Why CDs Are as Important as Ever for Indie Artists

Whether or not you should invest in making CD versions of your album is a decision you should only make logically, and logically, it's the smartest thing you could do. 

Now, I could spend this whole blog post talking about the technology of CDs and how much better the quality is to streaming. I could talk about trends and how everything comes back in cycle. But I won't.

The fact is, indie artists are constantly asking themselves one question and one question only when it comes to CDs: Is it worth it? Yes it is. And I'm going to tell you everything you need to know to hopefully convince you to do it. 

First, let's get the obvious out of the way. Do people still buy CDs? Yes. They buy CDs and vinyls, and cassette tapes. Hell, if you look hard enough, you'll find people swapping BETA tapes. The real question you're too coy to ask, is will people buy your CDs. And while that's a valid question, it falls apart when you consider that your goal as an artist is to get your music heard. Even if you don't put out a CD, you are still spending every day getting people to stream your newest song or album.

In order for this to become full-time, you have to succeed in growing your fanbase. And if you have a fan base that truly loves your work, then some of them will without a doubt be interested in physical versions of your songs. So while a brand-new artist may not sell a CD immediately, they will absolutely sell a CD if they ever manage to get their streaming numbers up. So, there will never be a scenario where you have a huge fanbase, and no market for a CD. The two go hand in hand.

The next hesitation indie artists typically have when it comes to making CDs is whether it will affect their success on streaming. "I want people to listen on streaming so I get the stats," they'll say, as if people who collect CDs don't also listen to Spotify. 

But let's say, for a moment, that that was the case. That somehow you reached a group of people who have decided they will only listen to an artist's CD or Spotify account, but not both. A ridiculous idea, but sure, let's go through it. In that scenario, you are once again looking at it completely wrong. 

Wanting to keep your stats up is not only naive, it is playing right into the hand of platforms. Do not forget that that goal of every musician who wants to do this full time is to make enough money from it to sustain themselves. 

In order to make $1 on a song on Spotify, you have to get roughly 250 streams. In other words, you have to get 250 people to listen to your song once. And this, of course, assumes you've already passed the 1,000 stream monetary threshold Spotify placed on new artists. That's right. If you are an artist with under 1,000 streams, you don't get paid at all. So, realistically, you need 1,250 streams on one song to make your first dollar. 

However, if someone buys a CD, you have just completely turned this scenario on its head. A $10 CD not only gave you money up front, but it paid for all 10 songs. The equivalent of about 13,000 streams was just handed to you for music that you created. Good luck matching that efficiency on streaming platforms as an indie artist. 

The very next thing you'll hear an indie artist say is, "Yeah, but now they can listen to the music for free. I'm losing money." My sweet little bird, no you aren't. In order for these CD-buying fans to give you less money than you would have made streaming, they'd have to listen to the entire album over 1,250 times to even match the price per play of streaming. And I have news for you; anyone who listens to your album over 1,000 times is a super-fan, and they will no doubt buy a ticket to a show, or a future release.

After a moment of reflection, the artist will then hit you with the "Hail Mary" of arguments: "What if they make bootlegs?" Then congratulations, someone just paid you to join your street team. They are about to go through a whole lot of effort to help turn you into a household name. What else you got?

"Do people even have CD players anymore?"

Of course they do. There are also people who collect CDs who don't. A CD is more than a CD. It's art. It's collectible. It's an investment. There are as many reasons as someone wants to collect a CD as there are arguments against it. 

"But how do you advertise them?"

On your socials. The same way you advertise your music. 

"But aren't they expensive to make?" 

Not if you do your research, or work with someone who has experience. In fact if you do it the right way, it may not need to come out of pocket at all. My favorite technique is pre-orders. You offer your fans a chance to reserve a copy (signed copies work too) while they are being manufactured. You roll the pre-order fees into production cost and walk away with completely paid for CDs.

"I just don't see how this helps my career."

Again. You are looking at this wrong. Yes, selling CDs does help you earn a living. But more importantly, a CD offers a connection with your music that all the streaming in the world couldn't match. It's your chance to design something that represents and expands your musical universe. It gives listeners something physical to hold, and a reason to talk about you to guests who spot the CD on their shelf. 

And of course we haven't even talked about the elephant in the room: The streaming space.

As the discussion around music platforms and their payouts to artists continue, artists are realizing just how bad of a disadvantage we are in. DistroKid users famously have to pay extra for what they call "Legacy." This is a fancy, paid feature that allows your music to remain on platforms even after your DistroKid subscription ends. That's right. Your music could disappear one day due to a missed payment. 

DistroKid isn't alone in this. Countless other distributors have little tweaks and disclaimers that make it so your music isn't set in stone. But with a successful CD release? No matter what happens, a copy of your music will exist out there somewhere. No platform can take you down.

And then there are live shows. Should you book your first show, or attend a convention, bringing along a stack of your CDs to sell (or better yet, giveaway) is a surefire way to make connections. My record label currently has hundreds of CDs from both my projects, and those of artists we work with that are ready for our next convention or meet-up. We even bring a few out with us when we go for lunch on the off-chance it comes up in conversation.

It's one thing to tell someone to "Check out your music on Spotify." It's another to give them a signed CD as a gift. I can't tell you how many new fans that we've gotten from a friend of a friend talking "non-stop about this CD they got," and how it made them check it out for themselves. 

In summary: Whether you are making five copies yourself, or working with a company like Artiverse Records for your next CD release, make sure you are giving the concept a fair chance.