MovieScore Media

Hmm. Are you saying that the kind of movies and composers we focus on are cheap? Our focus may be different than many of the other labels, but producing an album actually isn't less expensive just because the the film or the composer is less known.

That said, I would be interested in hearing what would be a reasonable price for you? We are struggling to get more people to buy our cds to stay in the market.

mc

Not sure if you are referring to the downloads or the physical albums...I think the downloads are priced fine, especially since you are offering higher bitrates than Amazon and iTunes. The physical albums, on the other hand, would be a lot more attractive if they were only $14-15 instead of $18-20...the wider the gap between download and album, the less likely I'm going to spend extra money for a quality difference I won't even be able to hear half the time. I mean, I was listening to my 320k purchase of Ninja this morning and I was amazed by how good it sounds, richer tones and more sonic candy than half the mainstream releases out there

Still, I like having the physical release just for the artwork and the resale value (as if I'm ever actually going to sell my soundtrack collection, lol) so I will continue to buy some CD releases of MSM even if you RAISED the price...just not as frequently as if the price were lower.

I'm sorry to hear that you seem to be having difficulty in selling your CDs Mikael.

It must be quite difficult for you. I imagine that it costs less to produce a score and sell it as a download compared to the costs of producing and pressing a CD. But it seems no one wants to buy scores as a digital download - certainly not enough people to make it worth your while to keep making them available.

They always said that the cost of producing a CD is miniscule...about a dollar or so...and I can't imagine that it's gotten MORE expensive in the past decade. Unless that whole thing was just an urban legend.

I agree that only a few reviewers are really effective at really giving their readers a feel for what they're getting into and making them want to buy the CD...I imagine that I could improve at that skill with practice, but, it takes a good deal of musical knowledge to avoid repeating the same praises for each new CD, otherwise you just fall into "rare beauty" syndrome...

That being said, I've definitely purchased many CDs based on a single, brief positive review on Amazon or from a post here...because I know what I like and if someone says that the score contains any of those things, its an instant purchase for me. er...instant being relative considering that I have a list of over 300 CDs that I want...more like, instant decision to purchase at some point in the future, with preference given to newly released scores...

Per unit it's only a dollar but if you are doing a run that's a significant number then the price of production of the CDs soon mounts. I've no idea of what it costs to get the rights to the music, artwork, booklets, etc but I'd imagine that it eats away at any potential profit.

Physical CD vs download?

Not many people want the latter, demand for the former is there. Therefore the increased cost? Maybe this has something to do with it? And I'd suggest that it is the music rights holder that knows this and charges labels accordingly.

I don't find Mikael's prices excessive at all. The thing about the MSM business model is that it largely focuses on less known composers and films, and therefore offers a niche service in an already niche market. That you should pay a little more doesn't surprise or bother me.

But then my take has always been that if I like it and want it, I'll get it. So I guess that's not much help as far as future marketing strategy is concerned.

No way it only costs a dollar.

it would be very sad news for me if you ever had to stop with MovieScore Media, because I generally think you're the best label besides Intrada offering us quality movie music. It's sad to hear that!

Generally, I think your prices are correct, and I think that indeed positive reviews and buzz could help MovieScore Media, even if it was for a little bit.

Read my reviews, I think some of the best scores of the last couple of years I've discovered because of Mikael's work and passion. I never want that to go away.

I don't really know that price is that much of a factor here - simply put, I wonder if it's ever going to be possible to drum up enough people interested in scores for films they haven't heard of, by composers they haven't heard of. I'm not attempting to belittle anything or anyone, but I don't honestly think that sales would be much higher at a price point of $15 than at $18. Simply put - if people are willing to pay $20 for an Intrada CD of some ghastly synth-crap 80s score like Missing in Action 44 (and they are willing to do so, since all those releases sell out within hours) but aren't willing to pay $18 for a sumptuous piece of film music brilliance like Amalia then you just have to think that a lot of this is nothing to do with music or indeed price, it's about nostalgia for certain films. Given the absolute saturation of the market - the fact that Intrada, Kritzerland, FSM, Varese, La-La and whoever else are releasing literally dozens of scores for American movies by well-known composers in any given month, it's always going to be a struggle to penetrate that market. I wish I knew a solution!

Summary: People are stupid aren't they?

I'd also like to recommend MSM's Shiver score. The samples may not sound like much, but as a whole, it conjures up an uneasy atmosphere. But there are some lovely harmonic cues and brutal action -- and the album is attractively put together.

Imago Mortis and In My Sleep are worth checking out too.