To many it seems that modern music industry has become a
dystopian landscape full of oligarchs and pirates (of intellectual property),
and where iTunes has become akin to the Skylab Corporation from the ‘Terminator’
movies. But it may be surprising to
those not in-the-know that some people do in fact still buy physically-existing
records from physically-existing stores with addresses, cash registers and
everything. Many of these stores
specialize in used music and vinyl, but a lot of them also sell new albums,
especially by local and struggling bands.
It’s not recommended to rely on these archaic merchants for
the bulk of your income, but it can make your material more accessible to your
fan base. Particularly if they’re of the
hipster, liberal arts educated variety.
First of all it may help people to remember your band once their
barista-sized paychecks clear, rather than competing with the rest of the
Internet and all its distractions.
Secondly, you may get a better deal from a record store owner/manager, who
may have a struggling band of their own, than you would from Apple/iTunes who
have struggled with nothing. Thirdly,
and probably most importantly, it’s publicity that makes your band seem more
legitimate, even if no one buys them.
You probably won’t be able to sell the store any more copies, but if a
customer sees ten copies of your CD among the racks it implies that there is
demand for your music. At the very least
it suggests that the proprietor has a lot of faith in your band, despite the
reality of their indifference.
So how do you get your album in stores? It’s a question that’s been asked for decades
and although the answer probably hasn’t changed that much, it’s a good bet that
you don’t know the answer. Otherwise you have stopped reading somewhere
early on in the second paragraph. Find
out how, here:
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