tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3024090336010841985.post7434273332586055842..comments2016-01-07T23:49:35.474-05:00Comments on Sorry I Missed Your Set: Should We Make CDs?Jesse Stackenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07250942162773489554noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3024090336010841985.post-64123358491702540882013-02-17T18:07:43.205-05:002013-02-17T18:07:43.205-05:00Another development.... I was talking to my sister...Another development.... I was talking to my sister yesterday and she said that she listens to CDs all the time, but only in the car. Many people with cars more than a few years old have CD players, but no auxiliary port that an iPod or phone can be plugged into. So there is probably a large group of people in that category. CDs may live on in the car...Jesse Stackenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07250942162773489554noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3024090336010841985.post-6722731642086531792013-02-13T17:18:40.584-05:002013-02-13T17:18:40.584-05:00The stupid thing wouldn't let me finish. The ...The stupid thing wouldn't let me finish. The payment artists or labels get on Spotify is lame, and that might be a whole other discussion. Jesse Stackenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07250942162773489554noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3024090336010841985.post-10046110655297164332013-02-13T17:09:58.094-05:002013-02-13T17:09:58.094-05:00I was thinking more about what you said Dan. I...I was thinking more about what you said Dan. I'd venture to say that almost as many people don't have CD players either. See Mike Pride's FB thread from a few days ago. Perhaps the CD purchase at your show is for going home with a souvenir and a feeling of supporting the band, rather than practical listening. They'll probably import the CD into iTunes or listen to you on Spotify. As I said in the original post, I often find myself listening on Spotify while the same CD sits on the shelf. And actually if you think about it, listening on Spotify will continue to make money for the artist, even if it's only a fraction of a cent per playJesse Stackenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07250942162773489554noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3024090336010841985.post-66756650461276591262013-02-13T16:59:51.196-05:002013-02-13T16:59:51.196-05:00Thanks for your comment Andrew. I did a whole lot...Thanks for your comment Andrew. I did a whole lot of tracing back coming up, and I still do. Do you think it's more difficult for people to trace back with digital? I would say that on one hand it would be easier to do that because it's so easy to find the stuff now. It's just a google search or Spotify search away. On the other hand, acquiring massive amounts of music at a time as we often do now, might allow things to get lost. Jesse Stackenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07250942162773489554noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3024090336010841985.post-20657634922585361362013-02-13T07:37:12.672-05:002013-02-13T07:37:12.672-05:00I saw your thread on FB. Read your blog post here...I saw your thread on FB. Read your blog post here. Then saw this interview in my news feed. Thought it was interesting. <br /><br />From an interview with Mark Miller (jazz critic from Canada), here is the complete interview: http://www.torontojazzblog.ca/2013/02/mark-miller-.html<br /><br />--For Mark’s 14th birthday he received five dollars and decided to purchase his first record<br />at Simpson’s on Yonge Street, Toronto (where The Bay now stands). Having narrowed<br />down his selection to either The Beach Boys or The Yardbirds, he finally settled on the<br />latter: “I think that if I’d bought the Beach Boys, I’d be an accountant today”.<br /><br /> <br />Mark’s initial observation regarding the album was that the cover featured guitarist Jeff<br />Beck, yet Eric Clapton was also playing on some tracks, “I guess even at 14, I had some<br />sense of music having a history or a provenance, that these guys just didn’t just invent<br />themselves.” His curiosity was sparked and thus his first history project commenced.<br />Mark was fortunate to have access to a “very hip” local library in Etobicoke replete with<br /><br />B.B. King albums. Here he learned that Clapton had come out of B.B. King and B.B. King had come out of T-Bone Walker, Charlie Christian and Django Reinhardt. It was all a matter of tracing things back to their origin and whittling them down to their essencAndrew N D'Angelohttp://www.andrewdangelo.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3024090336010841985.post-70121302395751558652013-02-12T17:45:24.218-05:002013-02-12T17:45:24.218-05:00Thanks, Dan. I hadn't really thought much abo...Thanks, Dan. I hadn't really thought much about Spotify deterring downloads, but that's certainly an issue. I think everyone's opinion will be heavily influenced by his or her own listening preferences. But maybe we musicians should be the arbiters of change. Just like Apple has stopped putting CD drives in computers and refused to use flash in mobile devices, we can encourage people to move on from CDs if that's our position. Jesse Stackenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07250942162773489554noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3024090336010841985.post-66526157312371149192013-02-12T15:33:55.933-05:002013-02-12T15:33:55.933-05:00I agree that vinyl+download in the most attractive...I agree that vinyl+download in the most attractive/practical option. The only issue (and a big one) is that most people don't have record players. And most people still want to walk away with a SOMETHING if they are going to plunk money down after their show. (If they are just going to download it, they might as well listen to you on Spotify). So for the time being, the SOMETHING with the broadest appeal and convenience is still a CD. <br /> <br />The bands I'm in still significantly subsidize their tours with CD sales at shows and at this point I don't think that we could do nearly as well with vinyl or download cards.Danhttp://www.danloomismusic.