What Will Your Fans Pay for Your CDs and Vinyl? 🤔

Рет қаралды 3,154

Күн бұрын

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When artists contact Disc Makers about getting vinyl or CDs pressed, they frequently ask this question:
“How much can I sell my album for?”
The reason they ask is because they want to make sure they can make a profit on their album. To answer this question, Disc Makers CEO Tony van Veen addresses these topics:
• What are the most common prices for CDs and records sold at concerts?
• What do records and CDs sell for at retail?
• How many units do you need to sell to cover your manufacturing cost?
• Why have vinyl selling prices gone up so much?
After watching this, you will know how to price your records and CDs, and you’ll be comfortable knowing you can profit from your physical media sales.
Looking for physical media? We're here to help: www.discmakers.com/
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Пікірлер: 33

@Natalac74 29 күн бұрын

This is why I've been in Buisness with Discmakers & CD Bbay since 1997

@Videosoftina 27 күн бұрын

Derek was the only soul at CD Baby back then!!

@JohnKelso 28 күн бұрын

Most fans aren't buying physical media for the music these days, but to support the band. So many fans have told me, "I have a copy of your last album, still in the shrink wrap! When I want to listen to the music, I just stream it." That's great for me because it means we made money on the CD *and* every time they stream the track.

@tonyvv 27 күн бұрын

100%. Physical is a way for a fan to demonstrate their fandom and support the artist. It's less about listening to the physical product (though for many fans it IS about that) than having that physical connection and (if the artist signs the disc) memento.

@bridgestreetdesign 27 күн бұрын

I have to admit, Tony is very good on camera and is obviously passionate about what he and his company do. He's a good spokesperson.

@tonyvv 27 күн бұрын

Why thank you kindly, good sir! ☺

@missionroadduo 4 ай бұрын

Great information and Disc Makers is an excellent company to work with. However, I wouldn't discount (pardon the pun) the cost of the recording, nor would I discount the costs of promoting the recording. Those are real costs that need to be amortized over the costs of each unit. We have just released our first album and single with a second single on the way. We have a CD version of the album but the single releases will remain digital. Every artist needs to be aware of the number of units at specific price points they need to sell to overcome the sunk costs. And that would include the cost of royalties for cover songs. Oh, and if you sell through retail don't forget the shipping costs whether you sell through an on line retailer or your own website. That said, you are right, 10-15 dollars is the right price range for a compact disc. But you won't realize 70-80% profit margins until you sell several thousand units. In our case we will not make dollar 1 until we sell 1200-1500 units and then after that our margins might be 40-50%. At that point we might consider adding vinyl to the mix. We love our music and your right, we do what we do because we love to do it, but we also take a realistic approach to the business aspect of what we do.

@bassplayer807 4 ай бұрын

I did an experiment and wanted to see if people at work would buy our 5 track EP and I sold about 20 CD’s myself for $20…… but I would cap it off at $20 for CD’s and then $40 for Vinyl….. unless you’re Greta Van Fleet and can charge a lot cause of your status.

@KawauMusic 26 күн бұрын

Absolutely my opinion. Or costs are about € 10k and our price of a CD is €15,-. What isn't mentioned: In Austria there is VAT of 20% so this decreases the earnings. Break even is with a bit less than 1k CDs. Then it is true: Above that you earn good money from CDs if you can convince people to buy them.

@Natalac74 29 күн бұрын

Thank you...

@ModusVivendiMedia 4 ай бұрын

It's interesting how the price of CDs has been devalued by inflation. They used to cost $15-20, at a time when that was the equivalent of around $25-30 today. But now apparently they're worth what would be only the equivalent of maybe $5-6 at that time back in the '90s.

@tonyvv 4 ай бұрын

True. I continue to maintain that CDs are the greatest value in music today...

@ROMAnomaly 4 ай бұрын

Very helpful and informative. This is why I love Disc Makers.

