Life of a CD… CD Replication, CD Duplication… Why we still need them….

CD replication can be a great way for a musician, corporation, or individual to create multiple copies of digitized media effectively. It is often a more cost effective, safer and more professional method than other ways of transferring and storing media or data. When CD printing is needed, choosing quality media duplication and replication services is as easy as knowing what you want and deciding who would be the best company for the job. With all the reasons CD Replication might be necessary, trusting a good service provider with the correct skills is essential to acquiring a successful end product.

Professional CD manufacturing need not be a venue utilized only by big name record companies and software manufacturers. Indie artists, writers, software programmers, businesses, and graphics developers often require bulk CD printing at a competitive cost. Unfortunately, many CD printing companies require enormous orders or only deal with lengthy and detailed contracts, leaving individuals who need these sorts of services with few choices. Luckily there are a few companies who take even the smallest orders seriously.

Generic CD duping from a home pc can take a lot of time and be less cost effective than hiring a premium CD Manufacturing Company to offer quick turn quality product that does not look homemade or lacking in quality. Often, independent musicians are the number one seekers of quality media duplication services. After spending a large chunk of cash on studio sessions to get the perfect tracks, ordering less than optimal CD duplication is a definite mistake. Indie artists can definitely make it in today’s music scene, because it is no longer a requirement to use the big record companies to get noticed, but it is not recommended to send an unprofessional looking CD to a radio station or potential producer, nor is it acceptable to drag homemade rips to your club gig.

Corporate businesses have also realized the benefits of CD printing. Meetings offering a CD accompaniment for associates to take home filled with flow charts, graphs, picture samples, contact information, and presentation details can make a lasting impression and offer a point of reference after an often too-brief meeting. The CD Packaging, disc, and content should be as professional and as formal as your business. Looking like a tech made it during a working lunch is simply unacceptable in many corporate circles. That is why many companies leave pressing CDs to the professionals. There is just something about the way a fresh, correctly manufactured CD looks and feels; it says that someone took the time to do things right and paid attention to detail with profound respect for those who might receive and utilize the media.

Looking to woo a client? Consider rising above the competition with a CD accompanied presentation complete with documentation and attractive case art. CDs are sturdier and easier to carry in a briefcase than a folder filled with loose paperwork. Professional CD printing will leave a lasting impression, giving the presenter a head above the competition. Portable and easy to distribute as well as capable of holding a myriad of compact information, a quality CD does wonders for a business reputation. It is a statement that the data contained thereon is like the conferrer: adept and conveying class.

When it is important to distribute programs, catalog information, tutorials, music samples, or any kind of information in bulk, the services of a professional CD manufacturing company are a must. Creating CDs on your own can be expensive, time consuming, and add unnecessary wear and tear to a computer’s CD rom unit, requiring an individual to spend less time on their business, craft, or music and too much on manufacturing and distribution. CDs are a very popular medium in any field; they are familiar and standard, working with most personal computers with ease.

The best CD duplication services will save time and money, require no minimum to order, and offer a wide array of services to meet a client’s individual needs. Versatility with fully customizable options makes ordering CD printing easy. With the need to offer personal yet professional attention for each project, CD replication is one of the most client-centric programs available. A pro quality CD is an excellent way to get your point across and remembered for years to come.

Call on Disc Outlet today for your next CD duplication or CD replication project.  You conceive it, we’ll achieve it!

Free music, sell more CDs…

Where Nine Inch Nails’ approach, like Radiohead’s before it, draws fans in with free music and then offers additional music for purchase in more extravagant configurations, is this the answer?  Could this be the new game plan?

From the start, Nine Inch Nails planned to put out some tracks for free and charge for others from its instrumental album “Ghosts I-IV.” NIN began giving away nine tracks on its own Web site March 2 and uploaded those same tracks onto Pirate Bay, where fans were encouraged to share the music. But fans were given other options, too: $5 for a digital version of all 36 tracks from the album via Amazon or nin.com, $10 for a double-CD, $75 for a deluxe edition or $300 for an ultra-deluxe edition that includes a vinyl version and Trent Reznor’s autograph.

In the first week, the band says its release resulted in more than 781,000 transactions, including free and paid downloads and physical preorders. Though NIN didn’t break out sales by format beyond that figure, the band does say that pre-orders sold out all 2,500 copies of the $300 limited-edition release. Sales through nin.com topped $1.6 million in the first week, and digital sales though Amazon on the first day of release totaled $1 million, according to the band’s manager, Jim Guerinot.

No one’s arguing that the changes in the music industry haven’t tipped the scales in favor of the independents. Not only can you lead a path to success without the help of a label, you can choose from a variety of means to achieve it.

As an indie, CD and download sales can be a huge part of the equation in regard to your income. But building a rapport with new and existing fans and widening your reach by means of song giveaways is an easy and obvious way to get people to listen – and isn’t that ultimately what you’re trying to do?

For the indie artist, on the question of free tracks, the scales seem to be tipping toward “yes!”

Your Music Is Your Marketing
Excerpted from Music 3.0, Making Music in the Internet Age, by Bobby Owsinski.

