www.billnelson.com

Hi folks
Mark from Canada here. I am a fairly new Bill fan.
Re-discovered him with the live cd/dvd and was hooked !
I understand there is some controversy surrounding that release but I
thought it was wonderful !
I quickly bought what I could find from SOS and have been working my way through 30 odd releases since.
I was fortunate to get a copy of Blip, but thought I would suggest a couple of things that I have used with my little label with some success.

One thing that might work is offering a pre-order a month or two ahead of time ?? Send out an email as per usual, and compile orders. It may give an indication of a particular release having more interest than some, and would allow adjustments in pressing quantities before the cd is pressed. In the case of Blip or Neon Cynics (which I missed), a bump of 100 or 200 copies would fulfill demand and avoid having a couple of hundred cds hanging about ??

The pre-order would be for a finite time (say 2 weeks) and the release would have a set release date. Cds can be turned around in a couple of weeks, so perhaps 6 weeks out, announce the release ??

The other thought I had was offering a subscription. I would guess Bill has an idea of what he would like to release each year. Perhaps an annual subscription, x dollars gets x number of releases in 12 months.
The subscription is prepaid, the releases are shipped as they appear
(generally before the official release date) and perhaps as incentive there could be an exclusive subscribers bonus cd ?? I have tried this with my label and had some success. It takes a bit of work at the front end to set up the system but is pretty easy to manage once started.

That said, selling 500 cds mailorder especially in a couple of days is an amazing accomplishment these days and kudos to SOS for turning them around in such a timely fashion !!

Mr Mark, nice of you to post. If you have been reading lately, there is some discussion about those who haven't or never post here, and how some of us (if not all) would like to see and hear from more of you, more often. Even if it's not Earth-shattering information, but just to make one's presence known. No pressure or anything, but it was nice to see a first post from the Great North. A couple more have stepped forward in the last few days so let's hope that this is the beginning of a new trend around here. Because quite frankly, I hear more than enough from myself.

Oh, and don't take it too seriously if someone comes on and tells you that these are settled items. Especially if it comes off in a not too friendly manner. The glaring of teeth is allowed, but biting is not.

Must say I missed out on Blip *sigh*. But, was quick to snatch Blip2 via BandCamp. So happy to have new music Bill. A hearty thank you for continuing to test the digital waters. I hope it proves a model you wish to pursue. I am enjoying the interesting and eclectic mix of stuff happening on this release. Congrats on the Blip! sellout and here's hoping you reach a state of thriving from your art. I will continue to support you, especially via digital avenues.

Cheers,

Anarchy

I hope BLIP also gets the Bandcamp treatment.... a copy has just gone up on eBay (put up by one of eBay's worst profiteers) for US$159.