I just caught this video over at pampelmoose.com and found it so straight forward and to the core of what independent artists need to know and absorb, that I’m re-posing it here for Marmoset followers. Please, no matter how much of a late adopter you may be or how much you enjoy having and holding a physical CD in your hands, understand that the world is changing and is moving forward… with or without you.
As Mux Mool explains, kids (aka consumers) don’t want to buy CDs – they just want to get music and get it onto their iPods so they can enjoy it. Cut to the chase and give them what they want. Embrace digital (and having an effective digital strategy).
As artists, you really need to stop thinking about “releasing your next CD” and start approaching things as though digital format (ie: mp3, lossless, etc) is truly the only thing most people care about today. Start thinking about 1) your next digital format release, and 2) other creative compliments to the digital format release that may be interesting, compelling, and an added value to your fans.
In my humble opinion, CDs are a dead medium/format. While they are not truly dead yet in real terms (my friend Lee Cohen just reminded me how CD sales still outweigh digital sales in most markets on planet Earth), the trends are overwhelming and powerful, and in short time, say a year or so, digital will quickly overtake CDs in gross sales in the United States (probably your target market, right?). In fact, many researchers predict that digital sales will beat physical sales worldwide by 2016, if not sooner.
The Bottom line: stop thinking in terms of CDs. Get out in front of the trends and think about digital format and creative merchandising strategies you can develop to compliment and add value to your digital music.
…Thanks to Dave Allen for sharing this at Pampelmoose.
