Re: [Harp-L] Thoughts on doing a concept album...

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Mike Fugazzi wrote:
>So, what I am asking from you it this:
>
>1. Do you think I'd have any luck selling the music?

Mike, the single thing that sells the most albums is performing.  If you're playing the material live frequently with a solid band, you can easily sell hundreds or thousands of CDs in a year from the stage at your gigs.  In fact, any artist who's performing regularly should make a point of having CDs on hand to sell at every gig--there's nothing easier than selling a CD to someone who just heard you play and loved it.

If you're not going to be performing the material live with any frequency, I'd seriously doubt that you'll be able to move enough records to pay for the project. Rock records take money to make, as a rule--you need a real recording studio in most cases to record drums and big amps, and that's expensive--and a "low-budget" album recorded an mixed in a real studio can easily cost $10,000-$20,000.  

There are exceptions, of course. But for most artists nowadays, a physical CD is a token purchased by an audience as a reminder of a performance--in other words, it helps drive up the revenue from performances, as opposed to being a significant standalone revenue generator in itself.  

My opinion isn't necessarily the final word on this topic, and I'd like to hear from others on this list who've released their own records.  Mike, if you decide to proceed with the project, I'll be glad to talk to you about strategies for driving up sales at performances.

Regards, Richard Hunter

  





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