In case you hadn’t noticed, selling CDs doesn’t work anymore. I know, I know. Shed a tear in memory of the departed…
I mean, sure, it works for some people – like those famous guys with the big, flashy, bold headlines you’ve heard on a million podcasts.
But really – how many times have you tried to sell your fans on the idea of buying your CDs or merch and had them walk away with something?
Good news. There’s another way! And, it doesn’t involve “selling” anything.
Now, if you’ve tried selling to your fans, you probably got a few bites, but I can’t imagine it turned into dependable and sustainable income for you.
Even worse, trying to sell to your fans can be super embarrassing – I’ll share a little bit about my story to show you what I mean:
How I Developed the CD-Donation Strategy
I was at a dive bar in Orlando, FL pumped to play a show.
I saw a group of people standing by the bar, so I decided to walk up to them and convince them to buy my music.
It went off like a lead balloon.
I was so crushed that I ended up sitting in the bathroom until it was time to hit the stage.
It wasn’t just the fact that I didn’t make any money. I was sure I’d turned them off for good.
But that’s how I discovered my proven CD-donation strategy. Good things can come out of crappy situations.
I wanted desperately to record in the studio, but I didn’t have the money. All I had were a few demos on our guitarist’s computer.
As it turns out, that’s all we needed.
We stayed up late, burned the demo songs onto a CD-R, stuck them into envelopes and brought them to our next gig.
After the show, people came up to me letting me know they liked our music. Instead of mentioning the demos, though, I just asked questions.
One dude actually asked if we had any music available. So, I just told him the truth – that we didn’t have any money to go into the studio, that all we had was a demo, and that we weren’t going to ask him to pay for it, but we’d appreciate a donation.
He dug in his pockets, and handed me $13.
From that day forward, I stopped selling and started asking for donations. And, it worked like magic.
That’s the CD-donation strategy in a nutshell. I’m sure you’re curious to find out exactly how this works, so be sure to grab my Success With Live Music Blueprint now.
Why Does This Strategy Work?
The CD-donation strategy works because of what’s called “reciprocity”.
Think of your last move. You probably had a few friends, help you with it.
Did you feel indebted to them at all? Did you buy them pizza and beer afterwards?
That’s reciprocity – when we receive something of value, we feel the need to return the favor.
As Maria Bain of Market Makers says in this Salesforce article:
By understanding this unconscious social convention, you can begin to use it to your advantage in the world of business. You’ve likely seen organizations giving away free gifts and free samples, and this is a prime example of reciprocity.
But it’s important not to misuse or abuse reciprocity. Don’t take advantage of good-natured humans.
Also, don’t “give to get”. That’s often a failing strategy because you have this expectation that everyone is going to give you something in return, which isn’t always the case.
For best results, you’ll want to follow my script, which you can find in my Success With Live Music Blueprint. It’s all yours, so go get it now.
The Long-Term Benefits of the CD-Donation Strategy
The strategy is simple enough. But you might be surprised at what you can achieve by sticking with it.
By leveraging the CD-donation strategy, I can play any gig and get paid, even if nobody in the audience has heard my music.
And, my fan base just keeps growing because I’m constantly talking to people at every show.
With this strategy, I was able to organically grow a loyal and devoted fan base from scratch – they just kept coming to all my gigs.
I was also able to create a steady flow of cash that I could reinvest into my music business to earn even more – whether it was nice merchandise, a website, time at the recording studio, email automation or other.
Isn’t it time you started building your music business? Grab my Success With Live Music Blueprint to get moving on this.
But Will This Work for Me?
So, if you’re wondering “will this work for me?”, the answer is absolutely. Yes. 100%!
There are many situations you’re going to be in as a musician. So, how do you know the CDDS will work for you?
I get that. Here are some of the common problems people run into.
Are you shy?
I don’t think anyone would mistake me for the world’s leading extrovert and this strategy worked like gangbusters, even for me.
Are you worried about selling your demos instead of fully produced studio tracks?
Unfortunately, this is a common mental block for a lot of musicians because they think their discography must be perfect.
But it doesn’t. People will spring for your demo CDs if you frame it the right way.
And, honestly, people like to listen to rough cuts, unpolished demos, outtakes and the like. If you don’t believe me, have a listen to some of John Frusciante’s solo work, especially To Record Only Water For Ten Days.
Think online marketing will solve all your problems?
Live performance is still one of the most powerful ways to connect with fans and prospective fans.
Are you skeptical?
Trust but verify. It’s good to be skeptical. And, there’s a fine line between a wise skeptic and getting stuck in analysis paralysis. This strategy works.
Again, if you need the step by step process, you need to get ahold of my Success With Live Music Blueprint right away. It will give you three simple ways to get paid what you’re worth at every show. Get it free and put it to work at your next gig.
Ready To Take Your Live Music Revenue Beyond?
Then you don’t want to miss out on my Live Music Revenue Accelerator.
In it, I show you exactly how to make $1,000+ per month in live revenue without fancy merch, pro recordings, a large fan base, gigs in the best venues or any experience in business and marketing.
It builds on everything we’ve talked about here and you’ll discover a boatload of simple tweaks you can make to your mindset and approach to start making more money from your gigs.
You’re performing anyway. You might as well make the most of every show you play!
So, again, don’t forget to check out the Live Music Revenue Accelerator before you go.
