Whitechapel - Taphead - "800 Memories Per Second"

Taphead - "800 Memories Per Second"

taphead — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 13:25:25 -0700

Hey people. I realize I've linked to the record before on a few threads, but I figured some of the musicians here would be interested in hearing how this Bandcamp experiment is actually turning out. Metrics are good, right? If this feels to much like a vanity thread, feel free to KILL WITH FIRE, as always.

Thanks for the comments, by the way. Nice to see you've been liking it, especially since the record really wouldn't exist without the collective kick in the pants that Whitechapel is. (Yes, the title of track #3 is a nod to you guys.)

So. I went and released my first solo album (EP?) 800 Memories Per Second as a free/name-your-price download on Bandcamp. As far as I'm concerned, the service makes the thresholds between release, download and purchase just about as tiny as possible, which makes it wonderfully easy to see how many people are willing to pay for something they could get for free. The only hindrance is the need for a Paypal account, but those are beginning to be common as dirt.

Here's how it's been going thus far:

Day 1 - Pretty much just me putting up a few links here and there, and getting a few retweets and shared links on Facebook. Result: 198 songs streamed / 30 downloads / 8 purchases totalling to 83,66 USD. That's a pretty nice sum, due to the fact that at this stage money is coming in from people I know personally.

Day 2 - Linked on Warren's blog (thanks for that, again). 546 songs streamed / 80 downloads / 8 purchases for 44,00 USD.

Day 3 - 382 / 56 /4 ($6,37).

Day 4 - 202/ 24 / 3 ($25)

Day 5 - 87 / 16 / 0

Day 6 - 68 / 9 / 2 ($16)

After that the plays have been in the <50 range, and download & purchases have been in the neighbourhood of 0-2. So far the totals are 1723 / 230 / 29 ($193,03), which ain't half bad. Looking at using that as a basis for touring, it should get me a cheap flight into a more populous part of Europe...

The top incoming links look like this:

Total visits: 1,503
Direct (bookmarks, instant messages, etc.): 728
www.warrenellis.com/: 251
Google reader: 117
Facebook: 96
www.warrenellis.com/?p=9235: 62
www.ectomo.com/: 57
Twitter: 15
freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=8112&page=1: 13
freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=7664&page=5: 12

(I'll update this list as time goes on.)

As far as this record is concerned, I'm looking at this as a testbed for various things.

Bandcamp is Phase 1, getting the music out there and creating some sort of personal connection with the listeners. I'm working on getting something special to the people who've opened their purses, as Bandcamp is kind enough to supply me with their email addresses. It'll be fun to see what the response to that will be.

Phase 2 is graphic design; I'm going to start crafting the physical versions of the record, all of which will be unique and handmade -- the term "Fetish Object" has been bouncing around my skull ever since I first heard it. I'm still pretty much convinced that YouTube is the most efficient method of getting music to go viral, so videos are on the schedule as well.

Phase 3 will be taking the endeavour on the road, as my 2010 Manifesto was to play in at least 4 countries/states. I'm working on the assumption that the tour will be funded mostly by record sales. We'll see.

Onward, friends.

ETA: UPDATES!

Taphead - "800 Memories Per Second"

jeremiah — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 23:45:59 -0700

I really like bandcamp, it's like the opposite of myspace. I also downloaded your album, cool stuff!!

Taphead - "800 Memories Per Second"

reosarevok — Mon, 03 May 2010 16:14:02 -0700

Great stuff, I'll try to remember to pay for it when I get paid!

In any case, if you happen to want to play in the north of Spain during this tour you talk about get in touch and maybe I can look into it.

Taphead - "800 Memories Per Second"

taphead — Tue, 04 May 2010 06:52:33 -0700

Thanks for the comments, gang! (And plays, and downloads and everything.)

Been getting some nice reviews as well. It's been fun looking at the various references people have made; so far Earth, Barn Owl, Neil Young produced by Eno, and god knows what else...

Oh, for updates and the Social Media Experience, here's me on Facebook and twitter.

As a reminder, this is a good week to make a donation for the album. The size of the donation is irrelevant, so I really won't be scoffing folks who just put in just a cent or two. Times are tough and getting tougher.

On Friday I'll be playing with vats of acid. Unique cover prints FTW.

Taphead - "800 Memories Per Second"

taphead — Tue, 04 May 2010 06:58:09 -0700

@reosarevok

North of Spain sounds very good! I'll definitely be getting in touch with anyone who might be interested in looking at potentian venues. And really, I'm not picky; clubs, cafes, galleries, libraries, living rooms... it's all good, as long as the audience is good. But more on this later.

Taphead - "800 Memories Per Second"

taphead — Thu, 06 May 2010 16:45:38 -0700

Today was spent etching.

Tomorrow the prints.

Taphead - "800 Memories Per Second"

oldhat — Thu, 06 May 2010 18:25:08 -0700

Oh AWESOME!!!!

I hope I was part of that "good time to donate".

Taphead - "800 Memories Per Second"

taphead — Sat, 08 May 2010 08:09:45 -0700

Alas, no. These are going to be the physical copies that I'll be selling once I figure out where to do so. Etsy? My own website? We'll see. As for the "good time to donate", sometime tomorrow things will be occurring.

Oh, yesterday I redid the plate for the front cover and this is the first print:

Taphead - "800 Memories Per Second"

rickiep00h — Sat, 08 May 2010 09:04:55 -0700

This is officially awesome. I was waiting to get around to giving this a listen, but I'm going to go right now and check it out.

PS: "Fetish object" here is a definite plus. Even if the music isn't something I necessarily enjoy (time will tell on that), just showing off the packaging is something I think I'm interested in.

Taphead - "800 Memories Per Second"

taphead — Sun, 09 May 2010 18:48:51 -0700

And things have now occured, as some of you may note.

Been a busy week.

Taphead - "800 Memories Per Second"

texture — Mon, 10 May 2010 03:41:18 -0700

I will definitely buy the Fetish Object version. Love this release mate, and it's great that the Bandcamp thing is working out for you. I'm so enamoured of the 'pay what u like' model that I'm going to try building the same functionality into Black Lantern. Let me add my voice to the throng offering you shows - if you make it through Scotland, look me up. I would absolutely LOVE to see this being performed live.

Taphead - "800 Memories Per Second"

reosarevok — Mon, 10 May 2010 05:30:17 -0700

@texture Do implement it, man. If you do I'm going to try using it ;)

Taphead - "800 Memories Per Second"

Kernowdrunk — Mon, 10 May 2010 08:28:22 -0700

@ taphead covers look lovely !

Taphead - "800 Memories Per Second"

taphead — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 10:52:26 -0700

Phew. First batch finally done.

These fellas are heading to the post office tomorrow. Oh yes.

And so, entering PHASE 3: Touring. If made some noises about this on Twitter and Facebook, but if any of you lovely folks know venues or (preferably) promoters/organizers for this sort of music in your area, let me know. I travel light and mostly need a shower, a soft place to sleep and maybe a meal. And I'm not even a large person, I'm a tiny guy.

Taphead - "800 Memories Per Second"

offtandiscord — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 13:01:20 -0700

very glad to see you made some money from bandcamp, is definitly something i'm going to be looking into for my own stuff.

cover also looks awesome!

if you head near london let me know, i'll play/come watch whatever!

only promoters i can think of off the top of my head who might be interested here are Miles of Smiles, always did awesome offbeat noisey shows when i loved there.