The major marketing tool for an artist today is your music. It’s no longer the major product that the artist has to sell (although it still is a product), so it has to be used differently and thought of differently as a result.

Perhaps recorded music was never the product we were led to believe it was. With a vinyl record or CD, the container that holds the music is the product. While the songwriter always made money when a song was played on the radio, the artist never did, and the artist made only a small percentage of CD and vinyl sales (10-15% of wholesale, on average). [Keep in mind, he’s talking about the major label model here, not the indie model where you’re keeping all the proceeds from your gig sales and 60% or more of your retail sales.]

In fact, the artist made the most money on concert tickets and merchandise while touring. There was a cost involved in the manufacturing of the container that transported the music (physical material costs, artwork, and so on) that had to be recouped, as well as the production costs of the music. But if you look at music in terms of the advertising world, you see music in a different light.

If you’re selling a soap product, for instance, the production cost for a commercial to broadcast on television or the radio is trivial. It’s the total ad buy (the agency purchasing the radio or television time for the sponsor) where most of the money is spent. Even then, it’s considered part of the marketing budget of the product, which might be about 3% of total sales.

If you consider the music-production costs as part of the marketing budget in the same way as a national product, it takes on a whole new meaning. [That’s a mighty big leap, IMO.]. Since the music is considered the major marketing tool for an artist, it should be considered a free product, a giveaway, an enticement. Give it away on your website, place it on the Torrents for P2P, let your fans freely distribute it. It’s all okay. Since most millennials already feel that music should be free and have lived in a culture where that’s mostly so, don’t fight it. Go with the flow! Just as it was during the past 60 years, the real money in the music business is made elsewhere anyway. [Again, not necessarily for the indie artist.]

Further, just because you’re giving it away doesn’t mean that you can’t charge for it, either at the same time or at sometime in the future. There are numerous cases in which sales have actually decreased for an artist’s iTunes tracks when the free tracks have been eliminated.

One such musician is Corey Smith. After six years, Corey has built his gross revenue to about $4.2 million, and free music has been the basic building block of his tribe. You can buy his tracks on iTunes (he’s sold more than 400,000 so far), but when his management experimented by taking the free tracks down from his website, his iTunes sales went down as well! The free music Corey offers allows potential fans to try him out. If they email and ask for a song that’s not available for free, he just emails it back to them. He’s tending his tribe!

Another example of reaping the rewards for giving it away for free is the techno and electronica artist Moby, whose “Shot in the Back of the Head” became the best-selling iTunes track after he gave it away for free on his website for two months! Of course, you can charge for your music with enhanced products like CD box sets, compilations, special editions, and other value-added offerings. But the initial releases for an artist on any level (except for the already-established star) must be free to build a buzz.

Free Music = Free Advertising = Smart Business
Excepted from blog posts by Dexter Bryant, Jr

Free music is free advertising. Think of free songs as product samples: the music-buying public samples your product at no cost. For those who don’t care for your music (no matter what the reason) they can easily sever their relationship with you and your product right then and there.

For the people who like your product, they can easily dig deeper and sample some more of your music to get a better feel for your identity and what your brand represents. From there they can decide whether their values align with yours and if they would like to continue their relationship with you. If you and a potential fan are birds of a feather (so to speak) then chances are they will be ready to forge a deeper bond with you and take your relationship to the next level and buy your CD.

Free music increases the potential for engagement with audiences because anyone can participate. Free eliminates risk and lowers the barrier to entry for consumers. If I may use a food-related metaphor, your songs are the appetizers that will lure audiences to dine with you for a full meal – free mixtapes/EPs/CDs/whatever.

A full meal provides your audience with a clearer picture of your overall vision and your artistic identity. If people really enjoy your meal(s) then they will seek yet another option (or options) for consuming the deliciousness that you offer. These additional options for engagement with you include live music, merchandise, premium products, CD packages, DVD packages and any unique experiences that you can offer your hungry, eager fan base.

In short, free songs lure consumers to sample your free mixtapes, and free mixtapes are the bait to lure fans to spend money on live music, merchandise, deluxe edition mixtapes, and premium-priced music products and experiences. At every stage in this chain your product must gratify whatever desires your audience is seeking to fulfill, otherwise they may be inclined to discontinue their relationship with you.

Give the Customers What They Want. When a song or artist has captured someone’s interest enough that he or she seriously considers a purchase from that artist, many of us will download the music for free before we buy it. This allows us to become intimately familiar with that piece of music so we can be absolutely sure that buying it will be worthwhile. However, as you all know, downloading one simple song can sometimes be a more frustrating process than need be –navigating through treacherous, spam-infested illegal download sites and P2P software for just a few minutes of free music to put on your iPod.

Eliminate this pain point for your customers and you will endear yourself to them. Let your fans have the option of downloading for free or purchasing downloads from you and make it easy for people to download your music for free right from the same online destination they can buy it from: your website.  Always have your merchandise, packaged CD, and premium priced music products ready for purchase and be ready when they are.

