Thinking of putting together an album ...

[Super 8]

... any tips??

[kenny mac]

Cd baby is a good site for putting an album out.
I put out a charity single through them called Gaurdian Angel and they distribute it as a download in Amazon,iTunes etc.
Even Spotify.
If you want a physical cd they can do that as well but your better working out the artwork and track listing then you just upload it and pay them a one off fee.
I don't know what happens to tax etc on your sales as my funds go straight to the cancer charity bank but it's a good site for that.
Hope this helps .
Kenny

[Super 8]

Hope this helps .
Kenny

Sure does, thanks Kenny Mac!

[Super 8]

RE: This idea of a self-funded/self-released independent album. Let me try to explain more ....

As you may (or may not) know, I have been an 'on & off' Songcrafter poster for a good number of years now. Due to family commitments & the nature of my work I spend very little time online so am unable to contribute as regularly as I would like to this excellent creative corner in cyber-space - keep up the good work people! I struggle enough to make time for ANY extra-curricular activities outwith above stated commitments and can barely find the time to write music never mind showcase it. In 'an ideal world' my 'day job' would be writing songs all day & every day in say a nice little log cabin on a beach somewhere ... one can but dream eh??!

Anyways, back to reality (with a bump!), over the last decade or so I appear to have amassed a number of songs that may (or may not!) work well as 'a collection/body' of work namely: an album. Thing is, I find it hard enough to get folks to last out the length of ONE of my songs never mind an entire album! Folks I've played my songs to have a habit of glazing over about 30 secs in! Maybe that's just the soporific/soothing effect my music has on people or maybe the people I play my music to don't actually like music or don't have an attention span for it in this 'instant', quick-fix multi-media world we now find ourselves living in? I dunno! Do people still even listen to albums in this day and age??

The 'Music Industry' as I once knew it appears to have changed ... ENTIRELY over the last decade! Is there any point releasing an album the way things stand? Without the 'old skool' record company backing of yore (yes, I was signed (albeit to a small indie label) MANY years ago!) surely a self-released album would just get completely lost amidst the sea of pick'n'mix out there that is .... what? Bandcamp? Reverbnation? And, of course, all those corporate STREAMING behemoths namely: Spotify, Apple and the like.

Perhaps someone can convince me I'm wrong here but this streaming thing, in my opinion, well it just seems to be killing music! By this I mean, practically giving music away as a 'free' commodity (thanks for that Bono!) ... it just completely devalues music in my book. I can't think of any other profession where you'd spend such a large amount of time & effort slowly amassing a body of work only to what? Just 'give it away'? Seems totally messed up to me! Am I the only person left 'out here' who still actually buys music?

Thinking about this seriously, maybe I will knock this whole album idea on the head! Appears I have talked myself out of it over the course of this post! The odds are completely stacked methinks. I have NO backing; NO promotional budget; NO visible online fan-base plus, as is so often the case with my 'pet projects', it'll no doubt turn into a complete financial can of worms/cash cow that will grow arms & legs and end up costing me a fortune - a fortune I certainly don't have so ... why bother?? "Just do it for yourself, Man!" Well, I suppose I kinda have already ie: I've burnt said selection of self-penned songs onto a CDr and I listen to in the car on my way to and from work. Living room legend? Driving seat legend more like! Even though I say so myself, it's sounds pretty good to me ears (and, dare I say, considerably better than a lot of the new stuff I hear on the radio nowadays!)
So I guess I have 'done my album' and I am enjoying it so that is that then (?) "GO TEAM ME!"

OK, I'm off to crawl back under my Rock .... 'n'Roll eh? (NOT!!!) Glad to have gotten all this offa my chest as it were ... I think! As a great man once sang: 'Keep on Rocking in the free (?!) world!' amigos. CHEERS!

[Johnny Robbo]

You're 100% correct, mate: the music industry has completely changed it's business model in recent years. In broad terms it goes like this...

Back in the 70s & 80s, a band or artist would release an album, then head out on tour to promote it. The more people who saw them live, the greater the likelihood of increased album sales. The live performance side of things was, essentially, a marketing tool to shift the warehouses full of vinyl/cassettes/CDs.

