[Trombone-l] Church music, tbn solos

[John Burton]

Only one question, Robert.

For a publisher to agree to print and market a chart, how many copies
need be printed?  

It's my belief that ultra-low volume releases are often best found in an
on-line (read PDF) store vice 24# paper stock from a music store.  While
I'll agree that "all the trimmin's" are nice, typically I'm looking for
a particular chart, and, since I've done my homework I know how the
original was charted, or I know how that solo sounded (I purchased the
CD and listened).

This concurrent thread about Bill Pierce's releases is a good case in
point.  If it were available via pdf, someone could sell; I dunno, two
or three copies to just the folks on this list who've said they wanted
it in the last week or so.  Those pdf's could have been residing on a CD
on a web server for the last seven years and only sold ten copies, but
it would have been all gravy for the marketers of those files.

I doubt that brick-and-mortar will go out of business any time soon, but
the 21st century provides a competing marketing scheme that is shaped
directly for the ultra-low volume publisher.

Just my two cents...

Keep it slick!

				--==jb==--

~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~= 
 
john burton 
Bach 50B3 
Bass Trombone, Charleston NeoPhonic Orchestra 
South Charleston, West Virginia 
 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: trombone-l-bounces at maillists.samford.edu 
> [mailto:trombone-l-bounces at maillists.samford.edu] On Behalf 
> Of Robert Holland
> Sent: Friday, May 12, 2006 11:50 PM
> To: Trb. List
> Subject: Re: [Trombone-l] Church music, tbn solos
> 
> John Burton wrote:
> 
> > I'm not  an arranger or publisher, but I'm wondering if on-line 
> > publishing might be a profitable answer to the small-time 
> (low-volume) 
> > publisher.
> >
> > For example, selling a PDF of your arrangement, collect via 
> PayPal.  
> > All you need is a bank account to work with to collect the 
> money.  An 
> > on-line store is quite inexpensive to set up, and naturally 
> depending 
> > on how much you charge for your charts may pay for itself 
> with one or 
> > two sales per month.
> 
> Someone trots this idea out on the list every year or so. 
> I've responded before and will reprise just a couple points.
> 
> The physical medium of the score and parts, like a book or 
> magazine, has some value over a sheaf of loose papers from 
> your printer. 
> Similarly, the paper version of a piece of music has some 
> value over the electronic stands folks are trying to develop 
> and market. Whereas the mp3 version of a recording may be 
> worthwhile as a portable version, the physical package with 
> the cover art, lyrics, liner notes, etc. has some value over 
> the electronic version inside an iPod.
> 
> No one can predict the future all that well. Those who have 
> observed the presumed death of the recording industry -- or 
> at least a radical transformation in its mode of delivery -- 
> may be correct, but I rather doubt it. The same goes for 
> traditional modes of print publishing.
> 
> > Just a thought, but from the standpoint of a consumer, I 
> much prefer 
> > on-line sources of arrangements.  It satisfies my need for 
> "right now"
> > service and allows me to search with e-tools much more effectively.
> 
> What may be desirable for the consumer may not be so 
> desirable for the seller in terms of cost and profitability. 
> Sure, people these days love to shop in their pajamas from 
> home and have something either delivered to their doors in a 
> few days or delivered to their computers instantaneously. The 
> shift away from the public sphere is often called 
> "cocooning." As a business model, the warehouse stores and 
> virtual media sellers can get it done more cheaply in many 
> respects, but we've clearly lost something in the process. 
> Brick and mortar specialty stores that maintains select 
> inventory and employ knowledgeable staff may still be worth 
> some extra cost.
> 
> Robert Holland, Publisher
> Briar Music Press
> briar at rcn.com
> www.briarmusic.com
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