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Original post by mtaber
Imagine this scenario. [...] You''ve got a $5,000 check (which doesn''t come for 120 days) to cover $50,000 in distribution costs. Not a pretty scene.

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Indeed. All the more reason to go ahead carefully.

I guess my best advice to anyone contemplating getting productions done (on the business side), is to ask yourself how much money are you willing to spend initially, assuming you don''t get any of it back. And then make sure you don''t spend more than that unless there is a certain return-on-investment (i.e. sales without a possible right to return unsold copies).

For me, I''m going ahead with a relatively small scale production-run at first (for me it''s still a very big run ), and then once I see how well the product is running, I can get additional copies made if required.

What is the most common means of batch producing CDs?

(This should really be a new topic)

There are several ways to duplicate CDs:
- Burning
- Pressing (if that''s the correct translation)

The CDs you see in shops are almost always pressed, since that gives a higher quality (i.e. these CDs are readable in more CD-players than burnt CDs) and for large numbers it''s a lot cheaper and faster.

The way pressing works is this (in short).
- You create a CD-recordable with the data/audio as you want it. This is the PRE-master.
- The factory creates a ''glassmaster'' from this. This one is used for the actual duplication process. However, it''s very expensive to make (current prices are typically $250 for a glassmaster, AFAIK)
- This glassmaster is used to create CDs. This can go very fast, since all they have to do (simplified) is to stamp this master onto an empty CD and it''s done.

For burning, you don''t have to create a glassmaster, so your startup costs are a lot lower. However, burning is relatively slow and the quality of the CDs will be lower. So burning is really only suitable for low volume production.

I''m sure if you do a websearch with terms like ''glassmaster'' and ''cd production'' you should find a lot more detailed info...

Sorry Maarten but large stores won''t buy anything from you unless you go through a listed supplier. Free Record Shop only takes titles from Bellarti, Micromedia, CD Contact Data and of course the big publishers themselves. You need to have a professionally printed DVD case with barcode etc. and offer then a margin which only gets you a few cents above your actual production price. I know, as we sell into Free Record Shop ourselves... Dixons is the same thing and even smaller chains like Music Store, Bart Smit, Intertoys, Top 1 Toys and Mediamarkt only take titles from registered suppliers. As a one man operation with no connections and no advertising money (they''ll ask you to contribute to their flyer costs) you''ll end up getting no after no from them... I''d say go through a publisher in order to have a chance of at least selling something...

I commend you for trying on your own though. Brave, but a waste of your energy, time and money I''m affraid.

Alex