Business News Digital Labels & Publishers

Topspin says bundles with physical product most lucrative

By | Published on Wednesday 10 November 2010

Don’t write off physical music products just yet, will you? Because, according to Topspin, half of the direct-to-fan online sales it facilitates for artists include some kind of physical product (eg vinyl, posters, t-shirts) bundled into the mix, and those such bundles are generating 75% of revenues.

Topspin CEO Ian Rogers revealed the stats to Digital Music News at the New Noise Santa Barbara music business conference this week. They quote him as follows: “We’re beyond the one-size fits all product world – thankfully. What we see is, 50% of what we sell is digital, and 50% of it contains something physical. [But] the 50% that contains something physical is 75% of revenues, or more”.

That stat isn’t really a surprise, of course, given margins on physical products are always going to be higher, especially if they are limited edition. Rodgers adds: “You can definitely add a lot of money to any campaign by just adding some limited edition goods that are at a higher price point”.

Of course, being able to add limited edition nonsense into the mix depends on the seller having the rights to do so (especially if its merch rather than records), which is why this trend often benefits artists direct more so than record labels.



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