Entering the digital download era

Some time ago, CD Baby (a company that handled some CD distribution for me) surprised me and a lot of other artists by shutting down their online store. This meant there was no convenient online site to which I could direct fans who were interested in buying my music in digital form. While people in the U.S. could still (at least in theory) manage to buy tracks or albums through Amazon or Apple, CD Baby declined to arrange digital sales outside of the U.S.A. (where most of the people who know my music live).  CD Baby also discontinued distribution of physical CDs (which had always been problematic for Canadian artists and purchasers anyhow).

After some hand-wringing and research, I finally started to reclaim my own distribution arrangements. The first step was completely redesigning my website and ensuring that fans could purchase physical or digital recordings directly from me. The new site has been up since the spring, and I am really pleased with it.

The next step was to find a better approach for digital sales. After some research it became obvious that the best available solution was Bandcamp.com, which provides for easy purchase and download of digital albums or tracks.  I went through the process of registering on Bandcamp, uploading my music and setting up a home page and a page for each album.

The final step was to update my own website so that people interested in buying digital music will be redirected appropriately. This was a fussy job but is now done!  So... if anyone has been champing at the bit, just waiting for a chance to buy some of my songs, let the online shopping begin! Just visit tomlips.bandcamp.com.