Do I need Spine Labels on CDs?

[slobizman]

My son is sending off his 1,000 CD order to DiscMakers today. There's an option for "Spine labels" for $110. They say that "some retail outlets require the repeated title and UPC bar code that a spine label provides, and every store will appreciate the professionalism a spine label represents..."

We're on a budget as this is just a six-song EP that will be sold at online stores like CD Baby and AwareStore, at shows, and perhaps in a few small-town local stores (not big outlets). Is there really a need for us to do this? The online store don't really care do they? I doubt our little local store would care.

Opinions?

 

[boomtap]

I would do it. Almost all the stores that I know of use the spine label so they can find the product on the shelf when it is being faced sideways. Make sure to make it as legible as possible and put the band name in nice big bold print so it sticks out from all the others.

Online stores probably won't care, unless they need it for storage reasons. Barcoding is a must for all stores though. Nobody manually enters anything any more.

 

[whyseye]

A CD whose spine label isn't visible in a stack of CDs is invisible - not the best situation for marketing.
IMO, having no spine label makes the presentation look amateurish - and there are enough obstacles to getting folks to listen as it is.....why handicap yourself over a (relatively) small expense when you've come this far?
Give yourself a fighting chance, I say - get the spine labels!

 

[patlang12]

I don't know too much about this stuff, but if you are only selling online, at shows, and at a local store it doesn't really seem worth the extra $110 to me.