Releasing an EP

briancarr82

Hi there, a band i play in are releasing an ep, we have tracks recorded just waiting for them to be mixed. I'm wondering whats the best way to go about it? We're def gonna do a launch night for it. We're gonna get about 500 cds done and sell them at say €3 a piece. Does this sound reasonable for a 4 track ep? Also want to have it available for digital download. Itunes looks complicated enough, would we be as well off going with amazon? All hints and tips much appreciated

PaulBrewer

Is it something you have online for a listen ? Even a rough mix ?

What do you want to achieve with your EP ?

briancarr82

Inching up online, not gonna release any of the songs til fully mixed! I suppose the aim us to push it as far as we can! Hopefully puck up a few support slots with more senior up and coming bands and maybe even get an appearance at one of the smaller festivals this year, that would be pretty cool!

krd

500 cds is a lot of CDs.

You might have a lot trouble selling 500 CDs. Most people who are unknown would just use the CD as marketing material - giving it away for free or sending it around to people.

I think the experience of most people who have printed up hundreds of CDs, is having boxes and boxes of the things under someone's bed, for a long time.

briancarr82

Not looking to make money off them, I'm sure a lot will be given away! Just looking for advice on the other items

Adyx

I haven't used it yet myself so maybe somebody else here has more experience of it, but Bandcamp might be worth looking at. Certainly before you make the leap to retailers like iTunes and Amazon.

PaulBrewer

Good Answers Brian - best of luck with the project.

maccored

tunecore is great for itunes etc etc. bandcamp, as mentioned, is aslo a great place for putting material online ... they have some nice widgets

briancarr82

anyone got any ideas on how you might get yourself right out there into the thick of the action? i know gigging yer ass off is probably the best policy, but has anyone any ideas how you might get a supporting slot with a bigger band or get a slot at one of the festivals? i see the sea sessions are running a competition.

pinksoir

Unfortunately the way the industry is in Ireland, you're looking at a lot of schmoozing. Aside from that it takes a LOT of hard work. If you're any good putting in the work will pay off. Don't get disillusioned by the amount of time it takes(years).

Though that all depends on how good you are as a band. You gotta be honest with yourself and really question if what you are doing is worthwhile. Are you any better than the hundreds of bands that are out there in Ireland alone? The reality is that being a band costs a lot of money that, for most people anyway, is never earned back.

The best way to get out there is to give away all your material for free to begin with. And do as many gigs as you possibly can so's you can become really tight as a band. You might think you're tight now, but I guarantee, if you haven't been playing together for at least 3 years then you're not. Essentially all this takes time. A lot of time.

But the reality is, you're not going to get gigs with bigger bands (what league of 'bigger bands' are you thinking of anyway?) without a lot of schmoozing. There are very few promoters (there are one or two) that will put out on a band on merit alone. It's all who you know. So be prepared to either a) get a manager who's comfortable with schmoozing, or b) do the schmoozing yourself. You're far more likely to get a support slot with an Irish band you've gotten to know. The idea of schmoozing is pretty grim, but unfortunately is a necessary evil.

From there, if you generate a bit of buzz, promoters will start to take notice.

I can't stress how long and difficult it is to get yourself out there. Most people in bands are hobbyists, they just don't know it yet. So ask yourself the difficult and honest questions and if you really believe you have something to offer start putting in the groundwork. As the cliché goes; it's 10% talent 90% hard work.

spiderjazz

I'd be very slow in recommending you to get 500 cds after personal experience. It all seems well and good at the time, but after you sell however many at the EP launch, you'll be lucky to ever shift that amount again over the course of the EP. As someone said earlier, prepare to have boxes of CD's left over.

If I was launching something again, I would put it up online for free where people could download it, and invest the money planned on CD reproduction into merch/tshirts/stage equipment for the band. Maybe offer a higher quality download and artwork etc. on itunes/amazon and the like.

PaulBrewer

Good posts Spider and Pink .

I recall buying a 5 string bass once and telling the lads in the pub - "Wouldn't you be better spending that money on lessons?" was the retort

pinksoir

Yeah, that's the point though, right?

The reality is that it's really easy to throw a lot of money at your band, but it's money that could be better spent down the road, or on stuff that'll benefit you long term.

It's cool to have something to sell/give away at gigs, but it can just as easily be a cdr/casette or whatever. Something cheap and memorable. Plus as spiderjazz says, use the intrawebs. Bandcamp is pretty cool.