Indie Bands Go Digital

Unsigned and indie artists for years have sold CDs and tapes from their merchandise table at live gigs to earn a little extra scratch while on the road.

How '90s, right? Where's the digital download? How about a ringtone?

There is perhaps no more important moment for an unknown act to make an impact than at the point of initial discovery - which almost always means at a live gig. Until recently, the only way to capitalize on this digitally was for bands to announce their MySpace profile and hope fans would visit later.

Not anymore. A handful of new companies now offer digital DIY resources to savvy artists interested in converting the live experience into an opportunity for profit and promotion.

One that's been commanding a decent degree of attention lately is DiscRevolt. The company provides artists with customized prepaid cards that fans can redeem for MP3 downloads on its Web site. Here's how it works: Artists buy in bulk a set of cards that they can design with their own custom artwork and text. Each card has a unique redemption code and holds 15 credits. Participating artists then upload their music in MP3 format to their profile on the DiscRevolt site, which can also accommodate a bio, contact info and artwork. Bands can either sell or give away these cards to fans, who use the redemption code to download individual tracks - one credit per track.

Where pressing CDs generally costs on average of $1 per disc - excluding cover art and booklets - DiscRevolt prices range from 100 cards for $99 (99 cents each) to 1,000 cards for $450 (45 cents each). Larger bulk orders can run as low as 25 cents per card.

Read more at Yahoo!News.

Comments

[Draken]

interesting. I know that there's a website called freeindie.com that showcases 5 track selections of an indie bands work. All legit with the bands permission. But this sounds interesting as well.

[Kartman]

CDs > Everything digital

[nicodimus]

Vinyls > CDs > Digital

[mattyp90]

Live > Everything.
Don't be so old-fashioned, it's about the music not the format.

[SLD.Potato]

mattyp90 wrote:

Live > Everything.
Don't be so old-fashioned, it's about the music not the format.

You've obviously never listened to an LP and compared it to an iPod before. :P

But really, when you have a CD you're more inclined to actually listen to the entire album, as opposed to single song downloads where you just become "That one band that did that one song".

[ShazbotBen]

Yes, when you ignore the scratchiness, the warping, and the incredibly inconvenient bulk, vinyl is so much better!

[Koolcow]

Im not going to lie, i went onto their website and when you give them the artwork they can make the cards look really nice, it is really cool. I'm not sure if it will pick up though cause CD's are just much more satisfying that you have a physical thing in your hands straight from the band. Also, when you come back from the show you want to be listening to what you bought in the car right? Can't do it with the cards.....still cool though

[edibledevilboy]

i have no reason for it, but i don't like how things are changing from CDs and vinyls to get music out...
might be it just seems another way that labels are competing to sell more than everyone else. Meh. i wont be using these sites for my band anyway

[Dead_End]

SLD.Potato wrote:

mattyp90 wrote:

Live > Everything.
Don't be so old-fashioned, it's about the music not the format.


You've obviously never listened to an LP and compared it to an iPod before. :P

But really, when you have a CD you're more inclined to actually listen to the entire album, as opposed to single song downloads where you just become "That one band that did that one song".

i like youre theory, i know a lotta people who like "that one song" and it takes an hour to figure out what the hell they're talking about, but indeed live is my favorite, i love going to concerts, but it doesnt work if youre doing these little comparison things on bands you cant see live [[who lost a member or broke up]]

[hiddeninromance]

i dont mind what its on as long as the piece is beautiful.
i really enjoy vinyll at the moment
though
it just sounds sooooo pure
xxx

[Masonpwiley]

Yes vinyl is sooo great! The dust, the scratches, the bulk, the warping! Have you ever heard of lossless quality? And using good equipment? It sounds 1000x better from a good sound card hooked up to good speakers compared to using the output of an iPod.

[LewisMasonx]

CDs CDs CDs! I dislike digital music greatly, I prefer something I can actually hold in my hands, with artwork I can hold too.

