Digital Audio Insider -- the economics of music and other digital content


  digital audio insider

home

about/contact
Digital Audio Insider is David Harrell's blog about the economics of music and other digital content. I write from the perspective of a musican who has self-released four albums with the indie rock band the Layaways.

My personal website has links to my LinkedIn and Google+ pages and you can send e-mail to david [at] thelayaways [dot] com.

Support
If you enjoy this site, please consider downloading a Layaways track or album from iTunes, Amazon MP3, Bandcamp, or eMusic. CDs are available from CD Baby and Amazon.

links

music/media/tech:
Analog Industries
Ars Technica
AppleInsider
Brad Sucks Blog
Broken Record
Digital Music News
Duke Listens
Future of Music Coalition Blog
Hypebot
LA Times Technology Blog
The ListeNerd
Medialoper
Mediashift
MP3 Insider
Music Ally
Music Machinery
Music Think Tank
MusicTank
The Music Void
New Music Strategies
Online Fandom
Pakman's Blog
RAIN
Rough Type
RoughlyDrafted
Swindleeeee
TuneTuzer
Virtual Economics

economics/markets:
The Big Picture
Core Economics
Freakonomics
The Long Tail
Marginal Revolution
The Undercover Economist

mp3/music:
17 Dots
3hive
Fingertips
Shake Your Fist
Sounds Like the 80s
Unleash the Love

archives
January 2006
February 2006
March 2006
April 2006
May 2006
June 2006
July 2006
August 2006
September 2006
October 2006
November 2006
December 2006
January 2007
February 2007
March 2007
April 2007
May 2007
June 2007
July 2007
August 2007
September 2007
October 2007
November 2007
December 2007
January 2008
February 2008
March 2008
April 2008
May 2008
June 2008
July 2008
August 2008
September 2008
October 2008
November 2008
December 2008
January 2009
February 2009
March 2009
April 2009
May 2009
June 2009
July 2009
August 2009
September 2009
October 2009
November 2009
December 2009
January 2010
February 2010
March 2010
April 2010
May 2010
June 2010
July 2010
September 2010
October 2010
November 2010
December 2010
January 2011
February 2011
March 2011
April 2011
May 2011
June 2011
July 2011
August 2011
September 2011
October 2011
November 2011
December 2011
January 2012
February 2012
April 2012
May 2012
June 2012
August 2012
October 2012
November 2012
December 2012
January 2013
February 2013
March 2013
June 2013
August 2013
February 2014
March 2014
September 2014
December 2014
March 2015
October 2015
November 2015
December 2015
October 2016
May 2017

August 10, 2006

Interview with Jim Kelly of Parasol
by David Harrell
Interview with Jim Kelly of Parasol
Parasol is an online/mailorder retailer, a distributor, and a group of indie labels. Jim Kelly, who heads up Parasol's publicity department and the label group, was kind enough to share some thoughts via e-mail about digital sales and download stores.

There's an impressive list of free mp3s on the Parasol downloads page. Do you have any feel for how offering a free song affects subsequent sales of the album?

From our site I don't suppose we have a good way to track those numbers, plus the number of our own-site visitor downloads isn't that large. When we've given away tracks via Pitchfork, for example, we've seen a huge increase in downloads and usually corresponding jumps in direct mailorder sales, but it certainly varies. Not a science by any means. Getting those free mp3s in front of the right people is the most important thing.

Digital store trends: my pet theory is that while the sale of a song at iTunes nets a label more than a download from eMusic (70 cents vs. 20 cents or so), the eMusic audience might turn out to be the best bet for indie labels and artists. Any thoughts here or details you can share about which digital stores are generating the most sales for Parasol labels?

ITunes and eMusic are #1 and #2 for Parasol and account for at least 95% (and likely more) of our digital revenues. I feel like eMusic parlays their commitment and enthusiasm for the music in a way that makes up for the lesser per-download revenues. I'm also positive that folks use their iTunes and eMusic subs to decide which physical albums to purchase. We get plenty of mailorder action from folks who downloaded such and such for such and such service...nice to know that digital drives physical sales too, a circuit connected! We have enjoyed working with eMusic through the years while, for myself, iTunes remains a less personable entity.

continue reading "Interview with Jim Kelly of Parasol"

Let's talk about digital download pricing. I know it's not something you have much control over, but what do you think about the current price of downloads relative to buying a CD: Are download prices too high or just right relative to CD prices?

Like all other labels, taking in $6+ on a full-album digital download from iTunes we've got no complaints! GRAVY!

Has the proliferation of mp3 blogs and podcasts caused you to make any major changes in your promo strategies? Has the influence of traditional press outlets declined significantly?

