Selling a game soundtrack on a CD

[DaveGilbert]

Hi all,

I recently decided to sell my last game's soundtrack online, and I was wondering the best way to go about doing that. Obviously the easiest no-frills method would be to compile all the files and distribute that file, but many people like getting a the full package (CD, jewel case, etc). What's the best way to do CD case? Are there online services that manage that for you for a reasonable price?

Cheers,

-Dave

[KNau]

If you have the money to print CDs then I'd recommend doing it yourself, even with shipping you're going to have a higher profit margin if you sell from home than if you use a CD-on-demand service.

Cafe Press does it, although they still have a bad rep amongst many web users:
http://www.cafepress.com/cp/info/sell/products/audio

Lulu.com is another option:
http://www.lulu.com/products/discs/cd.php

You can also try Custom Flix, but they charge quite a lot of fees and their per-unit pricing is highway robbery:
http://www.customflix.com/

No matter what on-line service you use, your per-unit cost is going to be in the $7 - $10 dollar range, whereas if you print locally in your area you can probably go closer to $2 - $3 dollars without having to do a huge print-run. That's low enough that you can offer it as an impulse purchase with your game "check this box to get an Audio CD of the soundtrack for only $9.95 with free shipping"

Print-on-demand services won't allow you to obfuscate the shipping cost. Plus some force you to use a seperate storefront and that's just a complete mess. My advice - print and send them yourself. Same goes for t-shirts, mousepads, action figures, whatever.

[cybermonk]

You might want to check out Tunecore:
http://www.tunecore.com/manufacturing

I haven't used them, but they claim to be the cheapest... They can also put your music on iTunes etc.

[michalczyk]

Even though it will cost more (for the costumer), I recommend using something like cafepress.com or similar. Doing it yourself is just too much hassle IMO. Not worth the time and energy.

[ManuelMarino]

I've used cafepress in the past and it's a very good service. Can't understand why the bad rep...