Enter the naysayers

Jupiter Research analyst David Card leads the predictable dismissals of our album release plan:

Who Needs Record Labels?

Just about everybody. If they want to make a living, that is. Let alone be a rock star. Pretty good story in the Journal that shows it ain't easy for a band to make it doing the online thing: 92,000 free downloads converted to 600 oniline payers, and a few thousand CD and merchandise sales. And the band, Harvey Danger, doesn't really want to tour. Good luck.

It's almost as if Mr. Card doesn't know what the realities are in the industry from a band/artist standpoint, or even looked into what the typical conversion rates are for free-distribution models (it's around 1%). And again, the short-term thinking -- what is it with these guys?

People will often fixate on the low conversion percentages, but what matters in the end is not the percentage, but the absolute number, since our marginal costs of distribution are so low.

Ultimately, in our case, the final evaluation comes down to this: are we better off doing this than attempting a traditional let's-find-a-label route? A near-sold-through first pressing and recouping almost half our expenses with scant distribution, little promotion, and no touring, after four years of inactivity (and within seven weeks, no less), would incline me to say yes. But the answer will be more definitive in six months or so, after we give people time to digest and listen to the album.

current download count: 96,170

Comments

[Dave]

I just downloaded your album and, as a fan of both your music and alternative content distribution methods, I am very curious to see how this experiment turns out.

I was wondering - how do you keep track of how many downloads there have been? I ask because I didn't get your album from your website, but from a different BitTorrent tracker. Do your figures include downloads like mine?

Also, did you consider putting a "suggested donation amount" on your website? I know that the album price is $11.99, but there are additional costs involved in producing a physical CD. Just an idea, but maybe you want to leave it up to the listener.

Take care and good luck!