The other night, Hollow Vixen played a gig at TT the Bear’s in Cambridge, MA. Earlier that afternoon, they picked up their first disc: Parallel to Paradise. Alongside the obvious jubilation and excitement, was the fact that they paid to have these discs made. They spent a total of $200 to get 100 discs. So, with math even a drummer could do, that means each disc cost the guys a whopping $2.
Later that night, o’er at TT’s, Hollow Vixen sold 10 discs at $8 each. They made a total of $80. Still simple drummer math. $80 in CD sales on 10 discs means that they profited $60. Considering TT’s only paid ‘em $75 for the Wednesday night slot, they both doubled their money and made back 40% of the cost of their discs.
This is pretty common, but it doesn’t get spotlighted enough. A quality disc, made at a reasonable cost, sold for a decent price, to a fan who just saw you perform ….. that’s how it all works. Or at least, how a lot of it works. Before you start trying to use Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace, and worrying about your fancy-pants merch items, and which marketing consultant to hire, just start with a disc…
Shameless plug: To get your own copy of Hollow Vixen’s “Parallel to Paradise,” click here.
Another shameless plug: To get your band’s CDs made by Nimbit, click here:
