Record sales

G

guitar74

New member
Hey, anyone else's sales slow, or does my Ep suck that bad (I know. I left myself wide open with that one)? Also, I know I committed to buying some of the member's material, but my wife just found out she will no longer have her tutoring gig Friday. Talk about a wonderful birthday present for me (that's right I am 41 TODAY).

Let me know how some of your projects are selling. It would be nice to hear that someone is selling SOMETHING!

Have a great day,

Al

P.S.-The album is up on Itunes, Google Play, Amazon, etc. Just look up Al Adams?? Nneevveerr Heard Of Him!
 
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Re: Record sales

It's kind of a throwback to 80's shred. Good playing technically, but the recording sounds a bit hollow. I don't think the shred thing has quite come back yet.
 
Re: Record sales

For every album I sell, 10+ are downloaded illegally from peer to peer sites.
Sales do not mean no one is listening.
 
Re: Record sales

I hear you guys. But the shred thing not coming back yet? I guess nobody has heard Dragon Force, Alexi, or a whole host of others I could point out. As far as the shred thing, I actually laid back. There is a whole lot more phrasing than shredding, it's just the phrasing isn't in the typical blues box. While there is nothing wrong with the blues box, I personally would be bored to tears with it if I did more than a few licks with it here and there. Even when Gary Moore went blues it wasn't your typical blues which is what made his blues great. If it doesn't speak to you that's cool, Trevorus (I was asking about sales not your opinion of my album.)but Hollow? Sounds like someone is a blues guy from metro Atlanta (lot of people here with that attitude that all sound the same) by the overly critical comments. It's usually blues guys that seem to justify their particular style of playing by claiming that people who don't play their brand of blues or play more than one note per measure are somehow hollow, soul-less, etc. Funny thing is, all of the guys that I know who can shred or blow for you jazz guys, all like, appreciate and listen to the slower more melodic stuff, and love it.


Twilight and Gibson 175 thanks for the advice (unfortunately with my wife's health being what it is, gigging in support are kind of out of the question. Same reason I had to pass on the Pink Floyd Tribute band offer), and
 
Re: Record sales

I'm sure you're a fine musician but I can't imagine people trying to make any money at it. Look at Devon Townsend - been at it for 25 years, probably a dozen albums, wins awards, has a label, produces, etc. That's a dude who should be a millionaire but is bringing in a pretty modest salary.

This podcast interview is a good listen to put things into perspective: http://www.musicbusinessfacts.net/589/43-devin-townsend/
 
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Our second album sold over 100 physical copies in the first week. Sales are still happening. They slowed down a bit but are picking back up with some of the stuff we have done for promo (and good reviews in magazines and such). What have you got in the ways of distribution and promotion? You need a way to raise as much awareness about your project as you can especially amongst people who would definitely like it if they heard it.

In the internet age where recording equipment and software is inexpensive and mass produced, there are millions of independent bands and artists. You can't listen to that many in an entire lifetime.
 
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Don't know about shred album demand ..& frankly, not too sure if those albums were ever great money spinners...sad but true :lmao:

But with the split Ep (doom/death metal) we did a year ago..things did'nt go too bad.

We recovered our studio/recording costs (the singer and I paid 50/50 for that & were reimbursed from sales). Each band member (four of us) got some cash (beer money lol) ..also from physical copy sales & we have a bit left to cover rehearsal/future recording costs. Plus it's still selling (slower though..)

It helps that our singer runs a distro & has an actual little record store....
 
Re: Record sales

Beer$ said:
Our second album sold over 100 physical copies in the first week. Sales are still happening.
Click to expand...
That is a respectable number of mechanical sales in this day and age!
I don't even have mechanical copies of my albums any more, aside from a few review copies. They are simply not cost-effective for a studio-only project.

That reminds me, I need to grab a copy of the new Fragmenta. Which download outlet gives you your greatest return? I will order it from there.
 
Re: Record sales

Phantasmagoria said:
Don't know about shred album demand ..& frankly, not too sure if those albums were ever great money spinners...sad but true :lmao:
Click to expand...

They sold big numbers to guitarists, that's about it. I've only met one person who did not play guitar who recognized Joe Satriani's Surfing With The Alien in the 20+ years since the album came out, and that was last year. I had my laptop at work and was listening to it at lunch, and this guy asks "is that Joe Satriani?". I was floored when he said he didn't play guitar. I thanked him sincerely for not being a musician and still knowing who it was.
Now, how many rock-based guitar players over 30 do you know personally who have not heard of Satch? Not many, I'm sure.


While I think G74's reply to Trevorus was a bit on the butt-hurt side, he does make a valid point: most shredders do enjoy listening to a wider variety of music than those who play simpler forms. By the same token, I agree with Trevorus: the slapback on the drums is vintage 80s (i.e. done poorly), the rhythm tone is generic, and the soloing is technically rich but musically poor.
 
