Hey, Sunshine Girl!
The CD has been on sale now for months and it hasn't hit number one. But the cool thing is, it's selling. Gosh darn it, people like us! I have three vendors (and happily all my royalties are paid): amazon.com, acappella.com and Cutler's Records in New Haven, CT.
What's it like being a record magnate? Same as not being one. We see steady sales at all three locations. Each venue sells a few CDs per month without any real advertising or marketing. The Whiffenpoofs have a cachet, and collectors are always looking for interesting or "lost" recordings. This is an "original recording remastered", so if it didn't exist, it would be pretty much gone from the planet. People like getting something like that.
The CD was lovingly remastered and the result is very fine quality. I've heard some worn records that were remastered without high end filtering that are just barely listenable. This was a pristine LP and was given lots of attention and high end treatment. It's very close to the original quality of the master tapes and certainly more than equal to a pristine LP record. You are not distracted by lots of snaps, crackles and pops. It's quite smooth and clear.
One thing I learned at Amazon is that it does not really pay to be a Premium Seller unless you're doing high volume. They don't keep any inventory on hand, so you do all the work whether you are a Premium Seller or just another bozo. They send you an email, you print a packing slip, package the goods and mail it to the buyer, all within 2 business days. If Amazon fails to notify you, which happened to me in one case, the buyer will stew for a few weeks and then write a nastygram to Amazon, at which point Amazon will notify you, and the buyer will never believe you were not notified in the first place. Try complaining to Amazon? It's "talk to the hand". There's no one listening.
As a Premium Seller at Amazon, you pay hefty monthly fees for their service. Without this status, you have to renew your selling "site" every 60 days. It's a pain, but well worth it if you're losing money paying their service fees. Otherwise, they deduct your profits from the fees you owe and you gain nothing. Not so sweet. If you make money, they direct deposit it to you. Sweet.
Acappella.com, on the other hand will keep some small inventory on hand and ship to the buyers. You have to keep track of the sales and resupply them periodically, but there is no ongoing cost. You won't lose money in a month where nothing sells. They pay the postage, do the shipping and send you checks when they sell - sweet! But your record must be good enough for them to include it in their catalog. They listen and if they figure it won't sell, you're toast!
The brick and mortar operations like Cutler's Records work pretty much the same way. They accept a small inventory, sell it at an agreed upon "split", and you have to check with them periodically to keep them supplied, at which point they pay you for what was sold. Like acappella.com, brick and mortar operations won't waste space unless they think they can sell your product. Luckily, the Whiffenpoofs are a proven commodity and Cutler's is glad to carry us.
I read up on CD Baby recently, and they operate much like acappella.com - small inventory, simple profit split, no monthly overhead and lots of happiness for all. CDBaby will carry you no matter what. You pay a small one-time fee and that's all there is to it. Look for Whiffenpoofs Sunshine Girl there soon!
If you want to sell publicly, make sure you pay for all the intellectual property rights you need to be legal. It's really very simple. You go to Harry Fox agency on the web, research every song in their database and declare how many CD's you're making and pay it in advance when you are manufacturing the CDs. Pretty much everyone who wants to be paid is listed there. Rarely they are not listed and you have to track them down and make a private deal. When making the Sunshine Girl CD, I had the opportunity to pay license fees for downloads but did not opt for that. There's a serious profit margin there, but unless you're expecting a feeding frenzy on your music, it's probably more bother than it's worth. Don't take my word for it but you gotta sell to make money, that's for sure!!
Bob
What's it like being a record magnate? Same as not being one. We see steady sales at all three locations. Each venue sells a few CDs per month without any real advertising or marketing. The Whiffenpoofs have a cachet, and collectors are always looking for interesting or "lost" recordings. This is an "original recording remastered", so if it didn't exist, it would be pretty much gone from the planet. People like getting something like that.
The CD was lovingly remastered and the result is very fine quality. I've heard some worn records that were remastered without high end filtering that are just barely listenable. This was a pristine LP and was given lots of attention and high end treatment. It's very close to the original quality of the master tapes and certainly more than equal to a pristine LP record. You are not distracted by lots of snaps, crackles and pops. It's quite smooth and clear.
Amazon.com
One thing I learned at Amazon is that it does not really pay to be a Premium Seller unless you're doing high volume. They don't keep any inventory on hand, so you do all the work whether you are a Premium Seller or just another bozo. They send you an email, you print a packing slip, package the goods and mail it to the buyer, all within 2 business days. If Amazon fails to notify you, which happened to me in one case, the buyer will stew for a few weeks and then write a nastygram to Amazon, at which point Amazon will notify you, and the buyer will never believe you were not notified in the first place. Try complaining to Amazon? It's "talk to the hand". There's no one listening.
As a Premium Seller at Amazon, you pay hefty monthly fees for their service. Without this status, you have to renew your selling "site" every 60 days. It's a pain, but well worth it if you're losing money paying their service fees. Otherwise, they deduct your profits from the fees you owe and you gain nothing. Not so sweet. If you make money, they direct deposit it to you. Sweet.
Acappella.com
Acappella.com, on the other hand will keep some small inventory on hand and ship to the buyers. You have to keep track of the sales and resupply them periodically, but there is no ongoing cost. You won't lose money in a month where nothing sells. They pay the postage, do the shipping and send you checks when they sell - sweet! But your record must be good enough for them to include it in their catalog. They listen and if they figure it won't sell, you're toast!
Cutler's Records & Brick and Mortar operations
The brick and mortar operations like Cutler's Records work pretty much the same way. They accept a small inventory, sell it at an agreed upon "split", and you have to check with them periodically to keep them supplied, at which point they pay you for what was sold. Like acappella.com, brick and mortar operations won't waste space unless they think they can sell your product. Luckily, the Whiffenpoofs are a proven commodity and Cutler's is glad to carry us.
CDBaby.com
I read up on CD Baby recently, and they operate much like acappella.com - small inventory, simple profit split, no monthly overhead and lots of happiness for all. CDBaby will carry you no matter what. You pay a small one-time fee and that's all there is to it. Look for Whiffenpoofs Sunshine Girl there soon!
Pay the royalties and licenses to your composers, lyricists, arrangers...
If you want to sell publicly, make sure you pay for all the intellectual property rights you need to be legal. It's really very simple. You go to Harry Fox agency on the web, research every song in their database and declare how many CD's you're making and pay it in advance when you are manufacturing the CDs. Pretty much everyone who wants to be paid is listed there. Rarely they are not listed and you have to track them down and make a private deal. When making the Sunshine Girl CD, I had the opportunity to pay license fees for downloads but did not opt for that. There's a serious profit margin there, but unless you're expecting a feeding frenzy on your music, it's probably more bother than it's worth. Don't take my word for it but you gotta sell to make money, that's for sure!!
For most of us, it's just cool to be selling it and bragging to our spouses and girlfriends. Make sure you stay legal and that you don't lose your shirt for the bragging rights!
Bob
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