Marketing the Obscure Lo-Fi LP (OLFLP)

[Justine_X]

I've come to the realization that I know NADA, ZILCH! about selling records. I am ignorant and naive! I figured I would appeal to the vast collective Tape Op brain for advice on this topic.

How in the hell do people sell their records??

[@?,*???&?]

How in the hell do people sell their records??

One at a time at live shows...

[@?,*???&?]

How in the hell do people sell their records??

Or use an independent promoter to buy your way onto local airwaves. Be prepared for a huge expense for each station that adds your record. The bills are very steep indeed.

[Jeremy Garber]

I certainly wouldn't press 1000 knowing they will be hard to sell. Why not go for a short run? Something under 100 copies. I would normally suggest CD Baby as a great outlet for indie music, but I don't think they deal with vinyl.

I'm pretty curious to hear it myself. I'm a Doo Rag fan.

[Justine_X]

No, no way would I ever press 1000. I only pressed 300, and subtracting the copies sent off as samples, given to friends, etc., there's only () 200-250 to sell. That's certainly a short run!

The record is more of a document than anything... people like the recordings, but they're pretty raw and simplistic. A lot of my favorite records are the early recordings of bands that are resurrected later on in their careers, so I just wanted to release the my own early experiments first, before everything else rather than after.

Or use an independent promoter to buy your way onto local airwaves. Be prepared for a huge expense for each station that adds your record. The bills are very steep indeed.

Nah, it's pretty far from independent promoter "radio" material! It's garbage can drums, distorted vocals, pignose guitar, noise effects. Maybe on your local college station... No touring to support this stuff, either.

[Z Boyle]

I haven't sent out any records for review yet, so that may be the big problem.

i'm no expert, but getting the music reviewed by a bunch of sources seems like a key part in the process. create some hype, if just a little bit. then you could put the good reviews into your press kit and try the distros again.

also you could set up a website and just skip the middleman. i'm guessing you don't have one yet. that way you'll send out let's say 20-50 copies of the precious vinyl for review and then make up the lost profits by selling direct. curious folk might punch the album name into google and find on your website an easily accessible paypal button.

i've never packaged my projects for sale but these are a few ideas off the top of my head. maybe someone else who's had more experience can weigh in.

[Z Boyle]

i'm no expert, but getting the music reviewed by a bunch of sources seems like a key part in the process

i forgot to suggest, you should send a copy to tape op, don't be shy they might like it and they are vinyl lovers to boot

[lyman]

How in the hell do people sell their records??

Or use an independent promoter to buy your way onto local airwaves. Be prepared for a huge expense for each station that adds your record. The bills are very steep indeed.

i agree. a promotion company is a good (but not cheap) way to get your album out there. even a little local radio station is swamped with music sent by bands and artists these days. so most albums don't even get listened to unless it's coming from a familiar source (either an established artist or a promoter that they've been in contact with before). you're really paying for that "in", the personal connection that will ensure somebody will listen to and play your music.

in my own experiences, i play guitar in the band for a singer-songwriter. he spent some money directed at getting college radio airplay. it was expensive, but that led to getting a couple gigs at area colleges, which essentially paid for the promotion. so in that case it ended up being a good investment.

as far as selling records go, i don't have much to offer for advice. as somebody mentioned earlier, try getting press. people (with a few exceptions) tend not to buy music without either hearing it or getting a glowing review from a trusted source. there's so much free shit out there online and i can just burn cds all the livelong day, why would i drop some cash on an album that i know nothing about?

[Kyle]

In my experience records sell best at live shows. Maybe its the cool factor.
Distributors are swamped with material right now and as a result they only take what they know they can sell. This means you need to be promoting the hell out of this record and playing your ass off. Plus records are dificult to handle and distributors have a "breakage" clause which complicates thing even more. you pay for broken records. Its like you pay to ship it twice.

I would suggest that you send it to a few small labels and ask them to distribute it online for you. If they agree to carry it, expect to split the cost with the label.

I would set up your own website and promote it yourself. Serious distributors and labels will look for this anyway.

I hope this doesnt seem to jaded. This is a saturated industry where guys just like us can pay money to make records. There is a lot of us.