Do people still buy CDs? Do people in the Philippines still buy CDs?
I hope there’s an easy answer. But so far I can’t seem to find one. I can only assume there are a only a few traditional souls who want to get hold of an antique disc. Considering how the music industry has changed over the years, I can assume maybe CDs are coming to an end.
So why did I still get into producing an album on a CD? Good question. Maybe I have some answers.
I have an author for more than 10 years. As as a veteran in writing books, I can clearly see some similarity between publishing a book and publishing music. Both may be characterized as “dying” but I guess it’s not going to die any time soon.
When I first published my book in 2005, the Internet has just started to gain ground in the Philippines. The demand for physical copies of my books was there. We needed actual prints of the book and sell them.
In the same period, CDs were still popular because CPUs are still the name of computing. We would still need a CD to install softwares and programs into the computers. Computer is not without CD-ROM.
But since the popularity of iTunes and other music streaming technology, with almost every gadget supporting it, CDs have been less popular as much as actual copies of books. Books and CDs can easily be downloaded. No sweat.
So the proliferation of piracy has gone to the roof. It has become an accepted norm. Publishing houses, both of books and music, have struggled and find their ways to survive. While they tried their best to go against piracy, their effort seemed to be not enough to contain “the new way people read and listen to music.”
In other words, it may seem unwise for a first-time producer such as myself to still make a CD for my original music compositions.
Well, not too fast.
I still write and print books. And the reason why I decided to still have my songs on a CD is because, over the years, I made my own specific market and distribution channels. My CDs may probably not hit the record bars or any other commercial stores in malls. But I have my own place to sell.
As a motivational speaker, I speak to thousands of people, doing more than 100 seminars across the country annually. In the same venue, I was able to sell my books and inspirational t-shirts and other merchandise. If people are still getting my books and t-shirts, there must be a reason why they do. I found out that they want “a souvenir” from me. So whether they will read my books or not, they will still buy them.
So, will this idea apply to CDs? I think so. I think when one or two singers from their organization sing my songs, and the audience liked it, I guess I have a great chance to dispose the CDs. They would probably get because they want my signature on it. And if I can bring my singers to their event, it would be another awesome way to promote the CDs.
So, here’s the thing. I still believe people buy CDs provided that you give them the reason for buying and the venue to sign it for them.
Yes, they can download the songs and watch them on Youtube. But I have a specific market to go to. I may not earn so much from online but making my songs popular online may give me an advantage as well. I’m not supporting piracy of any form. I will still ask people to buy either actual CDs or on iTunes and Spotify.
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Originally published at www.songwriter.ph on August 8, 2016.
