Sellin' your CDs/Mixtapes "out the back of your trunk"
 

is there anyone here who does this?


I'm considering selling my CD/Mixtape outside of clubs...

is there any downside to this

plus, what would be a good goal/quota to fulfill each night?

if people dont know your name or know what u have, then chances are you wont sell.

basically, what most underground people do(especially ones who also drop on forums)

is advertise on all forums, try sell online... but also get yourself shows, sell it at shows, when youve dropped your set be like "if ya feeling the vibes i got a CD only*your price* come and see me if you want a copy" or sum shit like that, also jus drop at street cyphers, or regular hangouts where MC's meet n spit, you NEED people to hear you BEFORE tryna sell.... its like advertising basically, people wont buy if they dont like, and they dont know if they dont like unless they hear you before hand.

also walking upto people on the street is good, take a discman or an mp3 player or summin with u so u can stop ppl in the streets n explain wat u do e.t.c n if they want to hear a sample u have it there for them, n then see if they want to buy a copy.

i could list a million ways for u to do it, but u need ppl to know ur music first

people are only gonna know ur music if u get it out there on the streets, so i think that its a really good idea, have ur cd's in a bag or the trunk and sell them outside of clubs, specially hip hop clubs, cuz i know wen ppl do it here they sell loads, most ppl r open to hear new things and if ur selling em for cheap, ppl r gonna buy them even more.

Not out the trunk, but I had a demo like my junior year that I sold out my backpack.

K...good point...cuz, come to think of it, if some random cat approached me and was like "Buy my Mixtape", the first thing I'd think is "who are you?" I feel you on that...I'm in the planning phase of marketing myself now...planning to do my first show...get out to the clubs in D.C.


then peddle my shit outside the same clubs I perform at

good idea


HOLLA

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these people are all fucking idiots and dont know shit bout selling c.ds.first off you need to get a single on a college radio local show or some shit that gets airplay then try for a bigger station which may or may not work.put singles on other local d.js mixtapes and shit as well.first off NOONE will buy your shit if they dont know who you are.the most important aspect of selling c.ds out the trunk of your car is YOU HAVE TO BE DOING A SHOW!!stuf.these r.v kids are idiots obviously never did shit.you do a show then sell c.ds after wards are have your crew sell them while you perform.if noone will give you a show you can always rent a music hall and sell tickets for like 5 or 10 bucks a pop people will come just cuz bitches and music will be there and of course liquor so you make ticket sales and you sell c.ds.

thanx



but don't I need a DJ to do a show?

shit...I gotta figure all this out


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make a little demo.....like 5 tracks.....hand it out for free....if they like they can buy the album/mixtape with the addresss on the demo cover.....



unno....only thing i can think of...

get one then..........................

................................

q you need a d.j to do your shit you can find a local one will do it for bout 200 bucks a show easy maybe less you get a young d.j who thinks youll blow and wants to bask in your glory.do like i said and youll sell c.ds easily

LMAO at what a dumb and ass backwards suggestion this is. Singles on a college radio dosen't sell CD's since peolpe are hearing your music FOR FREE, so why pay you for it - not to mention the fact that they have no clue to get it even if they did want it. You make it sound like you're gonna go door to door at the dorms like "yo my songs on the radio rigt now, you want to buy my CD?" Doing a show JUST to sell CD's = skrait up retarded. Selling CD's at a show where you rented a hall and all that crap is going to make you piss broke since you'd have NO attendance since NO ONE'S HEARD YOUR ALBUM, JACKASS!! Advertizing like "A rapper you've never heard of in your life is performing here tonight!!" is gonna backfire on the club it self. You got no liquor liscense so no way in shit is a god damn HALL gonna give you any percentage off the bar, since they have none. Stop feeding people all this BS like you know what you're talking about. You disapear every so often, thne come back like "yeah, I jsut toured the world with 50 cent and he gave me a job at the label" and all sorts of dumb bullshit like that when in fact you haven't done a god damn thing, lol. What happened to all this hardware you stated you were gonna buy? Nothing. What's up with the bullshit record label that you claimed you had, but was named after an existing record label? LMAO, right. I know you're not making any REAL moves since your music is amatuer as hell and your flow is WAY off beat. Get real man. smh..

The fastest way I've ever seen to sell CD's is to get a boombox, get all your albums in a box, get a friend or two and go find a piece of sidewalk in an area where rap is enjoyed (I chose Broad and Market in Newark) and push your music hard. That's exactly what I did and sold my entire first order of 250 CD's in one day. Another way is to do gigs at clubs or spots of that nature, and ask the host if you can sell your CD's after the show, but that's got it's own ups and downs. There's shitloads of ways to do this, but CALI's suggestion would backfire in short time since it's literally backwards.

IF YOU WANT SUGGESTIONS ON HOW TO MAKE MOVES, TAKE IT FORM SOMEONE THAT'S PROVEN THAT THEY ACTUALLY MAKE THEM!

.....comin from a kid who hasn't done one show, and hasn't sold more than 3 cds. I sold 2000 of my mixtapes this year, and did between 30-40 shows. Me and Dooms talked about this, cause we both BEEN slangin, and know what works, what doesn't.

