#21

thanks for the support folks :slight_smile:

digital is absolutely coming. we are working out specifics with the sweet people who orchestrate Commend Here. accessibility is super important to me for any music that i make. never will there be a release i am a part of that is exclusive only to those with specific means/time to snag it. today was the “hey look!” moment for announce, as well as the label sort of testing the waters i think, as this size run is standard for all the previous releases they did for the series.

@misc_frank if someone emails me and says they for whatever reason can’t afford my music, i will always send them a dl. what happens beyond that i have no control over, but in general it’s my belief that artists should get paid for what they make, as directly as is possible. in the case of this release, we are telling people that is it going to be digital so i think it’s fair to wait for that to eventually happen. if something is flat out unavailable/rare/out of print or astronomically high in price (like some mixtapes or old private press releases), i personally have downloaded from sharing sites if i couldn’t obtain any digital or physical copy of the music. but besides that i always buy music and really think we should normalize doing that. artists make such a small amount of money from record sales, and when you are a small scale artist, every one of those adds up and is the difference between a meal being paid for or not.

28 Likes
#22

I did get a tape, but I am really confused about why this was done as a 75 tape run as well. You’re both very popular in a community that specifically likes cassettes. It’s seems safe to say there’s a demand that’s at least in the hundreds.

I’d be curious about your opinions on this. As @fourhexagons noted, Commend has the say in that it, but it seems like neither of you should have trouble finding a label who would want to release this that could meet a higher demand? Politely inquiring! :blush:

#23

just watched the youtube preview video, congrats guys!!!
don’t know why i especially love to “note selection” from @stripes part, so simple and right next to each other. some tricks on chord progression and scales for us mortals? :wink:

2 Likes
#24

Yeah, Emily has a gift for communicating authenticity and a simple and direct strength that is evident in her music, her lyrics, and in her written word. Her response above is no exception. I support every word of it :raised_hands:

So to answer @grey, I’ll do my best here…

I love Commend and RVNG. Friends of mine have had different types of connections with them over the past decade+ and I resonate a lot with their output. Truthfully, I’ve listened to Visible Cloaks probably more than any other music these past couple years.

So when Emily asked me to play at Commend over the summer I was elated. Playing with Emily = :star2: and playing at Commend = :raised_hands:. And being a part of a cassette series where they document it and release it = :ok_hand:

But yeah, I was surprised to find out how small and tight it would be kept, but didn’t feel that I was in a position to tell Commend how to do their part. Despite producing YouTube videos consistently for four years I’ve never actually released an album, so I’m still very green in some ways.

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And so I promoted it the way it was set up. I leaned into the limited run thing hoping that those who really wanted it would be able to get a copy and all would be good. But I underestimated the level of interest and didn’t realize how such a limited supply could alienate so many others. Do I wish I had the foresight to downplay the scarcity vibe as Emily did? Perhaps. Whatever the case, it’s been a learning experience that I’m still processing.

About other labels, that’s not the point for me. This release grew out of Commend. It emerged from the opportunity to have a magical afternoon at an in-store event. And we packed the house that day. People flowed out of the doorway and onto the sidewalk. And the energy in the room was :seedling::sparkles:. I’m so grateful to Commend and Emily and all the people who attended that day and gave us their full attention to go on such a journey together.

This release is a documentation of that experience. I’m now feeling some relief that it’ll get a proper digital release so that we can allow it to expand. The music on this tape means a lot to me and I want people to be able to come along for the ride in their own time and space.

And the prospect of a second edition is promising. Do I wish that more than 150 total cassettes were to be released? Sure. Would I know what sort of number to choose? No. Again, I’m a Golden Retriever sitting at a desk.

That said, I’m fixing to self-release some music this spring and will need to figure that sort of stuff out. I’m specifically not choosing to work with a label due to the nature of the project. It’s music that was made for myself over a period of time so it feels natural to self-release it. And I won’t play the scarcity card for it. I’ll likely start with a small run that can match my funding and take from there. Baby steps.

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#25

mission accomplished! :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

1 Like
#26

I think labels have learned that there may be 400 people who want to buy a tape, but if there are 400 supply for 400 demand, maybe 50 people buy now and everyone else waits, but if there are 75 for 400, all 75 sell immediately and then there’s a repress…

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#27

Marketing. Right. But in the case of this release, there was no talk of re-press as I don’t think any of the other Commend Here releases got a second edition. My understanding is that what they’re doing with this release is unique to HERE004.

And heads up that I just received news that the announcement of the pre-order for the second edition will go out first today via Commend’s newsletter.

4 Likes
#28

Thanks so much for the thorough response! :black_heart: I very much didn’t mean to imply an intent of scarcity on either yours part or Emily’s part, if that was sensed. I was genuinely curious.

I appreciate efforts by people like @rbeny to keep their work in production. As someone who has done a lot of a different kind of publishing, I totally get the lack of desire to drop a bunch of cash and then sit on on the stock still it’s gone, and you don’t really wanna over order and fill your home with excess; but it makes me sad when I miss a release because I wasn’t awake at the right hour - I got lucky this time! I’ve missed plenty of other releases, and the after market on tapes is always very marked-up due to that scarcity. I digress; that’s like a whole thread unto itself!

I’m sure you’ll nail it when you get there! :vulcan_salute:

I would highly recommend doing a pre-order in advance once you’ve got everything organized. It’s more common in other mediums, but I feel like more prominent voices like yourself could benefit from letting people get on board before you commit to a press volume.

1 Like
#29

pre-orders are not particularly successful from my experience. I’ve found people are more inclined to purchase something that is in stock and ready to ship. kickstarter style crowdfunding releases played a big part in tamping down excitement on pre-orders IMO. people plunk down cash and cross their fingers, hoping the release shows up one day. Often times many many months after they have paid for it. Sometimes it even gets cancelled. That kind of discourages people to buy music if you ask me.

The reality is, you can always make more copies. It’s only a problem for collectors who care about having a “first pressing” of something.

#30

Very excited to see that there’s a digital release coming. I don’t buy a lot of new music, but it’s always a good day when I pick up a new stripes record.

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#31

I hope it’s not stealing either artist’s thunder to share the notification I just got from Bandcamp. The (very good imo) RVNG INTL have put out a digital version:

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#32

Thanks, @Jet. Honored that RVNG released this in their sphere.

It’s on the major platforms for streaming and download: https://smarturl.it/here004

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#33

Yay! That’s the way I like it :slight_smile:

#34

Downloading now! Thanks @fourhexagons, @stripes, Commend, and RVNG - I really appreciate the digital dl option :smiley:

1 Like