{"id":4888,"date":"2022-06-09T18:54:29","date_gmt":"2022-06-09T18:54:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/06\/09\/how-to-price-your-cds\/"},"modified":"2022-06-09T18:54:29","modified_gmt":"2022-06-09T18:54:29","slug":"how-to-price-your-cds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/06\/09\/how-to-price-your-cds\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Price Your CDs"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_81 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/06\/09\/how-to-price-your-cds\/#How_much_should_you_charge_for_your_CDs\" >How much should you charge for your CDs?<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/06\/09\/how-to-price-your-cds\/#Ten_things_to_consider_when_setting_your_CD_price\" >Ten things to consider when setting your CD price:<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/06\/09\/how-to-price-your-cds\/#1_Manufacturing_costs\" >1. Manufacturing costs<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/06\/09\/how-to-price-your-cds\/#2_Production_Costs\" >2. Production Costs<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/06\/09\/how-to-price-your-cds\/#3_Customer_acquisition_costs\" >3. Customer acquisition costs<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/06\/09\/how-to-price-your-cds\/#4_Royalties\" >4. Royalties<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/06\/09\/how-to-price-your-cds\/#5_The_competition\" >5. The competition<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/06\/09\/how-to-price-your-cds\/#6_Context_and_variable_pricing\" >6. Context and variable pricing<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/06\/09\/how-to-price-your-cds\/#7_Odd_number_pricing\" >7. Odd number pricing<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/06\/09\/how-to-price-your-cds\/#8_Free_plus_shipping\" >8. Free, plus shipping<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/06\/09\/how-to-price-your-cds\/#9_Bundles\" >9. Bundles<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/06\/09\/how-to-price-your-cds\/#10_Your_stories_and_your_autograph_matter\" >10. Your stories (and your autograph) matter<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-13\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/06\/09\/how-to-price-your-cds\/#How_have_you_determined_your_CDs_selling_price\" >How have you determined your CD\u2019s selling price?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-14\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/06\/09\/how-to-price-your-cds\/#Sell_more_merch_online\" >Sell more merch online<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_much_should_you_charge_for_your_CDs\"><\/span>How much should you charge for your CDs?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<p>$5? $10? $12.99? $15.72?<\/p>\n<p>Let me say upfront that there\u2019s no clear answer to this question.<\/p>\n<p>Your CD\u2019s selling price will be determined by a number of factors. And it\u2019s more complicated than simply adding up your various costs and then charging above that sum.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Ten_things_to_consider_when_setting_your_CD_price\"><\/span>Ten things to consider when setting your CD price:<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"1_Manufacturing_costs\"><\/span>1. Manufacturing costs<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Did you pay to professionally <a href=\"https:\/\/duplication.cdbaby.com\/quoter\/index.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">manufacture CDs<\/a>?<\/p>\n<p>Calculate how much each unit costs.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s the most obvious basic expense you want to recoup per sale.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"2_Production_Costs\"><\/span>2. Production Costs<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>How much did you pay for engineering, production, mixing, and mastering?<\/p>\n<p>While it\u2019d be great, of course, to recoup these expenses by selling through your first pressing of CDs, oftentimes your production costs are NOT the best factor to consider when determining your CD\u2019s selling price.<\/p>\n<p>Why? Firstly, it\u2019s a one-time expense that has nothing to do with the quantity of discs you\u2019ve made.<\/p>\n<p>You could\u2019ve spent $30,000 recording an album for which you only pressed 1000 CDs. You\u2019re not going to charge $30 per CD, are you? Of course not. And if you sell a million copies, that $30k ain\u2019t nuthin\u2019 but some chump change!<\/p>\n<p>On the other hand, if the difference between a $9.99 and $12.97 selling price will help you recoup some of your production costs over the course of your first disc pressing, it IS worth considering those expenses \u2014 and probably going with the slightly higher selling price.<\/p>\n<p>Then again\u2026<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"3_Customer_acquisition_costs\"><\/span>3. Customer acquisition costs<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Many new businesses plan to lose money at first in order to attract customers.<\/p>\n<p>In other instances, businesses have \u201closs leader\u201d products,\u00a0 meaning they sell certain things at a loss in order to attract customers that will purchase other products or services later.<\/p>\n<p>In your case, that may mean spending money to build your fanbase. These costs could come in the form of online marketing, touring at a loss, a PR campaign, making merch, and pressing CDs.<\/p>\n<p>What I\u2019m trying to say is: It\u2019s perfectly fine to treat your CD sales as something BESIDES an attempt to recoup or profit in the short-term.<\/p>\n<p>If that\u2019s how you view your CD sales, it might make sense to choose a lower price to move more units.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"4_Royalties\"><\/span>4. Royalties<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Are there any <a href=\"https:\/\/podcast.cdbaby.com\/2022\/05\/301-the-right-way-to-do-a-cover-song\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">cover songs<\/a> on your album? You\u2019ll need to pay a mechanical royalty on every single unit of the CD you\u2019ve manufactured.<\/p>\n<p>Do you owe other kinds of royalties, such as <a href=\"https:\/\/cdbaby.com\/campaigns\/request-publishing-split-for-songwriters-guide.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">publishing splits among co-writers<\/a> or points for the producer?<\/p>\n<p>You might want to factor those costs into your selling price, too.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"5_The_competition\"><\/span>5. The competition<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>You\u2019re not the only one with a CD to shill; hundreds of other albums are being released every single day! Just because you\u2019ve labored over every detail of your album for the last two years doesn\u2019t mean you can charge unreasonable prices for your CDs.