Make money with incremental value add giving your audience choice and value

updated August 2, 2009

Bob Dylan‘s ( Canada) new CD is a prime example of how to make money in the music biz by giving your audience choice and value. There are three versions of the April 28, 2009 release. Each offers value and the increments are there to tempt us to buy more. Prices are US $.

Basic CD

Deluxe Edition has a special 2CD/DVD limited edition package in a jewel box with slipcase including Together Through Life collectible poster, Together Through Life sticker, bonus CD of Bob Dylan’s 60-minute Theme Time Radio Hour “Friends & Neighbors” episode, and DVD of “Roy Silver – The Lost Interview”

For the ultimate collector, there is the 2 LPs pressed on 180 gram vinyl with a CD of the entire album.

I had to get all three to get each piece and Dylan made some change off me. Did I download a BitTorrent? No way. I had the real thing and Dylan got my money.

Stop wasting your time charging for EP’s and first CD’s

Note to artists who sell their CD’s for $15 to $20 – forget it. When anyone can buy the world’s greatest artists on iTunes for 99 cents a song why will they overpay you?

Why are Sandbar Music and Music PEI pushing 4 songs for $12 and $20 for 10? That is real short term thinking. Get an audience first. Give people value. Don’t look like you’re desperate for money.

Psst Lloyd Doyle, do you think customers are stupid? We think you’re gouging us.

Here’s an example of the Music PEI – Sandbar Music old school of music marketing. Meghan Blanchard is a nice young singer with a good voice and cute songs. I paid her $12 for 4 songs that were on a defective CD, that had been recorded and mastered with vocal distortion.

Yeah, do I feel like I got value? Nope. it took her down a notch in my book.

First 4 songs is a give away, a promo. Second, at world prices it’s worth about $3.

At least Catherine MacLellan had the smarts to bundle 2 CD’s and a nice book for $20. That was special, something extra for the fan to collect. Lennie Gallant’s new CD has a nicely done booklet with lyrics. That’s a value add.

If you’re a starting artist, forget making money from CD’s. Give your music away and try to build audience. A little humility goes a long way.

Back to Dylan

The Together Through Life Standard CD ( Canada) is $10 and you can order the download of hi-def mp3 for the same price. That’s iTunes pricing. If you just like Bob to listen to – this is your package.

The Together Through Life (Deluxe Edition) ( Canada) adds a CD of Theme Time Radio Hour with your host Bob Dylan: Friends & Neighbors and a DVD with two shorts Roy Silver and The Lost Interview. Here’s something extra for collectors. There is rumored to be a more extensive collection of the Theme Time Radio Hour coming in the fall.

The Together Through Life [Vinyl LP w/ CD] ( Canada) will sell out to the growing crowd of retro turntable folks. This set contains the CD as well. Vinyl is a fun place to be, taking us back in time.

This spring I bought the Miles Davis 50th Anniversary vinyl of Kind of Blue at Back Alley Disks. It was cool to remember the 60’s and 70’s before CD’s. It was full of add-ons like books, special pictures and alternate takes.

That’s how you make money. You don’t gouge people $20 for a 8 song CD. You sell your music for $.99 a song and bundle in extras for more money.