Live Music Blog

While you could hear many negative comments towards the music industry over illegal On-line music distribution, they do have cause for concern. Since the coming of Napster and other file sharing communities, the record industry has lost hundreds of millions of dollars in sales. Some of blame can be placed on their conservative approach to promoting musicians, opting for the “American Idol” instead of the avant-garde musicians who could excite the next generation like the Beatles or Van Halen in decades past. They likewise failed to use the Internet to give out music before the rampant distribution began. But one thing is undeniable, the CD is on the way out.

Over the final a few years the Compact Disc has experienced negative growth in the market. In fact the Vinyl LP has actually remained selling while the compact disc is lowing steam. A couple reasons for this are Web distribution, and the fact that many consumers now use the compact disc as a medium to rip music from to their iPod or similar portable music device.

While I lament the fact that nobody sits down and listens to an album anymore, instead using music as a soundtrack to their own lives, there are still ways to give out your next album. You’ve to use a little creativity and think outside the box, but you can make it work

USB Flash Drive

Do not think you would be the 1st to do this. You would simply be in the company of established performers such as Matchbox Twenty who final year released a full length album on a USB bracelet. The great thing about the USB drive is you can include extra features readily such as videos, liner notes, or even alternative file categories such as lossless FLAC or multi-channel audio. The price of USB drives has dropped to dollars each, so it’s not too much more than compact disc replication. Plus, the USB drive can be used for other things (such as storing individual files for work or school) after your fan has moved it to their iPod.

There are a few services provide ing USB drives in bulk loaded with your content and even printed with your name or logo. Call around for the perfect price.

Concept Albums

Web distribution has increasingly made the single popular again. Now that you may chose which songs you want and which songs are junk, many individuals will download their like red songs and leave the rest alone. I’m going to assume you put all of your endeavor into every song already to not produce filler, but what some artists are trying is the concept album.

Concept albums center around an idea or theme. Thrice recently released the 1st part of a two-part idea collection. Each box includes two EPs, so the set will have four discs, one for each element: fire, water, earth, and air. Similarly, Sufjan Stephens has produced several popular idea albums. Don’t forget, even artists prefer Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd did idea albums.

These are fun albums to produce, but they’re likewise fun to collect. They are not something you want for one song.

Creative Packaging

This can be the the majority costly tip, but it’s also many fun. businesses such as Invisible Creature specialize in creating one-of-a-kind packaging for albums. Many people prefer creative packaging, and love to collect it. Think about what Apple did with their iPod packaging, it’s an adventure just opportunity up the box. Project 86’s latest album, Rival Factions, used a blue jewel case to hides and revels divergent elements in the liner notes, much prefer what you used to find in cereal boxes.

With the right packaging, listeners will need to own your album, not just download several tunes.

Digital Distribution

We all want to sell complete albums, but we cannot afford to ignore digital delivery. Services such as TuneCore may get your album sold through iTunes, Rhapsody, Amazon, eMusic and more while you get 100 percent of the sales. This is the future of music sales. Radiohead most famously provide d their album for sale on their web site independently. Some individuals aren’t collectors and do not really care about a single experience, they just want several songs. Indulge them.

High-quality Multi-channel Audio

Not everybody has access to high-quality recording equipment, but those that do should consider releasing their albums on master-quality for those who really love their music. Blu-ray Disc is the newest audio disc format which allows uncompressed audio in up to 7.1 multi-channel surround sound. More and more homes are including surround sound systems and Blu-ray is exploding on the market, thanks to the Playstation 3. Even two-channel audio sounds better in high-quality.

Additional features may be added to Blu-ray releases, such as live footage, documentaries and whatever else you may fit on the 50GB space provide d. performers who have released on Blu-ray include Nine Inch Nails, Dave Matthews, John Legend, and Shakira, amongst a lot of others.

But don’t think you are stuck to Blu-ray. Record businesses such as Linn Records are providing master quality downloads on their website. On-line music stores prefer MusicGiants are additionally providing lossless audio downloads and multi-channel audio downloads.

Get Started

This is only the beginning. Get creative and try new things. Music and art are going to have coalesce to keep it in the physical realm, so think prefer an performer and a businessman. This is your time to shine.