@mammacoal4203 2 ай бұрын

I always offer my CDs as "Pay What You Wish" because people almost ALWAYS pay more than what I would have asked for. They usually go $20 when I would have asked for $10. I also make a joke from the stage about how "Jesus is watching you." Or "Pay what you wish, unless you're buying in bulk." Which always gets a laugh and makes the merch plug less sales-y. I would NEVER offer vinyl as pay what you wish. (If I ever get vinyl, which this video is making me want to do!)

@luvmyrecords 4 ай бұрын

Has it always been that way, vinyl records being a slower manufacturing process than CDs? I distinctly remembering reading the opposite back when CDs were new (I remember the quote, "A record takes about two seconds to press, whereas a Cd takes about 5-6 seconds. ") This wasmeant as a partial explanation as to why CDs were significantly more expensive than records.

@tonyvv 4 ай бұрын

Someone lied to you... 🤔 A CD cycle time is 3-4 seconds (might indeed have been 5-6 seconds 3 decades ago). Cycle time on a vinyl record is - and always was - around 30 seconds. On a good day you only get 80-90 records PER HOUR off a vinyl press, which is probably the main reason vinyl is relatively expensive. That said, relatively, vinyl is cheaper today than it was 30 years ago if you adjust for inflation. So go ahead, press those records you've been craving!

@SonicFreedom 4 ай бұрын

Thanks Tony

@80sMusicJunkee 4 ай бұрын

I sell my CDs at $20 and Black vinyl $27.99 and Colored vinyl at $34.99

@tonyvv 4 ай бұрын

Where do you sell them?

@cominhomewithjohnalan9103 3 ай бұрын

Where do you sell them?

@lap456 4 ай бұрын

I'm more of guy that if it's Vinyl, Tape or, DVD-Audio, Super Audio CD, Blu-ray Audio or Audio-CD it always seaned into my computer and that's how I lissen to them.

@jonnysmokesmusic 4 ай бұрын

Good to hear these tips. I saw a massive drop in CD sales once streaming caught on so I haven’t bothered to release any new music for several years now, but I’m happy to see vinyl rebuilding fan interest. With the new Spotify policy for small artists losing their royalties I think it makes sense to only release new music in a physical format and provide digital downloads only through a personal platform like Patreon or a direct download via email for fan club members. Perhaps if all independent artists removed their content from the streaming platforms this would create a policy change, perhaps not. But if they are going to give my royalties away to the majors I don’t want to support them anymore. We work hard for our micro royalties and deserve better.

@TaiFei 2 ай бұрын

"Given Spotify's new policy on small artists losing their royalties, I think it makes sense to only release new music in a physical format and only offer digital downloads through a personal platform like Patreon." The new guideline won't affect small artists AT ALL, since they haven't seen anything from their royalties with these low streams anyway. The claim that Spotify is taking away the income of small artists is pure propaganda. btw. Spotify makes a lot of losses every year. If you think you can avoid Spotify, it's your own fault if you don't earn anything. Patreon is at best an alternative if you have a sufficiently large fan base.

@loiswilcken1758 4 ай бұрын

What are the market statistics on CDs? Are they steady or in decline as a percent of recordings sales? I'm for downloads myself. You just put it on a device of your choice and build up a music library. I'm not at all happy about streaming, where, as Tony says, next to nothing goes to the artist.

@bassplayer807 4 ай бұрын

If streaming services paid a Nickel/ stream that would be way much better for the indie artist, that doesn’t have a label backing!! I can make more money selling CD’s!

@tonyvv 4 ай бұрын

@@bassplayer807 Yes, except at the prices they charge per subscription the streaming companies would lose billions of dollars per year if they paid that much. Basically, for that to work they would need to charge $50 per month for streaming, which 98% of people just wouldn't pay.

@MichaelCrutcher 28 күн бұрын

Aren't we missing the big point? How much are fans willing to pay for CDs? What's the market for them? All the kids I know barely know what a CD is. How many fans have a CD player? How many people at shows would even consider buying a CD?