Re: [ARSCLIST] "record" sales in the 21st century--was: interesting!

["Steven C. Barr(x)" <stevenc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

see end...
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Richard L. Hess" <arclists@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> At 06:59 PM 2007-02-08, Steven C. Barr(x) wrote:
> >However, a future without record companies (or whatever their digital
> >equivalent will turn out to be) also seems somewhat impractical. I can
> >promote my two CD's on my web site (one of a hundred million or so
> >sites)...but that requires the potential customers to have a reason
> >to visit the site. Since the CD's are in a niche genre (blues)...what
> >I would need to do is to mail out "promo" copies to every station
> >(electromagnetic-wave radio AND net-based "radio") in hopes it will
> >be heard and folks will like the music enough to do a web search for
> >a source (or that the deejays will tell their listeners where
> >to look...?!). As it is, the now-vanishing model has "record companies"
> >mailing out promo copies...and, through a web of distributors, making
> >their "product" available in both "record stores" and general-merchandise
> >stores/chains that sell CD's. Note that as a relative unknown, I can't
> >access this distribution web...!
> Hello, Steven,
> First of all, CD distribution may also be a thing of the past. People 
> would download the tracks they want from your Web site and pay for them.
> 
> What I see happening is that music again become more local and 
> participatory. Fortunately, we live in the Greater Toronto Area where 
> there is no lack of wonderful musicians. Are you going to Winterfolk? 
> I'm not as  I have a very local thing with good classical music 
> happening at our local church here in Aurora.
> 
> I know several really good folksingers within an hour's drive of me.
> 
> While we can reach out via the Web, and we can send out promo copies, 
> word of mouth and the friendly mix tape (one of the things DRM 
> suppresses) go a long way to getting the word out. I can't recall 
> many albums I have bought just by browsing -- and few of the browsing 
> ones really satisfied.
> 
> Here's an example of someone I just found while working on 
> Marie-Lynn's benefit ( www.marielynnhammond.com ) which was a 
> success: http://myspace.com/mariannegirard1 and she lives fifteen 
> minutes from me. Due to the benefit, I got on several really good 
> musician's mailing lists--in a genre that is my niche (blues isn't, 
> sorry, but I don't blame you if folk isn't yours).
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Richard
> 
Well, I'm not going to much of anything until the beginning of next
month, when I start getting my pension cheques! I did see the benefit
event mentioned on one or two of the lists to which I subscribe.

I enjoy a lot of "folk" music...my problem is that I use that term
in its "musicological" sense, which tends to confuse most 21st
century e-mail contacts! What I do is to differ between "big-F
Folk" (meaning "folk music" in its original sense, as traditional
oral-tradition music that is part of a specified culture...) and
"small-f folk" which is the sort of acoustically-accompanied
(often self-accompanied) music that one finds in the "FOLK" bins
at music/record stores...). However, I do enjoy listening to
both forms (in most cases, anyway).

What I'm hoping to do is to take some of my coming income and get
a full-size web site...where I can put some of my work in .MP3 form.
My previous site only allowed me 5MB of content...or maybe one
song...?

But, the problem still is: once I get an adequate web site, how
do I get folks to visit thereupon? There are gazillions of web
sites...and "Googling" "blues" results in a mere 202 million
"hits!"

Next question...what happens to radio (at least musical radio)?!
There are ways in which virtually anyone can create net-based
(thus "virtual") radio stations (that term generates a mere
13 million...!)...

So, I have a sort of "catch-22" situation...folks aren't going to
buy (or even steal" my music until/unless they've heard of me...
and they won't hear of me unless/until they discover my music!

Steven C. Barr