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How are itunes, google and amazon doing relative to each other, if you would care to share that information?
 
Re: Record sales

DrNewcenstein said:
They sold big numbers to guitarists, that's about it. I've only met one person who did not play guitar who recognized Joe Satriani's Surfing With The Alien in the 20+ years since the album came out, and that was last year. I had my laptop at work and was listening to it at lunch, and this guy asks "is that Joe Satriani?". I was floored when he said he didn't play guitar. I thanked him sincerely for not being a musician and still knowing who it was.
Now, how many rock-based guitar players over 30 do you know personally who have not heard of Satch? Not many, I'm sure.


While I think G74's reply to Trevorus was a bit on the butt-hurt side, he does make a valid point: most shredders do enjoy listening to a wider variety of music than those who play simpler forms. By the same token, I agree with Trevorus: the slapback on the drums is vintage 80s (i.e. done poorly), the rhythm tone is generic, and the soloing is technically rich but musically poor.
Click to expand...


I did'nt actually hear the OP's stuff tbh (he did'nt post a link...)..but do like shred/shredders in general. I was just addressing the question about album sales. Yeah, you're right that shred albums sell/sold mostly to guitar players...but I'm still guessing that number's probably quite a bit lower than the average popular(ish) band will be able to move. Also if you discount guys like Vai/Satch & the dudes at the top of the guitar instrumental/shred ladder..the second tier/lesser known guys probably don't even figure anywhere close to their (Vai/Satch's) sales..
 
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10 years ago I was in a group that sold 5,000 physical copies over a 6 month period mostly through gigging, word of mouth and mail order. We did it the new school way (at the time) without a record label and self-recorded/self-produced. As I am preparing to venture down the road of making a new album times have changed. Everybody is doing their own records now and nobody is buying anything they can find for free unless they have some sort of connection to you. The only way to build that bridge to the consumers/fans is to gig and network. People still pay to see live music and if they get a few beers in them they might even buy your cd.

My new approach will be low-priced albums and offer a few tracks for free to download when the time comes. It's all about promotion of your brand to build enough hype so they come to your shows these days. I understand the OP's wife has some health problems but you clearly have enough talent to get out there and gig if an opportunity presents itself and your wife's health improves. That being said, don't give up. Find ways to promote your brand over the internet like you are doing in this forum!
 
Re: Record sales

TwilightOdyssey said:
That is a respectable number of mechanical sales in this day and age!
I don't even have mechanical copies of my albums any more, aside from a few review copies. They are simply not cost-effective for a studio-only project.

That reminds me, I need to grab a copy of the new Fragmenta. Which download outlet gives you your greatest return? I will order it from there.
Click to expand...
fragmentametal.bandcamp.com or if you like you can even just paypal me the $$ and I can mail it out to you.
 
Re: Record sales

guitar74 said:
I hear you guys. But the shred thing not coming back yet? I guess nobody has heard Dragon Force, Alexi, or a whole host of others I could point out. As far as the shred thing, I actually laid back. There is a whole lot more phrasing than shredding, it's just the phrasing isn't in the typical blues box. While there is nothing wrong with the blues box, I personally would be bored to tears with it if I did more than a few licks with it here and there. Even when Gary Moore went blues it wasn't your typical blues which is what made his blues great. If it doesn't speak to you that's cool, Trevorus (I was asking about sales not your opinion of my album.)but Hollow? Sounds like someone is a blues guy from metro Atlanta (lot of people here with that attitude that all sound the same) by the overly critical comments. It's usually blues guys that seem to justify their particular style of playing by claiming that people who don't play their brand of blues or play more than one note per measure are somehow hollow, soul-less, etc. Funny thing is, all of the guys that I know who can shred or blow for you jazz guys, all like, appreciate and listen to the slower more melodic stuff, and love it.


Twilight and Gibson 175 thanks for the advice (unfortunately with my wife's health being what it is, gigging in support are kind of out of the question. Same reason I had to pass on the Pink Floyd Tribute band offer), and
Click to expand...

Hey, I wasn't trying to be insulting in the least. I'm serious about the hollow sound. It sounds like there is a serious lack of body in the recording. I'm listening to it on my recording cans that are super flat response, and there's no body to the guitars. I don't hear bass to speak of, either. The drums have a bit of the thump to them, but it sounds like someone with ear fatigue was mixing it down. You don't have any vocals, so you have a ton of bandwidth to fill with the instruments. The recording is generally quiet, too. I'm not looking for someone to absolutely max the headroom, but you're contending with things that are mastered hot.

I do still think that in the world of music access we have now (I still find new stuff on Spotify ALL THE TIME) that you need to really bring something that'll either hook someone, or market well. As the guys have been saying, you need to get out any play to warm bodies. Jumping into the internet with something someone's never even heard of is like tossing a glass of vodka in the ocean. It's in the title, Never heard of him!
 
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