Just got this email from Bruce Brodeen of Not Lame...

Spade Kitty · **Joined:** Mon Oct 25, 2004 11:49 am **Posts:** 4401

Quote:

I know what you mean, but I’m pondering doing one of two different opposites. First off, I’m killing the label in the second quarter when it comes to new bands. Sad and I’ m bummed, but have to. Distributors, stores(the ones that are left..our best stores over the years are no longer around) and customers/fans just aren’t supporting it enough to merit continuing. So I’m done there—a drag. I’ll keep the label and do a handful projects(I’m doing well around 10-12 a year still n ow) that are reissues and one or two trib utes a year. W/ those(except tributes ones, more expensive), I’m thnking of wholesaling cd’s for $5. And retailing for $10, maybe even $8 on the site. So hard to get anyone to buy music now, I’m pondering going in the opposite direction.

Or do the exact opposite and charge, say, $18-$20, as it’s a specialty release anyway.

So frustrated w/ the process, that I just don’t know. But I’ll do one or the other. :-D

This is such a shame. Is this really where we're headed? Losing all the best and brightest of the indie record industry because nobody is buying the records? Stores are closing left and right...are we eventually going to be left with Best Buy, Clear Channel and 7 or 8 major labels and their subsidiaries?

If you love Not Lame as much as I do, do your part and buy some of their fine releases. They've put out so many fantastic records over the years. They've also really done more than any other distributor in terms of getting SK product around the country.

http://www.notlame.com

just breaks my heart....

PopTodd · **Posted:** Wed Nov 23, 2005 2:46 pm

damn.

Dusty Chalk · **Posted:** Wed Nov 23, 2005 3:43 pm

I will do so as soon as payday comes around.

That sucks.

Radcliffe · **Posted:** Wed Nov 23, 2005 3:44 pm

That's too bad. Not Lame is a great label.

But, I dunno, it's hard to blame fans for "not supporting" the label by their reticence to shop at retail stores. Especially when it seems (up here anyway) that retail stores are trying to commit suicide. It's getting harder and harder to find indie releases, plus the prices are exorbitant. I think it would be admirable for Not Lame to try pricing their CDs in the 5 - 10 dollar range, but that won't do anything if the mark-up in the stores slaps the same price tag on the shrinkwrap as everything else.

I don't have any answers either. All I know is a new paradigm has to be drawn for success. The internet (I mean sites like Amazon) has already become the new retail store, so the key to success for a small label will depend on figuring out a way to get around shipping costs and delays. Maybe eventually instead of stores, that retail space in various cities could become more like a warehouse - so when orders are placed online there's the possibility of same-day delivery. But that's probably already an old-world attempt at a solution - as more and more people reject the very notion of a physical document and opt instead for downloaded files on a harddrive. And frankly, my imagination is having a hard time figuring out how a music industry based entirely on downloading could manage to turn a profit.

Anyway, one thing is clear - DON'T slap a $20 wholesale price on a "specialty release." That fucker will end up with a $40 sticker in the store and it'll sit there untouched in the stacks forever.

timmyjoe42 · **Posted:** Wed Nov 23, 2005 4:32 pm

Radcliffe Wrote:

But, I dunno, it's hard to blame fans for "not supporting" the label by their reticence to shop at retail stores. Especially when it seems (up here anyway) that retail stores are trying to commit suicide. It's getting harder and harder to find indie releases, plus the prices are exorbitant.

It's not just "up there". Stores at malls around here charge a ton for top 40 cd's. Bookstores that sell cd's are the same way. The way I see it, stores that don't sell used are killing themselves.
I hope Not Lame can make it thru this, one way or another.

Just got this email from Bruce Brodeen of Not Lame...

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