[nicodimus]

digital wins for simplicity. But a vinyl being played with the correct equipment has a far better sound quality than CD's and any other digital device. Vinyls are a pain in the arse to look after but it's worth it

[Northern_Soul]

I-Pods are evil in my opinion.. they basically make albums pointless and singles bands like Greenday, U2 and Girls Aloud are basically all they promote

Checked.

[rednightmare]

CDs CDs CDs! I dislike digital music greatly, I prefer something I can actually hold in my hands, with artwork I can hold too.

CDs are digital.

[tmwtp]

mattyp90 wrote:

Live > Everything.
Don't be so old-fashioned, it's about the music not the format.

f*** yeah. i'd prefer seeing an indie band live over anything else any day

[Lydian_Mode]

The problem I have with downloading as compared to CDs, tapes, and vinyl is that downloading takes away the whole feel of an album. By feel I mean the album art/CD insert booklet, plus the order of the songs as chosen by the artist. You just don't get that by downloading individual songs.

On the subject of live vs. studio, I don't think either one is better than the other, but its a different way of connecting to the audience. In the studio, you have all the overdubs and other cool effects that often can't be recreated live. But the live show of course has the element of stage presence and a way of doing songs differently than in the studio.

[J_Producer]

lol i just knew this article was gonna spout the ancient digital vs analogue debate! sound wise its all a matter of opinion. appreciation of sound is subjective, and neither is better than the other. but yeh i fear the day you cant walk into a shop and buy an album and read the sleeves etc on the bus ride home when you have to download all your music!

[death_jr]

I think digital music is killing the industry. How can artists make a decent profit if people download illegally? I understand real musicians are in it for passion, but the real musicians were back in the day. Now anyone who can throw a few power chords together is some amazing rock band. What happened to real rock?

[euan_soad]

death_jr wrote:

I think digital music is killing the industry. How can artists make a decent profit if people download illegally? I understand real musicians are in it for passion, but the real musicians were back in the day. Now anyone who can throw a few power chords together is some amazing rock band. What happened to real rock?

Even before Napster, bands still made more money touring than selling albums.

[scarfacesuit]

i don't know... this seems like a bad strategy.
if you hand out CDs, people will pop them into a computer or in their cars or stereos or whatever and have a listen. you give them cards, and it's just a waste of money, because a lot of people won't bother going and downloading the songs.
people are generally lazy, therefore not many people will just take a card and actually download the songs. but if you give them a CD, then that's tangible. it's right there music whenever you want it.
this is just adding another step in the way, and a lot of people just won't bother with it.

bottom line: CDs=better

[scarfacesuit]

euan_soad wrote:

Even before Napster, bands still made more money touring than selling albums.

yeah, the whole point of selling albums is so that people will like it and come see them live... they don't go play live to people will buy their album. that's just stupid, haha.

[bloodstained]

scarfacesuit wrote:

euan_soad wrote:

Even before Napster, bands still made more money touring than selling albums.

yeah, the whole point of selling albums is so that people will like it and come see them live... they don't go play live to people will buy their album. that's just stupid, haha.

nah you're stupid for not understanding, that after, the price of the press of the record, the taxation from the record label, bands will probably get like what? 25 cents for each record or even less. compared to the amount of money they will recieve from a club owner for brining a 100 to a 1000 kids to their club is a huge contrast. and remember, we're talking about indie bands here, i would strongly doubt, if any indie band actually gavea **** if someone bought their records, and it probably means more to them, if people are acutally just listening to their music, no matter what format it splaying through.

[glamhairmetal]

casettes own everthing

[glamhairmetal]

actually its vinyls then casetes.

[sweetroad]

vinyl has the best sound. Digital music doesnt have the same sound. When you pop a cd into a computer the cd is just relaying what the music should sound like and it is recreated. Vinyl the music is in the grooves and comes straight from the vinyl. Plus a lot of artists now are including an mp3 card in the vinyl in which you can download an mp3 version of the album as well. Best of both worlds.

[vintageisbetter]

wont last! cant play it in you car

[ModestPixies16]

gahh, I think I'll just buy their CD's, Its like a million times better.

