[We love hearing what our clients have to say about music, life, and our industry in general. It’s nice to just hit the brakes and get a conversation started, you know? We’ll be running a series of posts that explore the opinions, advise, and experiences our customers have had in the music industry. Please feel free to be part of the conversation by emailing me at melissa@dropcards.com.]
An interview with Francis Letendre from Last Gang Records.
Melissa: I’ve been seeing a lot of fan outreach online lately for many of your artists, specifically Metric and The New Pornographers. It seems that giving away few free downloads is a great way to increase your artists email databases. Would you say that you’ve found the decline in physical media to be advantageous when it comes to collecting info and connecting with fans?
Francis: Definitely. It’s way easier to keep contact with your fans and to make new ones. You can’t really get any info selling physical CDs.
Melissa: Music ‘s been distributed in all sorts of physical mediums over the years. Do you think there is still room for any new formats to evolve?
Francis: I think there will always be an evolution but the physical mediums definitely tend to die. Digital will eventually be the preferred media, but physical mediums will remain.
Melissa: Have you found that fans are more likely to purchase the LP version of a record than a CD these days?
Francis: Even if vinyl had a second life since a couple of years, the CD still sells better. LP can almost be seen as a collector item, and for others, the sound quality makes a big difference, so they opt for LP even if it is more expensive than the CD.
Melissa: Do you guys currently include download cards with all of your LP’s? Would you consider adding them?
Francis: We try to include the download card in all of our vinyl. The music fans can then download the music that they already paid for by buying the LP and put it on their music player.
Melissa: Any advice for up and coming artists trying to make it these days?
Francis: Nowadays, music fans are looking for more than only music. So, including bonus content and keeping your media sites updated by adding new content regularly will help getting more people to know your band and listening to your music. But ultimately, artists must believe in what they do and love it.
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