[atlantaprog] Duplication vs. Replication

And as to the issue of duplication vs. replication: Well, what about it?
Does it matter(cost issues aside, that is)? Are folks from whom you might
seek bookings or other desirable attention likely to notice and/or care that
what they receive is a CD-R or a "real" CD?

Do people care if it's a CD-R? That's a pretty deep question. It has been my experience that although people don't mind receiving a CD-R, there is still a certain amount of credibility that goes with having a CD professionally replicated. In truth, it seems that the most noticeable problem with some of the new CD-Rs today aren't with the CDs themselves but with the inserts (they usually don't look as good as the ones printed for replicated CDs). Actually, every step that you take to make your CD closer to a release from a major label can make you look like a more professional band (bar codes, shrink-wrap, etc.). In most cases, it seems more of a subconscious evaluation about the level of professionalism of the band than something that people consciously consider.

On the other hand, your goal may not be to look like a pro level band. You may be selling the CDs with the angle that you're broke - as many musicians are ;-) If you're only planning to use your CD to book shows, you might not want to give the impression that you're bigger than you are because the club may expect you to bring more people and that may make it more difficult to get a SECOND show. I'm not suggesting that all of this is based on your decision to have your CDs replicated or duplicated, but it's one part of your whole package. Since I don't know what your goals are, I can't suggest which would be a better decision. If you know up front that you aren't really going to do much with the CDs, then there's no need to pay the extra expense of having them replicated.

I get a lot of CDs and press packages sent in to me (submissions for Rogue Fest and Genterine Records) and whether I mean to or not, I make assumptions about the bands based on the quality of the packages that they send. Radio stations, distributors, major magazines, the bigger online databases, etc. receive hundreds of CDs for consideration. Unless you have a connection with someone there, you can often get lost in the stacks. Some of these places don't consider CD-Rs to be official releases and won't play / distribute / review / list a CD unless it's professionally produced. The prog market is relatively small and most of the radio shows, magazines and websites dedicated to prog don't seem to mind CD-Rs, but it is still something to consider if you plan to send out CDs outside of the prog circles. However, if you only plan to send CDs to a prog related places, CD-Rs are probably fine.

AWG mentioned: 
There are CDR dupers out there whose product is almost
indistinguishable from *real* CDs, so I as far as I'm concerned, it
doesn't matter...Unless you play a lot of gigs to a lot of CD buying
audients, OR unless you have solid distribution channels set up, you're
going to end up with boxes and boxes of unsold CDs stacked in your
closet!

The number of CDs that you want is definitely a factor, but in getting prices for CD-Rs, it seems that your quantity has to be pretty low to really save much money by going with CD-Rs. If you only plan to press 100 or even 200 CDs rather than 1000, then you can save a lot by going with CD-Rs. The cost for a CD-R is roughly $2 per disc vs. $1 with a replicated CD, so by the time you get to 500 CD-Rs, you're paying the same amount that you would pay for 1000 replicated CDs that look more professional. Anywhere from 300 to 400, it's kind of a question of how much more it's worth paying for a smaller per unit cost and a more professional looking end product. If you only plan to sell or give away a few copies at shows or send these out for promotion, then having 100 replicated may be a good deal, but if you really plan to send out a lot for marketing or if you plan to sell a good number of them, you can go through 100 CDs pretty quickly. I can tell you that we sell an average of about 15 CDs per show outside of Atlanta (Atlanta really sucks for selling CDs - South Carolina is much better...I don't know why). If you plan to play one show every couple of months, then 100 CDs would last a pretty long time, but if you're planning to play two or three shows a month, you'll probably want more than 100 CDs because you're going to be sending out a lot of CDs to try to get the shows and, hopefully, sell more CDs at the shows. So when it comes down to it, it really depends on what your goals are. With Cobweb Strange, although none of our albums have sold 1000, we have sold enough that when combined with the number that we send out for promotion, we have distributed enough to make the decision to go with manufactured CDs an obvious one for us.

SSS mentioned: 
A year or two ago I would have cautioned about CD-Rs having some issues
with certain car stereos and boom boxes.  But these days, those are
truly edge cases.  Most everyone will have an easy means of playing a
CD-R, and most won't ever even know.

The last time I had a CD-R pressing was a while back, but at the time this was a BIG issue. About half of the people who got our CDs couldn't play them. That really isn't as much the case anymore, but it DOES still happen (especially with older car CD players.) I wouldn't make this issue your deciding factor, but it is something to consider.

-Wade

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