Music Release Strategies 101: Profit vs Penetration (did he just say penetration?)

Yes - as in Market Penetration, but more on that later.

Release Strategy 1 - Free

Pro: Free is attractive, you can get right into the hands of end users quickly and achieve a potentially decent amount of fans quickly (if you're material is good anyway, but that's another discussion entirely).

Con: You haven't made any money yet and you may devalue the non-monetary qualities of your music. Someone may think, "if it's free it must not be any good." There's also so MUCH free nowadays that just offering a free download doesn't even mean you will get mass downloads. Ever noticed how free flyers at a concert end up just being littered on the floor? Sometimes free is just seen as junk.

The Deeper Question: Are you trying to make a career and pay the bills? Are you just interested in getting more exposure and more fans/listeners now so that you can take them with you on a career long journey and make deeper profits later? The answer may be a combination of the two.

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Release Strategy 2 - The Value Sell

Pro: Whether it's on 'sale' or you've added bonus/deluxe content, if you can give fans a 'value' beyond a straight $.99 x # of songs, you reward customers and entice newcomers alike. You also may sell more units b/c it's a 'deal' and you make money plus achieve deeper market penetration at the same time.

Con: Unless you're convincing with the value proposition of the purchase your fans may feel like it's not a great deal or not agree with the value. You need to find out what your fan base wants and make sure you're delivering that or you may put out a product that receives little sales, leaving little money and little market penetration.

The Deeper Question: Do you want to give back to the fans while they continue to help support you? Are you looking for the biggest buck back or to make happy customers/fans and create even longer lasting relationship with your followers?

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Release Strategy 3 - The Premium Sell

Pro: If you have established fans or die-hard followers you may be able to sell a premium, higher-priced product and make a great profit return on each sale. Make it a rare/limited item and fans will see the premium value and want it even more!

Con: Some fans might not be as quick as you'd thought to shell out $100 for a glossy 5x7. You may tarnish your reputation as a caring artist who wants to give back to the fans and be seen as a sellout.

The Deeper Question: Do you have the fan base established yet to pull off selling a premium item? If you do, are you ready to be creative and deliver an interesting product that will grab users attention and help you pay your bills?

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I realize sometimes it's not always as clear cut as the above examples and you may have a release strategy that is outside of those or combines them in a unique way. I'm just pointing out some basic ideas to evaluate as you may be deciding on a release strategy that is right for yourself. Here's some more quick points:

Things to Consider:

Price Points:

Sell an album at $9.99 and you may make more profit per sale, but sell less records b/c fewer people are willing to pay that price.

Sell an album at $5.99 and you may make less profit per sale, but sell more records b/c more people are willing to pay that price.

Or - make an album so amazingly spectacular that you can sell it at $9.99 and make both profit and deep market penetration.

Final Note:

Running the FiXT Store and working with dozens of indie labels and hundreds of artists, I can say matter of factly that our most popular type of sale has been the Value Sale. I personally feel that offering a Value Price Point keeps sales moving, gives you more fans, and helps to thwart piracy. Most fans do want to support the artists they listen to, but when they have to pay $10 for an album, it may be worth their time to rip it off the web - but if you give them a deal and an experience with bonus/deluxe content officially released at an affordable price, you may find out that more people will go ahead and just pay for your music.

Oh and if you're looking for some new music - we've got over 60 albums on sale from $3.99-$7.99 right now as part of the FiXT Store's Discover New Music in 2010 promo.

Do you have your own view on release strategies? Drop a comment below!

Thanks for stopping by,

James Rhodes

FiXT