Physical merch on Bandcamp, a personal, environmental and financial dilemma

[Lum]

EDIT:
The topic has morphed a bit and the usb idea is off the table. I’m in contact with Green Vinyl and looking into options of sustainable records. I’ve contacted them this week and they offer 100 records for 1400 euros.

They offer:

Material with no PCBs and “more sustainable”

100% recyclable records

60% less energy used in manufacturing

Less waste when manufacturing.

So the question now is how much are you willing to pay for a sustainable EP with 3-4 tracks on it, and how much for an album? Would you fletch out the extra 5+ euros?

——————————————————————————————————

Hey guys,

So I’ve been running a label for a couple of years now, I started off quite strong with vinyl and it sold well. However, as time went on and I found myself taking on the role as label boss in the studio rather than a musician. I cought myself thinking, “would this sell on vinyl?” most times I sat down to make music, and decided that it had to end. Rather than quitting the label, I decided that from that point onwards I would run the label as a hobby, with fewer releases a years, no more 12" inches, which gave me less pressure and opened up the concept (label) for new ideas. I did some releases on cassette which was fun. Although, I cant see myself releasing cassettes for the rest of the labels livespan.

Fast forward a year or two and here I am, searching to scratch that physical release itch. I’m a designer and love designing things you can hold in your hands, it’s like a celebration of the music and a cool thing that fans can collect. However, I want to stay away from vinyl as I don’t want to support it due to environmental reasons.

So hear me out, this is what I’m thinking. For albums, I think the cassette format is cool although I still want to limit it to maybe 25 pieces.

As for regular (techno) releases, I’m thinking about designing high-quality metal usb drives, stored in a sustainable (DIY) box the size of a cassette case. However, I’d like to hear your thoughts on this as a music collector/DJ. So tell me, would you buy a limited edition physical drive with digital music on it if it is designed well and truly feels like a collectable?

example of the metal drive I want to use, I’ll print my own printing on it.

Pros:

• Could be in your gig bag to plug into dj equipment.
• Separates my label from other digital labels.
• If done well it could look really cool.
• It could be stashed among your cassettes.
• Compared to vinyl, it’s the “greener” option (I need to research thisss)
• As it’s a USB drive, it’s reusable.

Cons:

• Not as cool as vinyl.
• Might get lost (?)
• I need to research the strain on the environment to make the story full circle.

Would love to hear your opinion! The main goal here is trying to make my label more environmentally friendly, whilst still being able to release music physically. Let’s keep alternative merch that cant carry music out of scope for now:)

[ccr]

Is the usb drive really “greener” than a vinyl disk given all the electronic components involved, ie if you take a full live-cycle view?

[Lum]

Good question!

Well, I need to research this to be sure, this is all assumption still (oops). However, I do know that my distributor only presses a minimum of 300 copies and I wanted to release max 15-20 drives each release.

Also, this video suggests that vinyl records have fewer regulations regarding the PVC used making it a very polluting industry. I trust Benn Jordan as a good source, he inspired me to do something different.

VINYL: Maybe it's time we had an intervention.

[Scot_Solida]

If you want to do vinyl, you might look into more environmentally responsible options. There are some out there. I’ve no idea how much difference these places might make (well, none compared to not doing a vinyl release). Still, there might be alternatives for you.

https://greenvinylrecords.com/index.php/home-en-us/

[Lum]

Will check them out, thanks for your input

Edit: funny that its dutch and im in the netherlands haha

[Lauli]

I once had this weird thought having something printed that looks like some cryptic-official-classified-information-industry-form-paper-whatever that contains a download code somewhere, shipped in an envelope.

Eh whatever, typing that out, it kinda sounds like a hazey brainfart

[Lum]

I thought of that too! if you put enough effort in it can be cool too. The thing with Bandcamp though is that Bandcamp already gives digi files with physical releases.

[Lauli]

Ah I didn’t know that!
To be honest I don’t know the online-shop nuances of bandcamp that well, but how about selling that under the merchandise category? I’ve seen the occasional bandcamp page offer physical music releases in their merch section, not in the regular music section.

