How to Get Distribution

Mike_Bell · August 2005

I was talking to some friends of mine who are trying to put out a CD and they want to what's the deal with distributers. To be more specific, independent distributors (if there is such a thing as one). Any help would be appreciated.Peace,bc

Dubious · August 2005

find one that stocks the kind of stuff you make

figure out who the dude is in the requisite buying dept.

send him the product.

call and follow up.

bonzaisk8 · August 2005

really, it depends on what style of music you're putting out. But I gotta say, cd's don't really cut it these days for the DIY indy market. You'd have better luck getting distribution if you press your music on some vinyl. It's more expensive to do, but right now, its the way to go, hands down.

You should check into CDBABY though. That could be some good online cd promotion for ya friends.

hollur.

Dubious · August 2005

agreed on the vinyl versus cd thing.

if the distro is into your stuff you should have no problem. get them white labels.

Mike_Bell · August 2005

Thanks Dubious and kidgusto. Your advice is much appreciated and I'll take it into consideration. I know there's more of y'all out there that has dealt with distribution before and your comments are more than welcome. For the record, they're putting out a rap CD. Why is vinyl the way to go?
Peace,
bc

Dubious · August 2005

well it really depends on your market.

in my opinion though its way easier to sell 1000 12"s than 1000 full length cds.

namely because the product isnt shrinkwrapped and people can listen to it. if you have a cd in a store how does anybody know what it sounds like? you need hype / reviews / image to sell cds... 12"s are just a black sleeve in the new arivals bin. dude has to listen to them, so at least people can peep what your doing and make the call on whether to cop.

33thirdcom · August 2005

ehhh it depends, you have a wider market if you are pushing CDs. If you go the CD route you should try working them on your own initially. I had a friend of mine put out a CD for his group (they are mediocre at best), it cost him about a $1 per CD to put out and he sold them for $5 apiece. He went through 1,000 a month and actually got a fan base. Its all about how you attack it. Also don't expect the Distributor to really push your stuff. Most have too much product to give smaller projects the light it needs. Look for a Distro with a minimal amount of product because that way it makes room for your material.

bonzaisk8 · August 2005

just to chime in a little more on this.

if you're going to go with cd's. keep in mind that anyone and their grandpappy can do this on their personal computer, so there's really no authenticity to cd's anymore.

also, you gotta keep in mind that most people who hear your promo music will only listen to the first 20 seconds of each song if even that. So don't feel like quantity is ever better than quality. Dropping 4 quality songs on vinyl can be more effective than a full length cd most of the time. Especially if no one knows about you.

if you're going to go the cd route, my advice is to make a whole bunch of promo cd's and GIVE THEM SHITS OUT! Don't hit the streets and try to get people off the bus to buy your cd. If you want people listening your stuff then you gotta give that shit to them for free, because the reality of it is that they prolly wont even listen to it.

Shits tough. Keep in mind, like all of us who are working this biz know that you're going to give way more than your receive for a minute before you start turning a profit.

get them paper routes in check yangs.

33thirdcom · August 2005

the best way to slang CDs is to start at $8 apiece and work your way to $4-$5. Also if you know a promotions company in your area definately link up with them because they may give yous ome swag to hand out with the CDs. You get it for free but tell the person they get your CD plus this mix CD all for $5. People think they are getting a deal and the latest Whoo Kid. Quality.

DJCire · August 2005

Definitely agree on the vinyl/cd issue... I put out a cd a couple months ago and linked with a distributor who prefers vinyl over cd - will still do cd but at a much lower volume. Also, if you're gonna shell out the money to get the cd done right you might as well pay for it to be on vinyl... Co-sign on giving the cd out for nada, thats right, just give it away - even if its a sampler or ep and not all the tracks

Dubious · August 2005

if you do vinyl you can also burn up a run of promo cdrs as well to hand / give out.

bonzaisk8 · August 2005

if you do vinyl you can also burn up a run of promo cdrs as well to hand / give out.

real talk.

Mike_Bell · August 2005

Definitely agree on the vinyl/cd issue... I put out a cd a couple months ago and linked with a distributor who prefers vinyl over cd - will still do cd but at a much lower volume. Also, if you're gonna shell out the money to get the cd done right you might as well pay for it to be on vinyl... Co-sign on giving the cd out for nada, thats right, just give it away - even if its a sampler or ep and not all the tracks

All of y'all responses have been excellent, but I think DJCire's is dead on. I've been waiting for forever and a day to get some CD's from these guys so that I can hand 'em out (A great way to promote). When dude was talking to me about distribution, I immediately thought about vinyl. Why, I'm not sure. I guess it came from the conversation I had with him. He kept mentioning labels like Landspeed and Fat Beats... Sorry to get off topic there, but good pointers though...