[Admiral Petty]

Northern_Soul wrote:

I-Pods are evil in my opinion.. they basically make albums pointless and singles bands like Greenday, U2 and Girls Aloud are basically all they promote

Say what you want, but, I don't listen to any of those artists. I listen to entire albums.

I have an Ipod for one reason, instant access to my entire music library(all 4,600 legally obtained songs worth of it).

The reason I own an Ipod is because I love my music much more than the average joe, and probably more than most people here on ultimate-guitar.

I love CDs too, awesome to have them and their art. But I see no need to cart them with me everywhere I go, there's no way I could fit all my music in my car.

[mitch311]

Ipod quality is decent enough anyway. It's not like it's unlistenable, it's fine.

[Bass Pants]

I agree with Admiral Petty

i have an Ipod, because its more convenient to store all of my music in one place when i walk around in a mall or on the beach or something its easier to be like "one albums over let's pick a new one to listen to" then to carry a cd player and a bunch of cds thats what ipods are for.

[the_bi99man]

Koolcow wrote:
Also, when you come back from the show you want to be listening to what you bought in the car right? Can't do it with the cards.....still cool though

I don't have a CD player in my car, so I use my MP3 player hooked to a radio adapter. But I still think this is pretty lame. I just promote my Myspace site (myspace.com/fcmp - flaming cyborg mongoose productions -we're all digitally made techno, but we kick ass), and then when I want to make an album (which is on its way, and it's gonna kick ass), I just record the CDs myself at my computer... one at a time... that's indie for your ass.

[Schnitzel_Man]

I like CD's better. The songs on an album tend to flow into each other, and makes different parts of a song stand out. It makes you appreciate the band more, I think.

[aschaetter]

I think everyone has missed the point... This is far cheaper for an indie band than to try to make promo cds. If you get people to actually listen to the music, then you can sell the cds later on when they develop a fanbase. All this article says is that we will be seeing more indie bands instead of the same old corporate crap over and over because its becoming less expensive for a fresh band to promote their MUSIC, not their corporate product.

[rhcpfan118]

hmmmm, i have mixed feelings on this one. but i guess overall it's a good means of exposure. i buy individual songs on itunes but... i'd never buy a whole cd, i like owning cd's and the cover art/booklet. nothing like it. i'd go vinyl if it was more common again... sadly it's a lost art.

[clashclash]

am i the only 1 who is bored of all these ****ing indie bands?

[emil_sej]

I hate digital music... It ruined some bands... People usually comment my t-shirts, and say: "I ****ing love that band!", but when you ask them what's their favorite album, they've only heard one or a few songs...

[HeartInACage]

ShazbotBen wrote:

Yes, when you ignore the scratchiness, the warping, and the incredibly inconvenient bulk, vinyl is so much better!

Yes cause all of those things have to do with the sound quality of vinyl and not the maintenance or inconvience of it. If you listen to an MP3 you can easily hear that the cymbals are much more thin sounding and some bass is lost. CDs have decent quality but still lose some frequencies. The best is 2" reel to reel tape.

2" tape>vinyl>CDs>MP3>MP3splayedthroughipodswit
hshittyheadphones

[haivyn]

as a band member myself..these cards are not a very good idea not even as a promo hand out for networking purposes. You meet an A&R you hand to him and say here take a listen but you can do that if you have business card with your myspace on it for free. You meet a band you like and say hey lets do a show together here's a my card same Sh%&. General public if they have NOT seen you live sure you can give them a card but that's a buck per son when you could just send them to your myspace and save them the download time LOL. Then there's...if they watch you live, then you've made your best selling pitch. IF they like you they either buy a CD then and walk away w/ it or if they're low on cash they only sign up on an emailing list. Thats cool with me. IF they didn't like you enough...you don't give someone a buck to walk away. You need to get your music up on CD babies or your own website and sell from there. They want it bad enough they'll be coming to another show of yours to buy a CD or they'll get it online from your site. The card thing is straight up throwing money away, even if they did like you they don't get the quick satisfaction after the show of having the tangible CD in hand.