[Six06]

To answer your question: Honestly, I would not be too happy with a USB drive. I would prefer a CD, vinyl, or cassette tape. But, if you would maybe add something else to the USB drive idea, that could be cool. A nicely printed lithograph? T shirt? Keychain? All of the above?

[simonbradford]

I welcome the eco-responsibility approach.

I am convinced that a vinyl remains less polluting than:
-A usb key with its electronics
-The aluminum of its body
-His pouch
-Its plastic box
-His celophane

In addition a vinyl is:
-Beautiful and sexy
-Fantastic support for sound
-Allows for a crazy pouch

As @Scot Solida says, definitely more “green” vinyls than others even if making anything is never really green. The dematerialized either!
Finally, aluminum must be saved in order to be able to manufacture Genelec monitors.

[Lum]

Now that you mention, I think you are right. Tshirts and stuff dont need to be tied to music.

neat idea!

[Scot_Solida]

I’ve always liked ‘art’ releases that combine fine art with music. With that in mind, I have made limited run cassette releases with signed and numbered prints on recycled handmade paper. You could do something similar using a USB stick or some other medium to offer the buyer an actual physical artefact.

As an aside, my very first release from 30 years ago was down this way. Back then, CDs came in those ‘long boxes’ that would be thrown out. I went around to the record shops and asked them to save these long boxes. I then mulched them by hand and pressed them into new paper panels, which I hand printed with my own art and used for the ‘cover’ of the release.

Of course such things only make sense as limited edition. I did 200 of that first release and that was… too many. It was an exhausting endeavour.

EDIT: looks like @Six06 has suggested a very similar idea…

[LaughingAnimal]

I have no interest in acquiring music on a physical medium since I only listen to digital files on a computer or phone, but I do like album art and have had the thought that selling empty vinyl record sleeves could be cool.

[Lum]

I feel your pain, I pressed 300+ records with a DIY stamper haha. Was really cool to do, but just a bit too much. Although I like your and @Six06 idea, I’d like sometime that can be consistent over future releases and just feel like a complete package with the music.

[Lum]

Screen printed sleeves seems like a fun project! There are some nice frames for vinyl jackets too

[G0n35y]

Interesting discussion. Haven’t Kings of Leon announced they are tying in their new release with some bitcoin type device? A limited run alongside a wider release but it’s a bit similar I guess. I think they were auctioning off a dozen or so lifetime access to gigs things as well.

I’m still addicted to buying albums on CD so not really the target at all here. I’d prefer a wee nicely designed thumb drive vs cassettes though. Would be cool to include some additional content if applicable (studio pics of hardware, maybe set files for DAWs and remixing purposes - that sort of thing). I love the interviews in Future/Computer Music magazine with folks talking about their set ups and things and always like reading and seeing how they use software I own.

@LaughingAnimal - the empty vinyl sleeve is a great shout too. That plus a thumb drive would be a pretty cool combo to me. Not sure if financially viable mind you!

[AldoVino]

Kudos on trying to make physical release more eco-friendly! It’s something I’ve been thinking about this a lot and since Benn Jordan’s video I feel like releasing vinyls is a pretty questionable move nowadays. How about selling only dematerialized music along with limited edition items to go with it? I’m not sure what kind of thing you design but could be some random (organic) clothing or prints?

Also I have a question for you! Do you think there’s any way to make some descent-quality cassette with recycled units? Like taking pre-used cassette and just writing over them? I often wondered if that was an option. The quality would probably be lame but well you get the digital files too anyway.

[immi]

Can you include a contribution to a carbon offsetting solution or tree planting etc? There are a few solid mechanisms in place for this already.

[finalform]

KoL are doing an NFT release, but NFTs/ETH/BTC are an environmental horror show as well.

[Merv]

I think it’s a cool idea. Especially given the possibility to add extra digital files as easter egg goodies. I think it would actually work better in this way, as a gateway to accessing visual material, samples, additional text, or even stems. I have seen a few USB releases in various forms, some in wooden housings with laser-cut inscriptions.

Portable storage unit is a label already doing this on bandcamp, you could try and get in touch with them if you had questions about their logistics.