[tonyoci]

Just a thought here.

The last CD done by another site I frequent was done through cafepress.com

This allows you to upload the music, and artwork etc. then they produce, sell and ship the CD's for you. There is no minimum qty rules so no one will get stuck with unsold CD's.

The CD's themselves are excellent, "pro-quality".

the downside I guess is that it's a touch more expensive but given the audience it should not be a problem.

This is the CD I was on and it's done very nicely.

http://www.cafepress.com/zoom3/

You can also do t-shirts, hats and other stuff.

Probably not a new idea but I hadn't seen it mentioned.

Tony

[NigeQ]

tonyoci, on Jan 30 2006, 06:10 PM, said:

The CD's themselves are excellent, "pro-quality".

What gets uploaded? wav files? mp3s? Is there a mastering element?

Nige

[thomasitty]

Not a bad idea at all.

Nige: You send them a master cd and they duplicate it.

T

[tonyoci]

By pro-quality I meant more the quality of the CD label, packging materials etc. It was not a reflection on the quality of the music/mastering.

I have no personally done this but I believe that my friend uploaded individual WAV files (though they will take MP3's). It looks like you can also send them a finished CD as well.

Given the vanity nature of these projects I think the one I was on really did not feature any mastering, each track was just uploaded individually.

Tony

[Merlin]

From what I read on the sight they prefer you to send a master CD in audio format and they make an exact duplicate and then add the printing and packaging. It's $8.99 with an insert and jewel case. Pretty much a painless process for a limited run.

Rick

[bubblingsoul]

If this is really an interest - then we really need to reassess our purpose in hosting a CD project here on the Muse.

As a community effort, MANY folks pitched in at various stages on the last CD Project and helped in their areas of expertise. (I'll get an exact count if any one is interested.)

If this next one is going to be simply a vanity project/contest - then what all will WE gain as songwriters from the CD making process, other than writing a song and learning how to upload to a site? Is it still important to broaden the scope of the songwriting focus to include other factors addressed in REAL WORLD CD producing? Does it matter?

Looking at Jodi's responses and at the site as a whole, MM is here for learning about songwriting and all it's various inner and outer workings . . . so I'm not exactly sure the Caf? Press idea will fit the bill/vision for Jodi's site.

But it is an option . . . and one worth exploring further.

Tony, if you haven't heard or seen the last Muse Community Project CD, I'd be happy to send you one so you can do a little comparison/contrast for us.

~Bubbles

[Sammy]

Are these pressed CDs or burned CDs? Burned CDs have a finite life of about 2 to 5 years, depending how you store them. They are rather temperature sensitive.

[bubblingsoul]

Though I don't know for sure, I do believe the Caf? Press CD's are burned rather than pressed. I will find out for sure and post here.


~Denise

[cool_E]

Sammy, on Feb 1 2006, 04:36 AM, said:

Are these pressed CDs or burned CDs?  Burned CDs have a finite life of about 2 to 5 years, depending how you store them.  They are rather temperature sensitive.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That is absolutely wrong.

I sat in an engineering meeting where, at one point, we reviewed the material properties and process used to write/burn a CD. Basically, putting data on a CD involves changing the state of the material used to store the info from a random structure to/from an organized crystaline structure thereby affecting its reflective properties. Once put into a state the only way it can change state is to be heated to a critical temperature. This heating is normally done via a focused laser and the temperature would not be reached by sitting on a shelf or even on the dashboard of a car on a sunny July day in Phoenix, AZ. The plasic substrate will degrade before the storage material changes state and plastic has a very long lifespan, ask any environmentalist.

If anything limits the life of a CD it is improper care. Fingerprints and scratches on the surface will ruin a CD before the bits are lost to any natural process.

[tonyoci]

Sammy, on Jan 31 2006, 08:36 PM, said:

Are these pressed CDs or burned CDs?  Burned CDs have a finite life of about 2 to 5 years, depending how you store them.  They are rather temperature sensitive.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I agree with cool_E that's an urban legend that's going around at the moment. No proof at all, it was discussed on a tech podcast I listen to just last week.

I would have to think they are burned because the sell to order so they would not press in advance.

Bubblingsoul, this post was in no way intended to co-op the process. I heard second hand stories about the problems first time around and had not heard any mention of Cafepress so I brought it up as a thought. I also recently heard that hosting a CD with CD-baby results in the tracks being invidually available on iTunes which could be good. I definitely understand your comments on the whole CD generation process (though I don't think that's directly tied to songwriting ) but either way this is definitely a vanity project.

