bandcamp analysis

If you’re a musician like me, who loves to write and record a lot of songs, but doesn’t really have a way to go out and tour a lot, the internet seems to become your best hope for getting noticed.  A lot of artists get noticed through YouTube, and others, like Jonathan Coulton, through sheer word of mouth and good songs.  But everyone, including myself, is looking for the next website or service to distribute our songs.  Anyone who tours or even plays shows in their hometown knows that CDs are the way to go.  Period.  Maybe you can gimmick USB drives or something, but the cost to purchase a lot of those vs. the cost to mass-produce CDs doesn’t even match up.  Selling someone a CD is just easier than saying, “I have a website … joshuabelville.com.  That’s spelled B-E-L-V-I-L-L-E.  Also you can check me out on Bandcamp…” etc etc.  Believe me, I’ve done (and failed) this before.

So that being said, what is the value of digital distribution?  For me, it’s this: Read more