottom line.
They will languish on shelves, get momney upfront or don't do the deal.
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I don't see the point. The culture is shifting. Everyone I talk to
buys their music from itunes. Of course cd's are still selling, and
I don't think we should ever abandon physical product. But the
important thing to remember is this:
The overwhelming majority of cd's being sold in Walmart, Best
Buy & Circuit City are from MAJOR LABELS. Also remember, 90
some percent of artists never sell over 1000 cd's.
So I simply don't see an advantage. Quite frankly, I see more of
advantage in focusing on online sales, through cdbaby, because
you have multiple countries to cultivate instead of just the USA.
And with our economy, I think it makes sense to have a more
international scope.
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I agree with a lot of what was said. CD Baby is already distributing for you. Do some good old gorilla marketing for yourselves.
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Bottom line, if you want a REAL distributor, go to CDBABY.COM
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| NOTE: If you need a reply you should email CD Baby directly instead of posting here. We don't often read old message board postings, and have no way of replying to them!
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