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3024090336010841985.post-25738070130069923992013-02-12T14:24:48.425-05:002013-02-12T14:24:48.425-05:00Nice one! Indeed, I hadn't thought of produci...Nice one! Indeed, I hadn't thought of producing overseas directly. If you have a market over there, then why not? On-demand CDs also sounds great. I'd like to keep a little inventory for live shows, though.Omar Haddadhttp://www.omarhaddad.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3024090336010841985.post-45579930018222905292013-02-12T13:11:47.183-05:002013-02-12T13:11:47.183-05:00ooh. Omar, you (maybe accidentally) touched on so...ooh. Omar, you (maybe accidentally) touched on something I like the idea of. You were talking about keeping low inventory by printing CDs in small batches. Well how about print-on-demand CDs? Like they're doing other merch now...t-shirts and coffee mugs and what not. And how about having printing centers in every country so that I don't have to spend $9 sending a CD to a buyer in Spain. The costumer orders, and then one CD is made at the facility closest to them. Jesse Stackenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07250942162773489554noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3024090336010841985.post-84978247318347173132013-02-12T12:41:39.010-05:002013-02-12T12:41:39.010-05:00Hi Jesse!
What a nice post. I love its melanchol...Hi Jesse!<br /><br />What a nice post. I love its melancholy tone.<br /><br />I do think it's important to make some CDs of an album we make, mostly because of the reasons you present in your final paragraph: namely, that some people still buy CDs. Also, CDs continue to be the handiest form of physical album, so most people that do want something physical, I think, go for CDs.<br /><br />But the digital format is undoubtedly convenient to musicians. The amount of cost that we can save is too great to be ignored, apart from the shipping issues you mention. I made a long run of CD production once (by long run I mean 1000). Approximately 75% of my total cost was the CD manufacturing, and most CDs are sitting in boxes. For my next album, I will make 200 or 300, and the rest will be digital. In fact, I might be able to hold on to little inventory by making CDs as the audience demands them instead of producing them all at once, avoiding more risks and saving more costs.<br /><br />Times change, and with it, practices evolve. I think sometimes we might be a little reluctant to change our practices, as we don't want to constantly make an effort to re-adjust to our environment. We see that effort as a waste of time. But for better or worse, this evolution is going to continue to happen, and we might be bound to a constant process of adaptation. <br /><br />I totally agree with your observation about digesting music material. Digital production and distribution has made the pace of music production nowadays a bit invasive, as we no longer control the amount and variety of music that reaches us. In a way this process takes away the value of the music we listen to in every moment, since there is something new every second. And yes, tangible production is not a minor issue, because it helps the listener connect to the artist's creativity, as it is one more means of perceiving it and therefore retain it in his or her mind. I think I share the same melancholy that I can perceive in your post about the tangibility of our music. If this feeling is shared by many audience members as well, it might mean that physical production will never cease completely, because it is a somewhat necessary complement to music listening. Since it fulfills another need of listeners, we might be producing at least part of our music in CD format. I hope so!Omar Haddadhttp://www.omarhaddad.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3024090336010841985.post-43492668926027043322013-02-12T11:50:33.001-05:002013-02-12T11:50:33.001-05:00For me, the strongest argument is the one involvin...For me, the strongest argument is the one involving critics, venue owners, etc. They still prefer to get CDs, because most of them are older, and they're used to that. My hope (for our wallets' sake) is that there will be, in the next 5 years, some sort of standard format that emerges; a PDF or text file one-sheet with attached MP3s that all DJs etc are comfortable using. The economic investment and waste of physical materials involved in sending people your record is getting a bit vulgar, though I suspect it's important as a filter for people who arealready dealing with way too full an inbox.<br /><br />JAmeshttp://www.jamesshipp.comnoreply@blogger.com