2 weeks ago, i was sitting in some panels at the Folk Alliance in Memphis, listening to panelists try to help me, an artist, pretend to be more like a business person. i don't think i'm inherently lazy, but i really am into pain avoidance (like most people, i think) and thinking about business hurts me. why should i do it? i want to spend that time thinking about my piano.
anyway....i heard this interesting little tidbit that stuck with me. one of the panelists was talking about the costs of cds today. he compared it to buying a $5.98 vinyl album in the 1970s. he said, the cost of that same record today would be $33. i was a bit shocked!
curious, i looked up an online (probably not the most accurate, but still) inflation calculator and saw that some of what he said might really be true. According to 2 of the calculators, in 2007 dolllars, $5.98 is actually closer to $25 and the $.99 people pay for mp3 downloads would be around $4, now.
so, typical of artists, it seems that we've been undervaluing our product even more than i thought we were. but what's the fix? most people i know will not look kindly on shelling out $25 for a cd, unless they are completely devoted to that music.
i'm no economist, and i know that there are many factors at work (the ability of people, like me, to self-produce albums, which means the market has alot more to choose from) in these equations...but still........i think the reason it's so on my mind is that i struggled with pricing for the new disc. i'd never sold a cd for more than $10, but this one was a long term, hi quality product. why shouldn't i charge what i now realize is actually a 40% discount right at the beginning?
anyway....i heard this interesting little tidbit that stuck with me. one of the panelists was talking about the costs of cds today. he compared it to buying a $5.98 vinyl album in the 1970s. he said, the cost of that same record today would be $33. i was a bit shocked!
curious, i looked up an online (probably not the most accurate, but still) inflation calculator and saw that some of what he said might really be true. According to 2 of the calculators, in 2007 dolllars, $5.98 is actually closer to $25 and the $.99 people pay for mp3 downloads would be around $4, now.
so, typical of artists, it seems that we've been undervaluing our product even more than i thought we were. but what's the fix? most people i know will not look kindly on shelling out $25 for a cd, unless they are completely devoted to that music.
i'm no economist, and i know that there are many factors at work (the ability of people, like me, to self-produce albums, which means the market has alot more to choose from) in these equations...but still........i think the reason it's so on my mind is that i struggled with pricing for the new disc. i'd never sold a cd for more than $10, but this one was a long term, hi quality product. why shouldn't i charge what i now realize is actually a 40% discount right at the beginning?