<\/p>\n<p>Are you an indie band somewhere between unknown and regionally-recognized? I\u2019d say between $5-$15 is sane. Much more than that and folks are going to think twice before buying.<\/p>\n<p>Also, consider the fact that your album will be available to hear on streaming platforms for much less than the cost of a CD. If your physical album is too expensive, most fans will just go digital.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"6_Context_and_variable_pricing\"><\/span>6. Context and variable pricing<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Context matters when it comes to physical album sales. You\u2019re allowed to keep things flexible and test different prices in different markets and settings.<\/p>\n<p>You might sell a CD for $10 on consignment at a local record store, offer it wholesale for $6, charge $15 at a show in a wealthy area, or do \u201cpay what you want\u201d at a college gig.<\/p>\n<p>At a house concert where real connections have been made, people are going to want to take something home to remember you. In that kind of setting I might break my previous rule and suggest something closer to $20.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"7_Odd_number_pricing\"><\/span>7. Odd number pricing<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Pricing involves a little bit of mind games.<\/p>\n<p>$9.99 sounds closer to $9 than $10. Add that extra penny and all of a sudden people are thinking double digits. $12.97? That sounds way cheaper than $13!<\/p>\n<p>Yes, it\u2019s a trick. Use it.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"8_Free_plus_shipping\"><\/span>8. Free, plus shipping<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>People love free shipping. Sometimes you can charge more for a CD as long they think they\u2019re getting a deal on shipping.<\/p>\n<p>The opposite can also be true. It\u2019s possible to profit by <a href=\"https:\/\/diymusician.cdbaby.com\/music-promotion\/grow-your-email-list-and-make-a-profit-by-giving-away-your-albums-for-free\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">giving away your CD for FREE<\/a>, as long as the customer pays for shipping. How? If you throw an upsell opportunity into your online sales process, you can incentivize additional purchases before checkout.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBefore you get your free CD, want to purchase the matching t-shirt?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When I did a \u201cfree plus shipping\u201d offer for one of my albums, more than 50% of the people claiming the free CD bought one or more additional items.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"9_Bundles\"><\/span>9. Bundles<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Along with variable pricing, loss-leader products, and upsells, you also have an opportunity to discount your CDs as part of a merch bundle.<\/p>\n<p>One album for $15. Two for $20. Three for $25.<\/p>\n<p>We love getting a good deal. And with bundles, a \u201cgood deal\u201d can actually mean spending MORE money than they might otherwise.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"10_Your_stories_and_your_autograph_matter\"><\/span>10. Your stories (and your autograph) matter<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>In a streaming age, it\u2019s worth remembering that a CD is often a piece of memorabilia. It\u2019s a standard way to commemorate the connection between artist and audience.<\/p>\n<p>So more important than how you set your CD price is how you tell your story. The ways you convey your brand. How you draw people into your live shows or social content. What kinds of VIP experiences you offer online to invite fans into your world.<\/p>\n<p>The deeper your fans can go, the more they\u2019ll be willing to pay \u2014 even if they never take your CD out of the shrink wrap.<\/p>\n<p>And speaking of shrink-wrap, YOU should take that off yourself and autograph the CDs you mail to customers. That extra bit of personalization will take you ten seconds, but it\u2019s worth a whole lot more to your customer. If you have other ways to customize your mailer \u2014 a handwritten letter, stickers, fliers, lyric sheets \u2014 you should wow the person who purchased from you.<\/p>\n<p>Those little extras transform commerce into connection.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>Obviously there\u2019s a lot to think about in terms of pricing your CD at that perfect point where fans are happy to buy, and you still make enough money to \u2014 well \u2014 make some money.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_have_you_determined_your_CDs_selling_price\"><\/span>How have you determined your CD\u2019s selling price?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>As a music buyer, how much is too much? Let us know in the comments section below.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Sell_more_merch_online\"><\/span>Sell more merch online<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>If you want to move more CDs, vinyl, t-shirts, and other merch through your website and social, check out our episode of The DIY Musician Podcast called \u201ceCommerce 101 for Musicians\u201d:<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"iframe-container\"><\/div>\n<p>The post <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/diymusician.cdbaby.com\/music-career\/how-to-price-your-cds\/\" target=\"_blank\">How to Price Your CDs<\/a> appeared first on <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/diymusician.cdbaby.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">DIY Musician<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How much should you charge for your CDs? $5? $10? $12.99? $15.72? Let me say upfront that there\u2019s no clear answer to this question. Your CD\u2019s selling price will be determined by a number of factors. And it\u2019s more complicated than simply adding up your various costs and then charging above that sum. Ten things to consider when setting your CD price: 1. Manufacturing costs Did you pay to professionally manufacture CDs? Calculate how much each unit costs. That\u2019s the most obvious basic expense you want [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"h5ap_radio_sources":[],"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-best-seo-blogs"],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":false,"author_link":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/author\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4888","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4888"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4888\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}