Now that music is pretty much a free commodity, the music business has latched onto the fact that you may be able to get the album for free, but you still have to pay to get into a gig. Basically, the business model has reversed itself – the album is now just a way of getting fans to buy gig tickets.

This is why there are so many more festival gigs than ever before. It costs the same to hire a stage, lighting rig & PA to put one band on, on an evening, as it does to put a dozen or so bands on across the course of a day or even a weekend.

I've recorded many albums over the years & made a pittance from them. However, I treat those sales I DO get as a bonus. There have been a few occasions when I've checked the balance from Bandcamp (where I sell my music) & found there's enough there to cover the gas bill or even pay for a little weekend break somewhere.

If you're looking to make playing/writing music a full time thing, then the received wisdom, nowadays, is to get out & gig your stuff. Any gig you can get, anywhere you can play. Be prepared to lose money on the gigs after travelling expenses & so on... or even play for free. Some "prestigious" venues actually expect you to pay to play. All in the name of building that elusive "following" who will then (hopefully) buy your music.

This is also why many bands these days are to be found at the end of their gig flogging T-shirts, coffee mugs, key-rings & other such tat... they need to cover their costs & sometimes this is the only way to do it.

Of course, it helps to live somewhere that happens to have a healthy live music scene for bands/artists playing their own material. Unfortunately this doesn't describe Teesside, where I live. Most venues up here only book their acts through one of a few entertainment agencies who ONLY take covers-based performers. The alternative, if you find yourself in the same boat, is to become your own promoter... book a function room somewhere & put the gig on yourself, including doing all the publicity, advertising, trying to get press coverage etc. etc. etc.

I'm lucky in that I managed to parlay my guitar playing skills into a career as a tutor, but I began this 25 years ago when I was a single lad still living at home with my dear old mum. By the time I was married with a mortgage & commitments I was well established enough to be making a modest, but credible, living from music.

I'd advise you to go ahead & make your album... you'll regret not getting it out of your system if you don't – there'll always be that "what if?" nagging at you that you should have had a go. Just be realistic about the financial return you'll get from it if you're not in a position to go "all out" by promoting it with all the hard work that goes with gigging your stuff as a full time enterprise. Still, you might get a little holiday paid for out the proceeds now & then – I have. Check out Bandcamp, it's easy to set up an account & you've got nothing to lose.

Hope this helps!

[Farrell Jackson]

 Hi Super 8. MY opinion is yes....put an album together and use the music sites already mentioned. If for no other reasons then to have it done and feel good that you did it. This question came up a few years ago (2013) in the General Discussion Forum under songwriters. There were quite a few comments there that might help you decide one way or the other.
   
Anyone released an Album of Original Songs before?

https://songcrafters.org/community/index.php?topic=18757.0

Farrell

[Super 8]

Thanks for the thoughts, advice and insights (plus that link Farrell - I shall go check that out now ... and Johnny's Bandcamp page!) CHEERS!

[Hilary]

Well this is interesting - most people that have a CD make money selling it at their gigs and those that are the most successful don't have the tracks available online but I know you don't gig so finding a market for your music when the majority of people nowadays don't pay for their music online might be tricky.

I always buy my music but I also listen to a lot that's free - this site for example.

My advice would be to make the album you can afford for you and if it finds a market then that's a bonus.

Have you tried BBC introducing - that's a good way of getting heard without performing?

[Super 8]

Thanks Hilary! Hmm ... seems it's ALL pointing towards (sharp intake of breath!) gigging again! Hmm ... last gig I played was support to The Stylistics at the Carnegie Hall way back in 2006 = TERRIFYING! OK, any advice for getting one's confidence levels BACK up?? I've been a self-imposed 'studio muso' for a long, LONG time now! ;-)

[Hilary]

Thanks Hilary! Hmm ... seems it's ALL pointing towards (sharp intake of breath!) gigging again! Hmm ... last gig I played was support to The Stylistics at the Carnegie Hall way back in 2006 = TERRIFYING! OK, any advice for getting one's confidence levels BACK up?? I've been a self-imposed 'studio muso' for a long, LONG time now! ;-)

Just get out there and get on with it