{"id":3489,"date":"2010-08-17T05:00:49","date_gmt":"2010-08-17T12:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/passivepromotion.com\/?p=3489"},"modified":"2020-07-15T12:13:59","modified_gmt":"2020-07-15T19:13:59","slug":"the-individual-edition-cd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/passivepromotion.com\/the-individual-edition-cd\/","title":{"rendered":"The Individual Edition CD"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
This month I released my 8th full-length album, slated to be my last physical release. I might have gone the digital-only route this time if I hadn’t won free CD manufacturing from Disc Makers through the John Lennon Songwriting Contest. The fact that it was a physical release allowed me to take pre-orders, which provided the opportunity to test out my latest crazy idea – one that actually panned out for a change! Here is how I described <\/span>The Individual Edition CD to my fans:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n It will probably come as a surprise that I can\u2019t create the exact same mix twice, even though the album was recorded entirely \u201cin the box\u201d on my studio computer. Arpeggiators randomly cycle through the notes of a chord. Panning effects start and end at different points. Some devices purposely insert glitches and other random anomalies. Beyond the occasional surprise, these differences are tough to pick out unless you know what to listen for. The qualitative listening experience is the same, but the fact that each mixdown is an \u201caudio snowflake\u201d gave me an idea:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n As a souvenir of your support, <\/em>I will create a personalized custom CD featuring unique mixdowns of each of the 12 songs I recorded for the album<\/em><\/strong>. The outtakes \u201cTouch\u201d and \u201cRelease the Hounds\u201d are not on the standard Limited Edition CD and will not appear on any future physical release. The disc will open with a token of my appreciation \u2013 a spoken \u201cthank you\u201d mentioning you by name.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Individual Edition CD is available through July 31. Keeping in mind that it takes me three hours to prepare each one, I\u2019ve priced it at $99, which also includes a copy of the standard Limited Edition version. I don\u2019t have much spare time to devote to this, so I can only take the first 20 orders. They will ship as soon as the CDs arrive, most likely before the August 4 release date.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n If you can think of anything I can do to make it more special or meaningful, please let me know!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I ran it by a few friends first, and the consensus was that it was a cool idea, but pricy. I argued that $99 was reasonable considering how much time it takes to put one together. If nobody ordered, it would’ve been pathetic, but I wouldn’t have had to lift a finger. If I got more orders than I could handle, I would’ve had to turn people away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fortunately, the price was on target. I got 13 orders, generating more than 50% of the approximately $2,500 I’ve made in sales since I launched the album. <\/strong>The recipients seem to love the CDs, and I genuinely enjoyed putting them together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n