Tony

[thomasitty]

I think Caf? Press of something like it is definitely the wave of the future ? especially for indy songwriters and labels. There's no initial investment and you get a professional looking product.

If you sell a cd for $11.99 that still leaves you a profit of $3 or about 2c each for every songwriter and artist on the cd. Still better than paying out IMO.

Of course, I haven't actually seen a Caf? Press cd up close so I'll reserve my judgement until I do.

But good info to know. Thanks Tony.

T

[Sammy]

I'll admit I may have fallen victim of an urban legend. What I do know is that I have burned CDs that used to work and no longer work and I am far more careful in handling CDs than most people. I also have never had this problem with manufactured CDs. And I know of many of people who have complained about the same thing. I heard about the supposed temperature degradation of burned CDs and just assumed that is probably the cause. After giving it more thought, the cause could also be that the burner wasn't properly calibrated so the CDs in question weren't burned to spec. or my players are out of calibration, though usually, if it doesn't work on one of my drives, it doesn't work on any of my five drives/players. I doubt that all my players went out of calibration simultaneously. Whatever, I avoid burned CDs for something I want to keep for a while and so do a lot of other people.

I have found that truth is often irrelevent. Products have failed, companies have gone bankrupt, and governments have toppled because of rumors and perceptions that are totally wrong. I don't think it is wise to try to market something in a format people are going to avoid, whether their reasons are right or wrong.

[RLD]

Quote

Whatever, I avoid burned CDs for something I want to keep for a while and so do a lot of other people.
I don't think it is wise to try to market something in a format people are going to avoid, whether their reasons are right or wrong.

People are avoiding cdr's?...
What do you do as an alternative for archiving data?

[FunkDaddy]

RLD, on Feb 2 2006, 12:27 PM, said:

Quote

Whatever, I avoid burned CDs for something I want to keep for a while and so do a lot of other people.
I don't think it is wise to try to market something in a format people are going to avoid, whether their reasons are right or wrong.

People are avoiding cdr's?...
What do you do as an alternative for archiving data?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'll tell you the problem with the scientific power that you're using here: it didn't require any discipline to attain it. You read what others had done and you took the next step. You didn't earn the knowledge for yourselves, so you don't take any responsibility for it. You stood on the shoulders of geniuses to accomplish something as fast as you could and before you even knew what you had you patented it and packaged it and slapped it on a plastic lunchbox, and now you're selling it, you want to sell it!

[justanopine]

Sounds like someone's water glass is trembling. You may want to stay in the vehicle for your safety, but then that would not make the story any more interesting. However, I have an idea. If you run out in fear, somehow find yourself on a toilet, and get eaten in one bite, you may sell more copies. And then marketing, as you say, slap that on a lunch box and rake in the millions...

[nsmar4211]

Another thing that'll help with scratching is they make cd skins now, add $1 to the cost of your cd's but they do work. The ones I've tried are called d_skins, I bought mine at work (Staples). I just bought the trial pack of 6 for $5.99, but they come in larger packs for cheaper prices. I've used them in my computer (home and work), truck cd player, dvd player, and a friends xbox with no probs- I already scratched one cover up by dropping it on the floor, but the cd was fine-snapped old cover off and put on a new one! I have heard people who have reservations about using them in feed type slots (versus drop in types), but no probs in my truck so far, just make sure you snap them on all the way around........... much cheaper than buying a new dvd (and even the manufactured dvd's seem to scratch way way way too easily!)

[ravenswood]

Hello people.. I am just trying to get up to speed here. I have a few cd's out and I have about 15 computers that burn the dicsc. I label them and produce artwork. I get it copied and assemble the thing. I know there are places like Discmasters and Musician's Friend who also do this, like Cafe press, but I do believe at a lower price. Anyway, keep on...

[girlintheband]

Yes ... it's true that CAFE PRESS can burn CDs for you, but they are EXPENSIVE! CDDVDNOW.com will give you the best rates ... they pride themselves on it. Tell them Cookie Cutter Girl sent you to guarantee it! *smile* You shouldn't have to pay more than $3 per CD to burn a few hundred in a cardboard sleeve. A jewel case will add a bit more to the cost ... but not the $6 each CAFE PRESS CHARGES!

Count on me to help market & promote your CD in every way, as I did the first one! I have links to it on the PRESS KIT PAGE of CookieCutterGirl.com. Don't forget to BOOKMARK THE MEGADEALS PAGE to access 100s of FREE LINKS to PROMOTE YOUR MUSIC!

GIRL POWER!
CCG: POP SUPERHERO