What works: (keep in mind - all $ figures are CDN. Adjust when necessary)

Step 1: Buy your cds you plan on burnin in LARGE stacks. They're WAY cheaper. I buy the hundred cases, and usually try and burn 30-50 in a sittin. Its usually a $1 a cd, but if you buy in 100's, it drops to like $0.40-$0.60/per disc. Also, when you print a cover, do it on basic paper to save on cost, and just cut out a basic one-sided, two page cd cover case sized print out. For cases - I buy the slim cases, cause 1) They slimmer. lol, Hence lighter weight, and 2) they fill a smaller capacity in something like a box or backpack. Also bulk buy your cases - I found some DOPE clear ones at Best Buy for like 60 for $29.99.

Step 2: Get someone to design a decent cover for free. DON'T WASTE MONEY ON THIS. It takes like 5 minutes for a decent graphix head to throw one together with your pic, a track listing, and your contact info on there. And YES, include your email, website (if available) & phone #, cause I find all kinds of contacts through sales. Colab artists, producers who want to help out or are unknown and CHEAP, etc. Don't be narrow minded thinking that ONLY a A&R gon pick this up, but look at all the possible outlets.

Step 3: Get a decent product. - You prolly gon end up demo'ing a few songs for most cats before they buy, and if your stuffs weak, they aint gon buy a thing. So if you HAVE to use your $5 cpu mic (which I did before I got with RRR) make sure you spend time on learning some decent recording techniques, and mixing techniques.

STEP 4: Mass produce. Ain't nothin worse, then hitting a hot spot for selling, and having like 3 cds on you. Backpacks work good. Their mobile, and you can fit 100-130 cds in there. I stack mine in 10's, with a elastic band around em, so I can keep track of how many I'm moving. (And their easier to pack, carry, stack, etc)

STEP 5: Price your stuff. Know that it cost you like $1/each TOPS to make this thing, case, cd, & cover. Its a basic demo. Everything above that is profit. If it was a slow sellin area/time - I'd lower the price to $5, or $7. Most cats will blow $5 easy, but remember - if you up it to $7, thats 2 extra discs you can re-up. If its a hot spot, you better be sellin at $10 to maximize opportunity. Every extra dollar counts, but don't over price your product.

STEP 6: Hit the streets... HARD. I found the first couple of times out - I sold like 2, 3, maybe 4 cds. Got me discouraged until I found a hotspot and sold like 25. Stay tryin to find new places, or goin to hot spots at different times to find the right crowd. Right place, right time = $$$.

STEP 7: Basic Marketing. I used my old discman, and headphones, and let cats peep a track or two. (Don't waste time on some cat peepin the whole album, only to hear him/her say "I ain't got no money" :cussing: )Dooms used a boombox, and thats jus as good, i jus find it less mobile. I hit malls, the movies, hip hop shows, arcades, theme parks, and any event that relates. (For me - any aboriginal function works - they'll support any native hustlin... I got 40 yr old ladies buyin my mixtape for they kids lol) For most cats - any hip hop related event is good. Make sure you slang before the event, cause cats come with mad cash to blow on chicks or drinks, and a extra $5-10 ain't no thing. After the shows - half the cats are broke. lol. Any place where people are spendin money is good. I usually jus walkin around sayin "Support local hip hop" and all kinds of people come up to me wantin to know whats goin on. They peep a track or two, I tell em who I am and what I do, and then get em on the sale pitch. (Smooth talkin ladies DOES work, don't forget ugly chicks never get attention LOL)

Granted: I prolly moved half those mixtapes at shows, BUT - the other 1000 were jus me slangin at those spots on my free time. (Which I don't have alot)

what DOESN'T work:

1) Wasting mad money on design work, that cats dont care about. Honestly - when I see a cat in the mall hustlin - I usually always support em, given they have a good sound. When I buy one - I already know I jus dropped $5-10 for a BURNED cd, so it doesn't matter how flossy that sheet of paper with the track listing is, its how good or weak the product inside is.

2) Wasting money on recording in a pro studio. PLEASE. Most studios are like $50-$100/hr, and I would say - if you record like me, you gon need between 15-20 hours to put together a 10-15 track demo/LP/mixtape. DO IT YOUR DAMN SELF - IT AINT HARD. I would recommend upgrading to a decent mic and preamp for max $250 off the top. Use some jacked program like Cool Edit, and learn the features of it even tho its basic.

3) Thinking that you don't need to spend HOURS slanging. It doesn't all come in a rush, and if you gotta waste a Saturday afternoon and night slanging product, realize - 15 minutes in the parking lot will NOT get you mad dough.

There's prolly mad more tips, and I might edit this, but thats it off the top. Your basic DO's and DON'T's to makin n slangin a demo. word.

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Edit* - here's a pic

Dooms - feel free to correct anything in that post. The rest of you shut ya mouths for 2 seconds - copy that shit to a word doc, and cherish it as gold. Good luck.

Thank u so very much...that is officially a text document SAVED on my comp Phenom




thanx for all the advice



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