Give it away or sell it, it’s up to you…  You conceive it, we’ll achieve it.

Order your CD replication or CD duplication from Disc Outlet and we’ll save you time and money on your next project.

Disc Outlet’s Download Cards… Try them on for size.

Disc Outlet now provides industry leading music, film, media, technology, and consumer brand companies with creative music download card programs, code-redemption websites and interactive printed product.

Each download card is created with your custom artwork, features a unique access code that drives users online to unlock exclusive, hidden, paid-for or complimentary digital media such as music, video, ringtones, images and more!

A cost-effective and turnkey package with trackability and metrics built right in.

Sell Digital Music at Live Gigs

One of the best times to reach your audience is when they are right in front of you. Capitalize on the proximity by selling digital downloads directly to your fans at your shows. Sell Download Cards individually or craft an intricate digital campaign. You know your fans. Let us help you give them what they want.

Promote Your Music In Style

One of the best ways to promote your music is by using Download Cards as your marketing solution. Give fans something they want: digital access to your music and content. Hand them out at shows and street events or give them away in fun promotions. Ask one of our sales representatives what unique and effective ways other musicians have used Download Cards.

Add Music To Your Merch

Combine merch with digital downloads of your music – full album downloads and exclusive tracks work great – and you get a one-two punch for your efforts. Adding our Download Tags to your clothing or other promotional items is a strategic way to add real high-perceived value to any campaign.

Give ‘em something extra… add a download card to your next CD package or DVD package with a free download to show your fans how much you appreciate them.

Not Just For Musicians

Our platform is totally flexible and infinitely customizable. Download Cards are a great solution for authors and publishers to promote books – audio, digital and even the print variety. Use Disc Outlets Download Cards to give away sample chapters, author interviews, videos of live readings and more.

Pass the Popcorn

Promote film and television shows with our cost-effective Download Cards. Load them with clips, trailers, interviews, behind-the-scenes footage, outtakes and more. Great for in-store giveaways or as a gift-with purchase, you can advertise upcoming films, DVD releases and even the soundtrack. You can use our Download Cards to publicize just about anything. With Disc Outlet you’re both the director and the star!

From Bands to Brands

A smart way to get your brand some recognition is to pair it with something really cool like a popular, cutting-edge or up-and-coming band. It’s a great way to give your brand some instant-cool. Distributing Download Cards as a gift-with-purchase is an effective and modern technique to reward your customers in a really memorable and unique approach. Keep them coming back for more…

They are ideal for:

• Promoting your band or brand at concerts, events and tradeshows
• Building fan and customer lists
• Driving fans and customers online
• Selling or promoting music and other content

Key benefits:

• Change your content anytime

• To store all of your music, photos and video, we offer 500mb of free hosting, standard to all Download Card orders. Upload your files in any format too! MP3, FLAC, WAV, and more!

• Makes a great collectible – Download Cards are the newest, coolest, and most cost effective way to get your music and content out to new listeners, fans and consumers. The card itself is a highly collectible, quality full-color plastic, card stock or eco-friendly seeded card that gives users exclusive access to your music, video and other content.

Here’s how Download Cards work… It’s as easy as 123

1. Set up your site. Once you sign up for an account, Disc Outlet gives you all tools to setup your own custom portal. There you can add 500mb of songs, bios, photos, tour dates using easy to follow online wizards.
2. Design your cards. You can design them yourselves using our handy templates.
3. Approve your artwork; your cards will ship within 5-10 working days.

Pass them out and they will come…

Disc Outlet will provide you with a download widget for your site so your fans can access your content by entering the code found on the back of their card.

Track ‘em down…

Track your success with our User Control Dashboard. This key area allows you to monitor and control all aspects of your many download card projects. You can upload and maintain your music and video files, view your cards’ redemption statistics in real-time, and see other unique data, such as collected email addresses and your users’ locations throughout the country based on their IP address. All of this is displayed in a beautiful and easy-to-use dashboard with detailed line graphs, gauges and Google Maps that really help you to see the big picture.

In addition to all of the bells and whistles included standard with every Download Card order, we also provide a number of custom services to bring your download card project to the next level.

Incorporate elements such as a contest, sweepstakes or survey data collection by commissioning a custom landing page, bulk up your retail cards with unique packaging or simply make your card stand out from the pack with a custom diecut shape, key ring or dog tag.

You conceive it, we’ll achieve it!

So which method is best for your project’s needs: Duplication or Replication?  Call a Disc Outlet Sales Representative today at 877-916-3472 to discuss your next project.

Your source for premium media duplication & replication services.

At Disc Outlet, we are dedicated to providing the best possible quality and service in all of our endeavors, from assisting our favorite garage band to supporting fortune 500 corporations.

You will find our expertise and knowledge helpful in guiding you step-by-step through the entire process.

Our experience combined with our commitment to remain on the forefront of disc manufacturing, design and promotional products has provided our clients’  with the competitive edge needed to succeed in the marketplace.

With our wide variety of replication services you find the solutions you need.  We will deliver the quality you demand at a price you’ll like, in a time frame that won’t set off any alarms.