It’s no secret that revenue from album sales is in decline. But necessity is the mother of invention, right? There’s been a trend in the past few years of artists trying creative ways to increase their cut of sales by avoiding paying shares of profits to major retailers like iTunes.
Garth Brooks recently launched his own music download store called GhostTunes. He has released two new albums for around $30 and has his entire catalog of music available for purchase exclusively through the site. He’s hoping other artists will follow suit and “take back” their music.
Only full albums are available for purchase on GhostTunes as an attempt to change consumer shopping habits that often prefer buying just a single. This, along with the extra hurdle of drawing fans away from the established retailers, has led some to criticize the move. Billboard thinks it’ll be a stretch for him to make as much money as he would on the “proven retail model.”
Despite the skepticism of some, the direct-to-fan approach of GhostTunes has paid off for other artists. Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails both have successfully released music on alternative platforms.
Radiohead's 2007 album In Rainbows allowed fans to pay what they wanted for the album directly through the band’s website. The album ended up topping the Billboard chart, and made more money than their previous album Hail to the Thief before even being physically released a few months later in retail stores.
Nine Inch Nails offered an exclusive “audiophile” master of their album directly through their website for their latest release Hesitation Marks .
The benefits are obvious. Direct-to-fan sales can yield a big payout for artists, as they don’t have to give up a portion of revenues to a retailer. The challenge is that it can also be an uphill battle to get fans to migrate from iTunes.
As album sales will likely continue to decline, it’s not unlikely to expect more artists try their hand at selling music through their own channels. Just last week it was announced that Brad Paisley is launching a web-based TV channel.
It's too early to say whether a direct-to-fan sales model will become a viable option for big artists. But if anyone can pull it off, it’s the third best selling act in U.S. history.
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There are 8 unique value-points inside the Sage Audio membership, so let’s go over each one so you can decide if it’s the right fit for you.
1. 50 Free Mastered Songs Per Year
- 50 free mastered songs per year with your own dedicated professional mastering engineer so you can get all your mixes sounding like professional songs.
- You’ll get your own dedicated Sage Audio mastering engineer to create custom masters that are specific to you and sound exactly how you want.
- Unlimited revisions with your dedicated Sage Audio mastering engineer. As a standard of our service, we are not happy until you are happy with the sound of your masters.
- All masters are delivered as commercial, industry-standard high-resolution 24-bit HD WAV masters so they will sound clean and clear on every platform.
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2. 1-on-1 Mentorship
- The Sage Audio 1:1 Mentorship gives you direct access to us to answer all your questions and receive unlimited advanced mixing feedback directly from us.
- Unlimited direct access to us for in-depth discussions to help you improve your mixes and masters.
- Unlimited advanced mixing feedback with detailed suggestions for improvement.
- Fast communication to answer all your questions and get tailored guidance that’s specific to your needs.
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3. Unlimited Mixing Feedback
- Unlimited mixing feedback so you can improve your mixes quickly.
- This is highly valuable - giving you access to a thriving community of mixing engineers who can provide feedback about what you can improve before sending your mix to be professionally mastered.
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4. Sage Audio University™ (SAU) — (Mixing and Mastering Education Platform)
- SAU is a modern audio engineering education platform that includes in-depth mixing and mastering course curriculums that match the new music industry.
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- Get first access to all future SAU course curriculums to continually build and refine your mixing and mastering skills as the industry evolves.
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5. Mixing and Mastering Competitions
- Compete in Mixing Competitions and Mastering Competitions to win prizes and connect with friends and colleagues.
- This is a great collaborative way to improve your skills alongside both aspiring engineers and seasoned industry professionals.
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6. Community
- The Sage Audio community is a tight-knit community of passionate audio engineers who can provide you with real-world mixing feedback, meaningful discussions, networking, collaborations, and more.
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7. 70+ GB of Curated Sage Audio Downloadable Content, Including:
- 36 multitrack sessions spanning multiple genres for mixing practice.
- 57 un-mastered mixes spanning multiple genres for mastering practice.
- 62 Recommended Free Plugins List (vetted, tested, and approved, so you don’t have to).
- 39 Recommended Paid Plugins List (vetted, tested, and approved, so you don’t have to).
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- Sage Audio Membership Badge to showcase on your website, social channels, and portfolio.
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8. 700+ Video Catalog
- Access 700+ in-depth Sage Audio mixing and mastering videos - curated and organized into playlists so you can take a deep dive into all aspects of audio engineering with thousands of hours of concise, expertly crafted Sage Audio videos to continually improve your mixing and mastering skills at your own pace.
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