[Dixielandjazz] Bar Code

[Stephen Barbone]

Other thoughts on bar codes.

They are primarily used for inventory control and or tracking the
whereabouts of items.
So, if you are are making 500 or 1000 CDs for local distribution, you do
not need them.

However, if you seek to get your CDs strong national or international
distribution, then they are a virtual necessity. The centralized
inventory systems of all major retailers are set up to utilize UPC bar
coding. Incoming inventory at distribution centers and later at retail
locationsis tallied by waving the wand over the code on the master box.

Then, sales are deducted from inventory via the same process at the
counter. So, your CDs, or any product for that matter, are counted,
live, whenever they move and deducted from inventory. Thus there is a
running total in the computers of just how every product is doing on a
daily basis. Very necessary if one is aiming for real, national
distribution. Sales reports are generated from the data and your
continuing to be a part of the sales mix is coldly determined by how
much you sell.

It is this type of input that prompted the end of many a jazz man's
association with a major record label, like the Wynton Marsalis and Sony
most recently, and hundreds of others before him. So most either produce
independently, seeking out smaller labels like Arbors or Stomp Off (with
whom they share bar codes), or like Boondockers or Barbone Street and
many others produce on their own and share the UPC code with the Disc
Replicator. For $25 you can't go wrong.

If you are starting your own record label, by all means get your own bar
code. And if you record other artists, they will be happy to share your
bar code. The ideal shared situation would be "Sony presents Boondockers
#1". with sales of 80,000 units the first month.

However, if you are a band primarily producing your own CDs for local
fans, use the bar code of whomever produces your CD. Cost $25.00. And,
if you get lucky and a chain of stores a continent away wants to sell
them, they can automatically inventory them via your shared bar code.

Remember Marketing 101. The only people who might know your band has a
shared bar code (eg. Disc Replicators presents New Melbourne Jazz Band)
are the retailers and/or distributors. The customer (end user, fan)
never sees it and could care less. What does concern the user is Price /
Availability / Type of Music / Quality / Packaging.

So spend you money on the recording, mixing, mastering and packaging.
This is what your customer sees/hears and many a sale is lost first
because the package looks shoddy, and then later because it sounds
shoddy.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone.