Plaidophile

I'm working on another album, and I'm getting close enough that it's time to start looking at CD manufacturing options.

My primary sales channel will (hopefully) just be my BandCamp page, but some weirdos still want to buy physical CDs. As with last time, the only real options are Discmakers, OasisCD, and CreateSpace.

OasisCD and Discmakers are basically the same company now (if they weren't always; it's not entirely clear to me). Their prices and processes are basically the same. They provide a lot of different options for the CDs.

CreateSpace uses their own processes. They have only a single one-size-fits-all package: 4-page 4-color insert, 2-side 4-color tray card, 4-color disc, and shrinkwrap. Their cost is $312.67 for 100 discs after shipping. This includes a free UPC and a free initial proof (with subsequent proofs costing $5+shipping). So every batch costs $312.67.

The equivalent package with Oasis/DiscMakers is currently: $20 for the UPC, $19 for a "pre-print proofing service" (there's no way to actually get a proof from them, though), and $285 for 100 copies shipped. So, the first time production cost is $324/batch, with a recurring cost of $285/batch should I need to order additional ones.

Quality-wise they're about the same. Discmakers' templates are a bit more clear what's going on, and they've finally fixed their short-run stuff to allow you to use offline templates instead of having to use their godawful online art editor. CreateSpace's idea of a "template" is "upload an image at this size, or use our horrible generic artwork generator." They don't specify anything like bleed/crop areas, or even image DPI. It happened to work out really well for foodsexsleep, but Love and Monsters has much more ambitious artwork, so I'd be afraid of that getting screwed up. [Oops, I forgot how this part worked and I was way too tired when I wrote this section. Fixed below.]

Given that I don't care about the stuff that CreateSpace makes compulsory, the package I actually want from Discmakers is a 2-panel insert, 2-sided tray card, and UPC. This will cost $268 for the first batch, and $229 ongoing, or $273 and $234 respectively if I opt for shrink-wrap. I have mixed feelings about that; on the one hand, shrink-wrap is just a stupid waste of resources, but on the other hand, it also makes a huge perceived difference in quality of the product. And it's only 5 cents per unit.

Historically I've never needed more than one batch. I'd like to think that this album will be different, but realistically, I don't play a lot of shows and most people buy music digitally now, if they even find it.

I think what really tips things in Createspace's favor is that it includes free AmazonMP3 distribution with pay rates comparable to CDBaby's digital distribution (and they set things up in a Pandora-friendly way, unlike CDBaby which always screws up the metadata submission somehow), and I'm pretty much over CDBaby right now (incidentally, they're owned by Discmakers now, and aren't really any better than self-fulfilling album sales until you get into higher sales volume). Plus, having an actual proof copy makes a huge difference, which makes up for the uncertainty in the templates. Getting Amazon retail distribution is a nice bonus, too, even if the royalty rates on it are pathetic (but it also costs me absolutely nothing in effort, either). Plus, CreateSpace as a drop-shipper is a lot easier to deal with than having to mail off CDs myself, and the end cost is about the same too.

So, all things considered, I think I'll make good on my previous rumination and just go with CreateSpace this time.

So I guess I have to figure out what to do with the extra two insert panels.

8:45 AM Or how about I get my proof from CreateSpace and use them for AmazonMP3, and then do the actual production run with DiscMakers once I have CreateSpace's free UPC. Hmmm. (I need a UPC for AmazonMP3 and Pandora.)

9:22 AM Oh, actually, CreateSpace does provide actual crop/bleed templates. I'd forgotten, and couldn't find them last night. So yeah, there goes my last concern.