Metal - Is the Death Knell Sounding ?

No this si not an album by a band called Metal.

I want explainations as to why take up for my CD here has been poor.

I could understand if I was releasing some shite arse CDr (printed on your home printer), and cheap 4 page booklet packaging (I've some of them to come by the way ) and charging $10 (which alot of the bands seem to do these days, just look at CDBaby). But when you get a band or a label trying to put effort into a release (this one for example is a full factory press CD with a 12 page booklet and double sided rear tray) and very little support is given, it's confusing. Sure certain bands may not appeal to all but there are alot of bands that I don't like but I still support them and buy a CD from them, I mean it would cost you nearly $10 to get a bloody 3 track demo from a band these days once you add postage into the equation.

I am taking a shot at anyone here, the first line of this reply was a tongue in cheek note, but this is a more general point about Music fans at the moment than it is geared towards my release. Is it that the download button looks too attractive on their screen ? I can say that CDs are over priced in general, but I myself and trying to do something about that, hence I'm only charging €8 for the CDs and I'll pay the paypal fees and postage costs out of that €8 also, so you can imagine that airmail to the US etc.... is not the cheapest, so if that's too expensive for fans then I don't know what the future holds. I have also set up alot of trades with other labels for my release against theirs and they should start rolling in over the next couple of weeks, and I'll be selling them CDs for €8 too, I don't care, I'm not going to be dictated to about having to sell a CD for €12/$15, if mine is selling for €8 then theirs will be sold for €8 by me too, if I'm able to make a small profit at the end of the day to put towards the next release then that's all I ask.

Recession is a great word at the moment, I've only sold a handful of these in Ireland, you get the replies "man I wish I had the money to pick this up......", however on a saturday night the same fella is pissing €30-€40 worth of beer up against the wall of the local pub, this doesn't relate to just CDs etc... Gigs are another victim of the fans, low attendences etc..... for years fans have been crying about how the bands don't come here no more, Annihilator, Megadeth & Anthrax etc. use to play here in the late '80's, but now when they do come back they pull 50 people, why would they bother coming here ?

Just my piece, many wont agree but that's life.

**I didn't think there was anywhere suitable on the board for this than here**

Honestly, I didnt realize you had released it yet.

I have never downloaded besides the occasional obscure thrash demo...I honesty just dont have much money.

DeathCult wrote:

Honestly, I didnt realize you had released it yet.

Not you, you tool

I used my release as an example, but maybe I should have just used some new bands in general, main point is there are bands out there bursting their chops and trying to make a go of it in a genre that doesn't seem to give a flying f*** about them, yes the market is saturated with bands but some bands don't even take themselves seriously and to suceed you have to bring something new to the table, so why are bands still releasing crappy CDrs and charging an arm and a leg for them ?.

Stender wrote:

I have never downloaded besides the occasional obscure thrash demo..

and that Taylor Swift CD, don't forget that .......

Locky wrote:

Stender wrote:

I have never downloaded besides the occasional obscure thrash demo..

and that Taylor Swift CD, don't forget that .......

oh yesh how could I forget.

So hard to say. Most younger fold just listen to and download a song they don't buy albums and aren't much into genres. It's becoming, who's the band of the moment, kind of atmosphere.

Where exactly have you advertised that your label has released something?

Shawn Of Fire wrote:

Where exactly have you advertised that your label has released something?

No it was a bad move using my own as an example, The main jist of what I was trying to say although I went arseways about it is that the quality of alot releases are poor and that we are pricing ourselves out of the market, I'll keep saying it but no fan should be expected to pay nearly $10 for a 3 track CDr demo, when was the last time you saw a band offering a demo for $5 postage included ?

Personally for advertisement, I've done adds for 4 Magazines over here in Europe, I'm concentrating on trades with labels more so at present to help build up a lit as I know I can't shft my stock but I can sell Heavy Artillery releases and the likes.

I dunno. Speaking for myself, I've probably purchased more cd's in the last 3 or 4 years than I have since I had a cd player. I'm not a downloader, however, I will admit that the majority of my cd purchases, especially in the last year have been used (ie cheaper).

While I enjoy hearing new music and supporting a band through the purchase of the cd, I just can't justify spending more than $10 bucks for a cd. I suppose the argument could be made that I'm not directly supporting the band if I'm buying their music second-hand, but if you put 2 cd's in front of me, one shrink-wrapped new for $12 and the other opened, with a hole-punch in the upc for $4, the choice for me is obvious.

As for the downloaders (illegal or otherwise), well, I just don't see an end to that. It's unfortunate, but there is a whole generation coming up that sees downloads as the primary way to get music. Since they never had the whole "new music experience" the way we did (word-of-mouth, cool album covers, searching various record stores, etc.), they really don't know what they're missing, so the music will never have the same lasting impact or the value it holds for us. It's just as easily obtainable, digested and disposed of as a Big Mac. The physical cd and booklet means nothing to them.

I can only speak for myself but I buy more cds now than I ever have.I dont download anything.

And yes I bought your release after you forced me too Locky

Thrasher73 wrote:

I bought your release after you forced me too Locky

You are now offically welcome in Ireland.

look now, noone put a baseball bat up to your knees, you had the choice and grabbed a bargin when you saw it.

I've currently been buying the least amount of cds that I have in many many years.

I still buy cds. I just prefer to have the actual cd, and in some cases vinyl, with all the artwork, liner notes, etc. than a downloaded copy.

This is why we got on Itunes and other download sites. I feel that cd's and records are more for collectors who really care about the music.

The door is closed for bands like us...Big lables won't take a chance, and small lables sign too manny bands.Most small lables only print up 500 or a 1000 copies.

I've never made a living out of music,but music is my life...

Glenn nails it.

The metal market is saturated and it is too wasy to just steal what you want without having to pay for it. Then people wonder why so many of the new bands just don't sound as good as the old bands who used professional producers, could hire pro musicians, and afford to tour 5 months out of the year to hone their skills.

Like Rexorcist, I also have spent the least amount on CDs in the last year or so than I have in decades. I am worried that the economy will get much worse in the next few years and I need to pay off all my debts first before I spend much more money on metal CDs.

(BTW, I guess I don't pay attention much but I didn't know you had a band/label and had put out a CD. I didn't see it in your sig.)

It's just that most people don't care anymore.

For me, right now money is the biggest issue. I grab the occasional one here and there if I REALLY want it, and the price is cheap (by my own measure). I think a small part of the problem you are referring to can be laid at the feet of a shoddy economy (worldwide). Extra cash and disposable income is getting thinner and thinner, so I think fans are having to cut back on spending.

I think you also have a point that there is a generation out there that thinks they should get it completely for free and won't pay for any albums. Some turd will always rip it and dump it on the internet.




I've sold a VERY large portion of my collection because I needed the money. If things hadn't tightened up on me I'd seriously be grabbing boatloads of stuff like I always did.

I know a lot of people that prefer to download music or rip other people's CDs. It's sad. It's stealing. As for me, I'll download music to check it out, but if I like it, as long as it's not out of print, I'll buy it. If I don't like it, I'll delete the files. I want the total package, the artwork, the lyrics, the band photos, the stickers and whatever else the band has to offer. I want the whole experience.

However, I have stopped taking as many chances. I used to buy new music because the album cover looked cool or I heard one song and liked it. With the resources available now to investigate music before a purchase, it's foolish to waste the money on something I may only listen to once. Of course, there are exceptions to that rule. There are bands that I am loyal to and I'll buy there new CD the day it's released without hearing a note.