Demo

B

bdbdbucksKID

New member
Subject: Four Song Demo
Production: About 1000 Bucks, the way I want it done.
Distribution: Everywhere

Question: Other than sending my demo along with my press kits to potentional venues/radio stations etc., would it be wrong to charge money to the private consumer to replenish my production till?
 
OK

Let me be a little more specific. I haven't seen anyone running around selling their demo, only albums (consisting of eight or more songs)...so, I am wondering how much I should charge per disk to the private consumer. Do people actually sell their demo? Is this a dumb question or what?
 
Re: OK

bdbdbucksKID said:
Let me be a little more specific. I haven't seen anyone running around selling their demo, only albums (consisting of eight or more songs)...so, I am wondering how much I should charge per disk to the private consumer. Do people actually sell their demo? Is this a dumb question or what?
Click to expand...

Wow. If you can actually get the "private consumer" to pay for it, charge what the market will bear. Seriously, I have never charged anyone for a demo (they're only CDRs anyway) and have given out hundreds. Hell, for the right contacts, I've given the whole damn CD away. I've spend a considerable lot more than $1000 to produce and promote my music and still no-one recognizes me on the street!

Stuff I added in an "edit" of this post--->

Seriously, if your music kicks ass, it's possible people might actually pay for the demo. I've paid $5 or so for a band's well-done EP at times. Then again, I'm a musician, so I appreciate what goes into it. The general public, on the other hand, can be different. People I meet seem to think that, because I record on my computer, I magically and costlessly produce CDs for free distribution. If every person who's asked me for a free CD was actually willing to shell out $5, I might have actually recouped my cost. Many people have the nerve to ask for a freebie after just having met me. I usually kindly refer these people to the many places online they can download samples and/or purchase the CD.
 
Assuming it's an actual produced demo, not just you and your guitar strumming into a boombox, I think it's fine to sell. My band used to sell a 4 song live radio gig before we had anything else done. I would charge $5, its a nice round number, and most people seem to be willing to part with that pretty freely. Another bad I know included a $5 off coupon for any future release in their demo.
 
:)

Thanks guys.
My plan is to get it cleaned up and professionally mastered and replicated, so that the package looks nice and professional for when I start spinning to the local club owners and such. I figure it's an ok move...I have plenty of friends that would pay for a demo, I probably should take advantage of it.
BTW, it is also good for Trademark interstate commerce rules. I can't submit a statement of use filing without a proof (in good faith) that I have sold the demo over state lines. This is one of the main reasons I have to sell the demo discs.
 
YES! charge for it! you've done the work and put $$ into it! Most people realize this, even if they are not musicians. My band recorded our own 4 song demo and it turned out really nice. We even got it mastered, the duped and bought the slimline cases and printed labels and inserts. Altogether the demo cost us $2 for each one we made. We sell them for $5 and everyone we know has bought one. As well as various people who saw one of our shows. So, i say go fot it! Being a musician, I would pay $5 for 4-5-6 songs or whatever. That is reasonable. Have a good one!
 
Thanks

Thanks for your input guys!
Now it's just a matter of time, getting the tracks layed and in sequence....it can be quite frustrating when you don't have an engineer and don't know squat about recording (on the exception of the hands on trial and error kind of knowing).
 
I would not charge your friends, because self-promotion should be your goal. If you get enough CDs out and generate some interest, then you might have more of a chance selling your actual CD if it gets published.

However, if you're trying to sell CDs at a gig, $5 wouldn't be too much to ask, if the tracks are professionally mastered and commercial sounding. I would be pissed if I paid money for some amateur shit.
 
I end up liking a demo more if I get it for free hehe...I'd say if it's more of an EP, charge like 5-7 bucks but if its one or two songs, free is the way to be.
 
What if your making a demo cd with a few songs on it, but the songs are just cover songs...if someone wnated to give you a few dollars for your demo is that still cool?
 
Royalties.

Techicaly, if you record someone else's songs and then 'make money' out of selling the CD then you'd 1. need to get permission from the copyright holder and 2. Owe them a proportion of the profit.

Course in practice if you're only selling one or two to friends you're unlikely to get into any trouble as you won't get caught. But if you start to sell numbers at venues you may get caught.
 
I would charge friends and family for every homemade EP until you get huge. Then, you will have so many fans throwing wadded up bills your way, you won't need your friends money.
 
stonepiano said:
I would charge friends and family for every homemade EP until you get huge. Then, you will have so many fans throwing wadded up bills your way, you won't need your friends money.
Click to expand...

Yeh, grannies are always a sucker for a few bucks!!!
 
Truth be told

My music is not an suitable product to push to senior citizens...especially my grandmother. OMG, she'd disown me!
 
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