MoSS · August 2005

so there's really no authenticity to cd's anymore.

This is the (in my opinion at least) the #1 issue right here. If you put something on vinyl, it makes you look legit if you don't know what you're doing.

p_gunn · August 2005

so there's really no authenticity to cd's anymore.

This is the (in my opinion at least) the #1 issue right here. If you put something on vinyl, it makes you look legit if you don't know what you're doing.

yeah, that was my thought was well. i have 500 12"s being pressed next week, and i went with vinyl for the following reasons:

a) watching friends who pressed producer/one man bad CD's have a HARD time getting rid of them

b) i don't listen to CD's myself.

c)anyone schmuck with a burner can make a CD

d) i'd rather put on 4 songs on a 12" and get people interested in more, than put out a 70 minute CD and have people asleep 45 minutes thru it...

Mike_Bell · August 2005

so there's really no authenticity to cd's anymore.

This is the (in my opinion at least) the #1 issue right here. If you put something on vinyl, it makes you look legit if you don't know what you're doing.

yeah, that was my thought was well. i have 500 12"s being pressed next week, and i went with vinyl for the following reasons:

a) watching friends who pressed producer/one man bad CD's have a HARD time getting rid of them

b) i don't listen to CD's myself.

c)anyone schmuck with a burner can make a CD

d) i'd rather put on 4 songs on a 12" and get people interested in more, than put out a 70 minute CD and have people asleep 45 minutes thru it...

OK. Pressing vinyl is a very professional look. I don't think these guys intent is to sell records but put out CD's (to cater to bigger audience). But the fact that these guys are unknown will make it very difficult for them to sell a lot of CD's.

p_gunn · August 2005

OK. Pressing vinyl is a very professional look. I don't think these guys intent is to sell records but put out CD's (to cater to bigger audience). But the fact that these guys are unknown will make it very difficult for them to sell a lot of CD's.

that's what i'm saying. everyone i know who is basically in a bedroom band who puts out a CD hoping it will open doors usually ends up discouraged (and with 967 CD's in their basement...)

maybe a 7" then? pick their 2 best songs...

Olski · August 2005

Get famous or at least hip first. That's the only way to get a distributor interested. All distributors carry too many titles and get offered too many all the time. This may also be the reason why many people who start working at a distribution turn into ignorant wankers after a while (you can say about the whole music industry but for a distributor who is basically only a middle-man it's very easy to treat people (= indie labels/artists with no real resources/power) bad and rip them off.)

Mike_Bell · August 2005

OK. Pressing vinyl is a very professional look. I don't think these guys intent is to sell records but put out CD's (to cater to bigger audience). But the fact that these guys are unknown will make it very difficult for them to sell a lot of CD's.

that's what i'm saying. everyone i know who is basically in a bedroom band who puts out a CD hoping it will open doors usually ends up discouraged (and with 967 CD's in their basement...)

maybe a 7" then? pick their 2 best songs...

The problem that I have with that is, I have to convince these guys to go the vinyl route. I'm sure headz would dig the shit that they putting down.

Mike_Bell · August 2005

Get famous or at least hip first. That's the only way to get a distributor interested. All distributors carry too many titles and get offered too many all the time. This may also be the reason why many people who start working at a distribution turn into ignorant wankers after a while (you can say about the whole music industry but for a distributor who is basically only a middle-man it's very easy to treat people (= indie labels/artists with no real resources/power) bad and rip them off.)

I don't wanna see these dudes get ripped off either. They don't have that much money to begin with and getting gaffled by some shady distributor would really piss some folks off. I guess the best way is press up vinyl and maybe 500 promo cd's.

djdaze · August 2005

ok this is what I've found out so far from people in the industry.

1. you need to sell a certain amount in order for most distributers to fuck with you. You can try to find a niche distributor if what you're doing is a little out of the ordinary and you might get a deal with someone just on principal though.

2. Get your product in as many stores as you can off the bat. That way when you talk to distributors you can say that you sold at stores X, Y, and Z and those stores can confirm it, which makes you look better.

3. Save any and all reciepts for cd manufacturing, this lets people know how many you've gone through. you'd be surprised how many people get a distribution deal this way though...get 5,000 made up, get another 5,000 made up and then tell the distribution company that you moved 10,000 units independantly and show them the paperwork to prove it. This is why it's good to have the stores to say they sell your product.

4. Most stores are only going to take your CD's on consignment. Some will buy them but most won't. you NEED to get people into those stores to buy shit and then they'll start ordering from you and paying you when they order. It's just because so many people are putting out shit product these days.

5. GET PROFESSIONAL PACKAGING. I can't stress this enough. pay the .03 extra to get the top spine sticker with the barcode. oh yeah GET A BARCODE.

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How to Get Distribution

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