Now bands started with the Kickstarter project to ask their fans for money to record a new CD.
What do you think of the future of the labels releasing CDs from bands who signed in with a label?

Do you think more and more band wil ask their fans to cover the producings costs of the CDs to start a Kickstarter project?
Or do you think more bands will place MP3s of their songs online so the don't have to make a CD?
What are your thoughts about this?

It depends on the band and the genre of music. I don't see any of the current bands using it because they have a record deal. But the classic bands that have a hard time getting a deal will go the route. It's really not that big of a deal. personally, I have never donated to a Kickstarter project but that doesnt mean I wont in the future (STRYPER). And those that do that I dont care much about I may buy the CD when it is eventually released. I'm assuming some Kickstarter projects include an actual CD when they are all said and done in addition to digital downloads.

Dont get me wrong I love a physical CD as much as the next guy but I am slowly moving over to the digital age on my ipod. Take for example Saint's The Revelation. I bought the download from Mr. Lynch the day he released it as a download so I have no reason to buy the actual CD itself, and I like the art that was redone better than the "book" cover.

I think we will probably see less and less bands getting label support to create music.

I was afraid that this could happen.
That means that the labels might be going through a rough time?

I think we will see more and more bands put out a limited number of cds and records but will rely on mp3 download for the bulk of their sales. Alot of bands are even including a digital book with the downloads either on the download sites or their own websites. Some really huge bands will even go to this format I think.

As a producer and a small (very small?) label, this whole concept of switching to mp3s instead of physical product distresses me, especially since I am a die-hard fan of having physical CDs. An original CD has way better sound quality than mp3s, and I like to have an actual, tangible physical product that I can put my hands on, or else I feel like I have paid out money and gotten nothing for it.

As for "kick-starter" projects... Well, as a musician, I have to say that whenever I have seen a band asking the fans to pay for their next project to be made, it kinda made me feel like the project was not going to be very good. I would never ask the fans to pay for one of my albums to be made... I appreciate the fans who buy the CD to support my music, but I would feel very awkward asking them to put up money in advance. I think there are enough possibilities for financing a recording without resorting to "begging for hand-outs" from your fans.

Just my "humble" opinion, based on my experience in the music industry, as well as decades of enjoying other bands' music.



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and a big to everything you said!

If it weren't for the fact that our cars are older and don't have MP3 decks (and MP3-to-radio sounds horrible), I'd be over to MP3 by now. However, you can't autograph an iPod (unless it's Steve Jobs or someone )!

I think its cool that people are starting to by Vinyl again. I am seeing it all over town. I have seen turntables being sold at Best Buy, Target, Walmart, Kmart and all the local record stores as well as on many online stores. I love records. I bought a new sealed copy of AC/DC not long ago and it sounds fantastic. Even new releases by some bands are now available on vinyl ...and yes. they still come with the books and posters. Way Cool.

Well I have my music backed up on an external hard drive so if the computer crashes I still have it all backed up. And most of it I have on CDs anyway. I also burn my favorite digital files to disc. My iPod hooks up directly to my stereo in my truck and believe me it's better than having 200 CDs in there to keep track of. Not to mention they can get stolen. When I leave my truck my iPod leaves with me so I have all my music with me. To me it's almost like someone in the 70s refusing to give up the 8 tracks for higher quality cassettes then cassettes for CDs. Digital downloads are just a way of life.

Regarding kick starter being a way for a band to make CDs is not a case of "not liking it as much". Do you really think the new Stryper is going to be worse because they are doing a kick starter project? Not me that's being narrow minded. I didn't donate to John Schlitt's project but it is a fine cd. It isn't any worse just because he did it on kick starter. And Guardian may actually be a better sounding project because they were able to raise more money than if they funded it themselves and recorded a badly produced disc. I personally think their new album will sound better because of it.

With all of that said I too am glad to see the return of the turntable. Vinyl will always hold a special place with me.

Yes, for playing in the car, I can agree that an mp3 player is definitely a good way to go, for the fact that it saves carrying tons of CDs.

As for my thoughts on "kick-starter" projects... I'm just telling you the impression that I get when I see a band asking their fans for money to record an album. So I guess I'm just narrow minded then.



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I'm with you on the whole Kickstarter thing, Thomas.

And dont get me wrong I'm not pro kickstarter but I see the need for some bands to do it. More power them for gettin it done. Better than no new Stryper at all.

I'm firmly in the "old guy/loves cds" camp, but I would like to point out that while mp3s are a poor format for sound reproduction, there are lossless formats like FLAC that reproduce sound as well as a cd according to a lot of audiophiles.

AAC is good too. I asked Cliffy about 320 kbps mp3 and he says the human ear cannot tell the difference between that and CD audio other than the gaps. Flac and wav are awesome too but wav files are huge.

I have a bunch of 320kbps mp3 files and I can't hear any difference at all between them and the actual CD. So I'm not worried about getting anything higher audio quality than that.

Is having the same thoughts about the Kickstarter project as Thomas and Chris.
More and more bands start a Kickstarter project.

Yeah but would you not buy something just because they did it on Kickstarter? New Guardian? John Schlitt? Good discs. No, I didn't donate but I plan on getting them when they are released. Stryper, I will definitely donate something. It's hard to come up with $30,000 without a label. Without that $30,000 we'd have no new Guardian or a substandard release.