Album Accounting
It’s very difficult to calculate exactly how much each album cost to make. The fact that I run a business out of the same studio complicates matters. I was planning to include the cost of hardware and software used only for my albums, but that got messy fast. Subtracting the cash I received from gear I later sold is no problem, but then to make an apples-to-apples comparison, I’d need to also subtract out the value of gear I still own. To keep it simple, I decided not to factor in the cost of any computer or musical equipment, which total $88,000!
Items included in album costs:
- CD replication
- Graphic design
- Mechanical royalties (monies paid to the writers of songs I cover)
- Mastering (before I started to do it myself)
- Outside studio fees
- Hiring musicians (only for Something Beautiful)
Items not included in album costs:
- Computer or musical equipment
- Promotion (print ads, radio promo, web site hosting, contest entry fees, etc)
- Mailing costs
- Bank charges and transaction fees
Sketches in Grey
These figures include both my initial pressing of 500 units, and my remastered pressing of 1,000.
$2,976 replication
$819 graphic design
$456 mastering (first edition only)
Total cost: $4,251
Sales since 1994: $9,011
Net profit: $4,760
Tuesday Song
The piano was recorded at an outside studio, where we also did the mastering. I pressed 1,000 units.
$3,058 replication and graphic design
$1,091 outside studio
Total cost: $4,149
Sales since 1997: $6,833
Net profit: $2,684
Perfect Tears
I really thought I could sell all 2,000 units!
$2,897 replication
$1,500 graphic design
Total cost: $4,397
Sales since 1999: $5,287
Net profit: $890
Life’s Fairytale
The replication company went bankrupt before I could pay them for the 1,000 units.
$200 graphic design
$113 mechanical royalties
Total cost: $313
Sales since 2001: $4,577
Net profit: $4,264
Something Beautiful
This one would’ve been even more expensive if I hadn’t bartered with the drummer, Jonathan Moffett.
$1,438 replication (1,000 units)
$500 graphic design
$2,248 musicians
$750 outside studio
$680 engineer
$50 vibraphone rental
Total cost: $5,666
Sales since 2002: $3,121
Net loss: $2,545
Color Theory presents Depeche Mode
The Super Jewel box and rights paid to Martin Gore made for an expensive 1,200 units.
$3,004 replication and graphic design
$1,192 mechanical royalties
$325 photography
Total cost: $4,521
Sales since 2003: $14,861
Net profit: $10,340
The Thought Chapter
It costs a lot less to produce a CD these days, but 1,000 Digipaks isn’t the cheapest option.
$2,328 replication and graphic design
$400 artwork
$106 mechanical royalties
Total cost: $2,834
Sales since 2008: $2,847
Net profit: $13
You may be tempted to add these numbers together to generate a total profit/loss figure for the band, but it wouldn’t even be close. I can’t come up with a simple way to calculate it, but just factoring in the amount I’ve spent on promotion more than knocks out any profit from the albums. Good thing I’m not in this for the money!
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
I find it very odd that with each album you actually sell less (not counting Depeche Mode). The opposite should be happening. I have a hunch that as the popularity of file sharing and CD burning increased and the culture of “free music” began your sales decreased. Even though the pros say that piracy doesn’t impact the indie musician, I don’t buy it. In fact, it may affect indies more because just think of what big of a deal one CD sale is to an indie.
Why is Sketches in Grey clearly the winner here? Did you sell a lot at live shows or do more promotion on the album? Or, maybe because it’s the oldest? I don’t think it’s because it’s your best album which is sometimes the case with artists.
Also, $88,000 in studio equipment? I always thought you were frugal with gear! haha.
Monty
Hi Brian,
I wonder about the sales of “Perfect Tears”. It’s my favorite Color Theory Album behind “The Thought Chapter”… as you know! For me it’s unbelievable…so what for the sentence “great music promotes itself..”? Does it mean these days: “great music DON’t sells itself, just need connections…”!
Just keep on writing fanatstic songs… without your music something would be missing in my life!
Thomas.
In my opinion, Sketches in Grey is winning simply because it’s the oldest. It is indeed sad to see Perfect Tears making only $700 in a decade! When you factor in the European and US radio promotions ($5,000), it still has a long way to go before it breaks even.
Sketches in grey is my favourite by a margin to be honest (helped along though by the bonus live recordings at the end) however i really am surprised at a couple of these.
Its reasons like this why i only buy music from indie artists and only download music by big name acts, i’d rather my money go to the right people who deserve it
I’ve never seen a band’s financial info like this before. It’s really interesting. I have to say, I’m also glad that you’re not in this for the money. While many artists would have quit long ago, you continue to make the music you want to, even if it means taking a loss. I respect that when artists are willing to make that (potential) sacrifice for the sake of their work.
The numbers on Perfect Tears are surprising. I think it’s your best album, though I still have yet to buy the new one (but I will), so that may change then.
I thought of a more pleasant way to look at it. As of today, I’ve sold or otherwise parted with 5,192 CDs.
5,192
No easy feat! That’s a much better way to think of it.
When I found out about your music, I brought all your cd at the sametime. I was listen to all your cds for weeks after I got them. I can’t understand how Life’s Fairytale has sold so little. It’s one of my favorites.
hey i wanted to congratulate you on all your success i really appreciate your honesty in sales and so forth also. its nice to see. thank you
micah
Hi Brian, fantastic breakdown. Where are you selling your CDs and downloads ? Also what about your promotional strategy ?
I’m selling my CDs and downloads pretty much everywhere music is sold online. As for strategy, I blog about it at http://passivepromotion.com. Still, it’s hard to say whether I have one or not.
Hey Brian, I am probably not alone in having stumbled across your work through depeche mode. (I am a very fervent depeche fan and have been since first seeing them live an incredibly long time ago; 1983 at Hammersmith Odeon in London, in fact, as a fresh faced schoolboy. The standout track of that night was the brand new Leave in Silence. Such memories
)
I have been in love with your version of Surrender for a long time and am now working through your own writing and loving it.
It’s not for the money, is it, but please do keep it up. You have more fans than CD sales will tell you, I would have to guess.
Paul
Thanks for the kind words Paul! You got on the DM train long before me. I didn’t find out about them until Some Great Reward (“Somebody” to be specific).
I have no plans to quit anytime soon! Judging from the number of torrent sites linking to my albums, I think you’re right – I have more fans (or should I say “fans”) than sales would indicate.
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