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.
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