CAUSTIC.'s Blog

So this is it– I decided to make an affordable CD on my own terms and meet the consumers, best as I could, literally half-way.  No sneakiness.  No reverse psychology.  No bitterness or anger at people downloading it illegally.

If it works, even just on the digital dl front, and if it sells well at $5-6 (depending on the website– I kept it as low as I could and hope that they all keep it at that price point– if they don’t look elsewhere, okay?  Fuck ‘em if they don’t listen:)) I’ll keep doing it, but if it doesn’t and it sells a similar amount to what I normally do (or less) then I’ll just start selling each CD at $2000 because hell, why not?

Again, no bitterness, but I’m giving my fans and the consumers a chance to show that if an artist is willing to sacrifice profit (which I’m all too willing to do.  Seriously, who gives a fuck in the end?) to help them feel more comfortable spending the money on my art then I’m all for it.  It’s not really some ultimatum and if it doesn’t work I really won’t be all that disappointed, because really then the consumers will lose out because I won’t do it again and they’ll either have to spend more to get it (and who wants to do that when there’s pizza to order and the new deluxe edition of Sherlock Holmes to buy?) or just download it illegally, which, despite people’s willingness to do it, I don’t really think they always WANT to if there’s a legal means to get it for a more reasonable price.

You see, in the past when I’ve been broke I too have downloaded music illegally (and I don’t say that with pride– It Just Is), but when I see a CD I want on amazon.com when they do their “100 mp3 albums for $5 each” thing I ALWAYS take a chance and buy it, even if I’ve just HEARD the CD was good.  No guilt in blowing a measly $5 in my mind, y’know?   I’ve blown that on a magazine I wanted to try out or just lent it to a friend without thinking.  So that’s the concept here.  Real simple.  Real straightforward.  No gimmicks, no strings, and no commitments outside of just spending a couple bucks and, hopefully, enjoying what you hear and telling a few pals.

I just want  my new music out and affordable to as many people that want it legally.  I know it’ll get illegally downloaded to death too, and that’s fine because honestly there’s nothing I can do about it if people want to take it.  If an artist offered to PAY fans a dollar to download it off their site some dipshit would STILL want to get it off some torrent site just because…I have no idea.

I’m not Radiohead and I’m not Nine Inch Nails.  I don’t sell out stadiums and I’m not trying to beat the Big Corporate System, because I’m not a part of it.  I’m just trying to figure out a model that works for fans, consumers, or hopefully fans-to-be for my music.  I don’t think it’s too much to ask.

I’m already extremely fortunate in that I have modest production needs and have been blessed with a core fanbase that helps me by buying the limited editions and allowing me to recoup most of my initial investment quickly.  I truly appreciate that, more than you know.  I see dozens of artists whose talents I’m dwarfed by struggle to even come CLOSE to breaking even, but through however I do it I’ve got a much better situation and I in no way take that for granted.  If nothing else that core fanbase allows me to even ATTEMPT ideas like this, so I raise a glass of soda water to you all, my friends.  Thanks.

And to new friends and fans willing to take a chance on the new Caustic CD, I thank you too.  Let’s hope the experiment works.

You can already get the new CD in mp3 form at Caustic on FiXt
(Exclusively until April 13th, when it’ll be up everywhere)

You can preorder a physical copy on Crunch Pod Distro

This one’s up to everyone, so if you like what you read and want to support it I appreciate it.  And tell some pals.  Like I said: I think it’s a good deal.

Thanks.

Matt, aka Caustic