We usually do a pretty nice mailing of new releases we're publicizing to bloggers of note. It happens naturally and organically whether we plan it or not. So we try and make it part of our campaign and we schedule mailings to have the hype landing nearer to official release dates. I also do a bit of policing to convince bloggers to focus on a single track or two. More than occasionally I'll find bloggers giving away entire EP, even albums, but I've found that a polite email sets them straight.

As far as reviews reaching the widest audience I'd rather have a Pitchfork review online than anything in print in -- let's say -- Rolling Stone or Entertainment Weekly...I'm just not sure print magazines are reaching the audience we are targeting anymore. On that front Magnet and upstarts like Arthur are the exceptions to the rule.

Finally, where do you see things in five or 10 years? I don't think the CD is going away anytime soon, but do you see a crossover point in the near future where digital sales approach or surpass the sales of physical discs?

Our release of Jose Gonzalez's "Veneer" album last year (prior to Mute whisking him away) saw digital and physical sales almost neck and neck for the first 4 months...which certainly was an anomaly. Perhaps more about a lack of physical sales at the time than what seemed like a surplus of digital sales. I see a point where labels will press CDs for promotional use and for compact disc fans (much like vinyl is produced for vinyl fetishists now) as digital takes over a much larger share... The industry is about to begin entertaining the whims of an entire generation of consumers who have spent their formative years downloading (legally or otherwise) who won't have the same attachment to the physical CD. Like my kids for example... They've grown up with iPods and iTunes and burning CD-Rs -- that's how they listen to music.

Thanks Jim!

tags:

link 0 comments e-mail listen to the Layaways on Spotify


More Digital Audio Insider: Newer Posts Older Posts



Subscribe:   RSS Feed



Add this blog to Del.icio.us, Digg, or Furl. Follow David Harrell on Google+.





The Digital Audio Insider Twitter feed:
    Apple stock analysis


    Digital music jobs: Looking to hire? Looking for a job? Check out the digital audio insider job board.



    Popular Posts

    A Long Tail Experiment
    By the Numbers: Using Last.fm Statistics to Quantify Audience Devotion
    Lala.com Owes Me Sixty Cents
    An Interview with Jonathan Segel of Camper Van Beethoven
    Price Elasticity of Demand for McCartney
    Sony and eMusic: What I Missed

    The Digital Pricing Conundrum series:
    Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four





    THE LAYAWAYS

    Out Now -- "Maybe Next Year" -- The New Holiday Album:

    <a href="http://thelayaways.bandcamp.com/album/maybe-next-year">Joy To The World by The Layaways</a>

    "This is a sweet treat, deliciously musical without being overbaked for mass media consumption." -- Hyperbolium

    "Perfect listening to accompany whatever holiday preparations you may be making today." -- Bag of Songs


    O Christmas Tree - free mp3 lyrics and song details
    Away In A Manger - free mp3

    Download from eMusic, iTunes, Amazon MP3, or Bandcamp. Listen to free streams at Last.fm.



    album cover art from The Space Between

    <a href="http://thelayaways.bandcamp.com/album/the-space-between">Keep It To Yourself by The Layaways</a>

    "...about as melodic and hooky as indie pop can get." -- Absolute Powerpop

    "Their laid-back, '60s era sounds are absolutely delightening." -- 3hive

    "...melodic, garage-influenced shoegaze." -- RCRD LBL

    Where The Conversation Ends - free mp3
    January - free mp3
    Keep It To Yourself - free mp3

    Download from eMusic, iTunes, Amazon MP3, or CD Baby, stream it at Last.fm or Napster.



    album cover art from We've Been Lost

    <a href="http://thelayaways.bandcamp.com/album/weve-been-lost">Silence by The Layaways</a>

    "The Layaways make fine indie pop. Hushed vocals interweave with understated buzzing guitars. The whole LP is a revelation from the start." -- Lost Music

    "Catchy Guided by Voices-like rockers who lay it on sweetly and sincerely, just like Lionel Richie." -- WRUV Radio

    Silence - free mp3 lyrics and song details
    The Long Night - free mp3

    Download from eMusic, Amazon MP3, or iTunes, stream it at Last.fm, Napster, or Rhapsody.



    album cover art from More Than Happy

    "These are songs that you want to take home with you, curl up with, hold them close -- and pray that they are still with you when you wake up." -- The Big Takeover

    Let Me In - free mp3
    Ocean Blue - free mp3

    Download from eMusic, Amazon MP3, or iTunes, stream it at Last.fm, Napster, or Rhapsody.

    More Layaways downloads:

    download the Layaways at eMusic download the Layaways at iTunes

    the layaways website