Cheers Dimitris, to be honest I was just really lucky with the material and segues everybody sent in, they all worked so nicely with each other. So slotting it all together was easier than these things usually are.
In terms of release, I reckon we have three realistic options:
1. Doing a physical version as the first release on Terminal;
2. Putting it as a digital release on the Terminal Bandcamp;
3. Finding a netlabel to put it out.
I'm going to look at the pros and cons of these, from my perspective:
1. Pros: it's a physical version, which is the most attractive to new listeners, and obviously something pretty cool to put out. Although trends
are changing, there are still a lot of people out there who take physical releases a lot more seriously than digital ones.
Cons: A physical version will have to be paid for. There are three ways of doing this: a) some or all of the contributing artists put the money in to pay for it; b) a Kickstarter project; c) a combination of the two: some people put money in, and use Kickstarter to meet the remaining funds. CD or CDr would be the formats, money/sales/etc. would be sorted out should we decide to take this idea seriously and discuss it further.
2. Pros: Simplest, easiest way of doing it. A 'name your price' release could bring in funds for future physical releases on Terminal if people choose to donate.
Cons: The most low-key of the three options, with little inherent promotional worth: would require a lot more hard work on the promotional front.
3. Pros: Still a pretty simple way of doing it. Most popular netlabels have an existing fanbase who will check it out, so an immediate wider exposure than the others. We can also combine it with a Bandcamp release.
Cons: Quantity does not always mean quality, and from experience, it seems that a
lot of netlabel releases seem to get ignored despite decent download totals (over 12,000 downloads for Terminal Window 2 on Sirona, yet nobody's talked about it, played tracks anywhere, even the last.fm stats are
pretty poor); I'd take 50 keen fans over 12,000 vague listeners any day. Finding the right/most suitable label will involve some people doing the work, contacting labels and so on. With a free version on a netlabel, very unlikely to bring in any cash, even on Bandcamp.
Everyone has their own ideas, their own priorities, their own reasons for creating music and being involved in this project or even just showing an interest in this project, so please chip in with your thoughts! As many ideas and responses to this as possible please, so we know exactly what the best course is.
In other news, isn't the Tales of Ephidrina insert lovely? Send over some images, be they photos, Photoshopped, 3D renders, whatever, and I'll get them on the artwork somehow. Going to try and make this a bit more than just 10 pages of photo + text overlay, add a bit of style into it... PM me your pics (no selfies plz). Ta!