Suntrip: the official sales-topic!

[Anoebis]

So, did you ever wonder how the sales are of goa-labels? How much is digital, how much cd? Is the cd really dying? Are labels struggling?

 

For the first time ever, a label opens all his official sales for the public... Have a look!

 

http://www.suntriprecords.com/media/reports/2016-05_Goa_Trance_Overview/

[antic604]

Jos, thanks a lot for doing it!

 

EDIT: So happy to see overall sales still going up & moving to more direct channels, providing higher share of the revenue to label & artists (Suntrip store, Discogs, Bandcamp). Awesome work, Jos & Mars!

[thanosp81]

Let me be the devil's advocate here for a moment please.

If buying directly from the label (any label) makes such a big difference, shouldn't the customers see some of that difference on the prices as well?

I find it strange that in most cases I have to pay the same amount of money for ordering either directly through the label or through another seller. Sometimes it's even cheaper @_@ (e.g. Matsuri digital)

 

It's the same case with preorders. I usually end up paying more for a cd that isn't even out yet than someone else that bought the cd a couple of months after release. Surely, it should be the other way around, shouldn't it?

 

I support my music and buy originals and I have a maximum monthly expenditure limit (otherwise my wife would have divorced me by now), but in the end every little bit I can save, eventually it will go towards another cd purchase.

 

Thoughts?

[LunarDawn]

...It's the same case with preorders. I usually end up paying more for a cd that isn't even out yet than someone else that bought the cd a couple of months after release. Surely, it should be the other way around...

 

Thoughts?

Good point, something to have on mind for our next physical! So far @ Neogoa we kept same prices, preorder was more like guarantee that you will get your copy, as you know we make ultralimited series. But, anyway like I said, good point to think of for our next releases, we will surely discuss this topic.

 

And to stay ontopic - I´m really glad to see that CD is surviving, Saša and I have some friends from Sisak that are even making conceptual releases on audio tapes, what about that thought?

[Starkraver]

Tapes are back in full swing along with vinyl of course.

[Goa-Head]

A DJ mix on a C90 tape with released tracks, upcoming tracks on labels and possibly tracks from personal DATs (the latter whether licensed or not - it's a mixtape like the old days after all) would be a great idea.

 

A tape is a tape - can be written and recorded in decent quality in how much copies you want even at home.

 

Just imagine DATTAPE001 or SUNTAPE01

[LunarDawn]

It isn´t a throw away idea for sure. Only problem is that there is almost no tape players or almost no one has it. Saša bought used one couple years ago pretty cheap, but it was pretty hard to find usable one. But idea of making some special editions on tape... Something to discuss!

[antic604]

Let me be the devil's advocate here for a moment please.

If buying directly from the label (any label) makes such a big difference, shouldn't the customers see some of that difference on the prices as well?

I find it strange that in most cases I have to pay the same amount of money for ordering either directly through the label or through another seller. Sometimes it's even cheaper @_@ (e.g. Matsuri digital)

I'm actually fine with that - if labels can skip past the retailer to get bigger cut, then I'm willing to support that. I mean I'd have to pay the 10-12EUR anyway to get the CD, so why not choose the way that benefits the artists & labels more?

 

What I have problem with is digital downloads costing the same as CDs. After all there's no manufacturing costs, packaging, transportation (from pressing plant to label / distributor / shops), etc. But thats not specific to goa/psy or even to music - e.g. digital games on PS4 usually cost 10-15% more than physical discs, which is just ridiculous...

[abasio]

Me too, I just can't being myself to pay that much for just a download so I end up getting the CD. Half the price of the physical copy is fair in my head but....as the thread on buying CDs showed me, s lot of younger music buyers are confused why anyone would buy CDs and these probably wouldn't baulk at paying the same price.

 

A DJ mix on a C90 tape with released tracks, upcoming tracks on labels and possibly tracks from personal DATs (the latter whether licensed or not - it's a mixtape like the old days after all) would be a great idea.

 

A tape is a tape - can be written and recorded in decent quality in how much copies you want even at home.

 

Just imagine DATTAPE001 or SUNTAPE01

I've still got a tape deck and I still see them for sale but it would mean a lot of people would have to (re)buy one

[Void Mantra]

Few points:

 

- I've been collecting cds/vinyls since 2000 (mostly from the underground metal scene) for about 1200+ owned physical releases.

- I recently transitioned from physical to digital. The switch wasn't smooth, at all. I've been defending the physical media for over a decade and had a lot of heated discussion with pro-digital consumers. Truth be told, my records were collecting dust more than anything else. The more cds I had, the less "special" they were. Digital media has so many asets over the physical, which can't be overlooked. Don't get me wrong, I still value the physical incarnation when it comes to a work of art; a tangible object to cherish instead of some bits on a hard drive. Still, I'm much more selective in regard to which album I'll purchase physically. Point is, I don't think the digital format is losing its momentum, quite on the contrary; which bring me to the next point:

- Why the digital sales account for only 20%? Let's suppose the trance community is too old school for the digital age and the vast majority of them won't transition anytime soon; even if they do transition, you will have a decrease in cd sales which won't affect the total sales for an album. In this scenario, there's not much that can be done I think. On the other hand, we can suppose that the digital sales is doing poorly due to the pricing and I think that might be case here, for the most part. Let's be honest, when its comes to digital, the bandcamp pricing is high, very high and that seems to be the norm for Goa labels. And please note, I think it's not a question of whether or not the music is worth the asking price; it does. Your label has put tremendous records, some of them are worth thousands The thing is, I don't know many people who are willing to spend 11 euros on an mp3 album. There's also the fact that it cost as much to buy the actual physical release, which is strange. I guess the idea is to push the cd sales but in my opinion, it just dissuades those who wants to buy digital only. On average, a well established label will let go their digital album on bandcamp for about 7 euros. I've seen several underground label (but nonetheless highly respected and professional) pricing their digial albums somewhere between 5usd to 7usd (about 5euros) and be very, very successful sales-wise. As far as I'm concerned, put this price on bandcamp and I'm buying every of your upcoming releases on day 1, no questions asked.

- Entire albums free on youtube. We all hate it, but it's actually a good move as it gives you free exposure. People who don't want to support their music will find a way to download it for free anyway.

- Someone suggested to bring back the tapes. I think it might actually work. I've seen several labels bringing those bad boys back and they sell like hotcakes. For well-known labels, it's not rare to see their tapes completely sold out within a month.

- Die-hard, ultra limited collector edition usually works very well. Maybe that's a thing that can be done?

 

Anyway, that's just my two cents. Thanks a lot for sharing this article!