i'm gonna release a 7" single in august, but i don't know if i should put it in the myspace player or not, the plus side is that people will get to hear the track (which is the main thing i guess) but on the flip side will it deter people from buying it if they can just listen on myspace? any thoughts most welcomeed
Definitely
put it up. Music is to be shared. If people like it they will buy it.
I dunno
myspace streaming is pretty shitty sound quality so if people like and want to own the song they will probably pay for it. I tell you what will deter people from buying it is if you only put it out on 7" and they don't have a record player :(
if you were a chart band
it would probably do some damage, but I'd argue for an indie release it is probably of benefit rather than damaging.
maybe you could put a decent sounding demo of the same song up instead?
the 7" would certainly deter me from buying it. Are you going to release a download version as well?
IMHO
Going back to a Myspace page to listen to one track is something that I wouldn't do, nor would I expect it to be common practice. If I wanted to listen to a track, then I'd play it on winamp, or the like.
The only concern that you may have is that tracks can be ripped from Myspace. That being said, they are low quality rips that nobody with ears should want to listen to.
cool, good thoughts
yes i will release on itunes and the like also, i want to have something tangible to sell also and cd singles are pretty non existant nowadays right?
Putting a demo up
seems to be the way most other bands do this. That or fade the track out three quarters of the way through.
god don't do that
I actively hate bands that fade their songs out on myspace. The only way you can rip songs off myspace is at 96kbps which is really crap quality, so I wouldn't be paranoid about people not buying it.
Yeah
It is irritating but I'd guess that's the point. Demos are the best route, especially as it can make the track seem like a more collectable artifact.
I don't think alot of people worry about 96kbps though - the amount of myspace demos floating around soulseek/torrents kind of testifies to that.
I think it's really funny that people are complaining it's coming out on 7"
But
not everyone owns a record deck.
That'd be
why it's getting released on itunes as well then.
I was replying to Mattj actually
.
Definitely
Whenever I put tracks up on Myspace for our label, those singles immediately start selling, even things that haven't sold for years. It's a great way of advertisng your wares. If someone loved the track that much to go to the bother of ripping a low-quality copy then they're probably going to want a proper copy anyway.
Loads of shops and distributors seem to have given up on stocking CD singles, and 7" and download is the way it's headed now.
ok
the next question is then, if the track is due for release in august how early should i put the track up? like now or just before the release?
really?
i must try that again then dave!! i've got loads of old stuff to shift!
I would definitely put it up
Most of the point of releasing a single is to get interest in your band. As you are releasing it as a single, it is probably one of your best songs and having it on your myspace will get more people interested in your band, even if you lose a couple of sales.
yes
let people hear it, if they like it they might buy it, or they might not but at least you're giving people the chance to listen.
I'd echo Dave Purr
If I want to hear a track on Myspace, I rip it, as it's the only way to listen to it when and where I want to. And if I really like it I will buy the official product - just to support the artist.
I don't have a working record player at the moment and have no intention of rectifying this, yet I'm still happily buying 7 inch singles, simply as artifacts and a way of 'giving back'.
Well u should want people to hear the single as it is just a promo, an advert for the band at the en
the only problem is that Myspaces media player isnt very secure, I for one know I can download any song I want off of Myspace with or without the help of another website as the are so many ways to rip myspace stuff.
or make a quick vid
and put the song on YouTube. If anyone rips from their I'm pretty sure it'd be even worse quality than MySpace so a bit pointless. But definately put the song up on MySpace. Lucy & The Caterpillar's new single isn't on her MySpace and I was annoyed for a while. Then she played it on a radio session and I ripped it for the world to hear, mwahahahaha.
*there
my evil genius foiled once again by a typo.
Do some of the people in this thread
realise you can buy a record player for under £40 quid? And that you only need to plug it in the auxilary socket on the back of your stereo?
yep
people should own record players, vinyl is the best!!
its a tough one
i have a couple of little label interests and waited a year for a band (who shall remain nameless) to finish up three tracks to be issued as a 7". but the second they were ready they put them up on myspace without consulting us and we lost interest instantly.
the appeal of giving the world access to your stuff immediately is appealing, but then so is dignity, exlusivity and having 500 people who care rather than 100,000 who wouldn't piss on your record if it was on fire in the real world.... just my thoughts on it. x
Yeah, why not?
The way I see it, the whole point of releasing a 7" (especially if it's a limited run) is just to have something nice to sell at gigs, and as a good excuse to get lots of reviews and nice quotes and publicity for your band. MP3s of your band are going to get out anyway (ours did, through blogs and people ripping it off our myspace). Most people won't buy records on a whim, it's normally because they want a really nice sounding - and nicely packaged - record to listen to, as opposed to being a means by which they'll find out about new music. Plus they sell well at gigs too, and the fact that they're on myspace shouldn't affect that.
Yeah, why not?
The way I see it, the whole point of releasing a 7" (especially if it's a limited run) is just to have something nice to sell at gigs, and as a good excuse to get lots of reviews and nice quotes and publicity for your band. MP3s of your band are going to get out anyway (ours did, through blogs and people ripping it off our myspace). Most people won't buy records on a whim, it's normally because they want a really nice sounding - and nicely packaged - record to listen to, as opposed to being a means by which they'll find out about new music. Plus they sell well at gigs too, and the fact that they're on myspace shouldn't affect that.
Yeah, why not?
Some thoughts
How many 7" are you pressing? Do you think you will sell all of these at your gigs / single launch? (i assume you've got coming up around the release). Then you're making your money back and whatever gets downloaded is extra...
If this is the case, then go for putting it up, people have to hear it. I would fade it though, people do rip and then put on P2P and share. Also if its been bought on 7" i would hazard a guess many of these people will also download it too.
It's your work that you want people to hear, but you also dont want to devalue it too much/make it difficult to get hold of. Tis a fine line to tread. fade it and look after yourself - hopefully if people like it enough they will buy it.
are you sending it to radio stations and mags etc??
Ultimately if your songs are good people will want to hear them and the route to getting there very quickly becomes less important...
This has possibly been no help and muddled the issue for you.
Good luck though
hmm
yes i'm prob gonna press around 300. i can sell these at gigs and friends and family will help me out also. i don't know anyone who rips tunes off myspace pages, but i'm sure people who do that are out there. i'm gonna do a few cheap cds too to send to press etc. i'm not very keen on the whole fade idea, i always think "cheap bastards" when bands do that and i'd rather have nothing up there than fade out.