Why Your Records Aren't Selling

Why aren’t your records selling?

This week, I’m breaking down five common reasons your CDs, tapes, vinyl (and even your streams) might be stuck… and what to do about it.

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Presented by LANDR - http://landr.com/otherrecordlabels

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No, I’m not promising you’ll magically sell out overnight. But I do believe in the compound effect: a bunch of small 1% improvements that add up—going from no sales → a few sales → more sales → “okay wait… this is working.”

Everything in this episode comes from a mix of my own experience, the labels I’ve interviewed and learned from, and one underrated perspective: I’m also a buyer. I’m constantly checking out new music, adding albums to Apple Music, ordering on Bandcamp, digging through stores… and I can’t tell you how often a label makes it weirdly difficult to even listen to the music, let alone buy it.

So here are the five reasons your records aren’t moving:

1. You make it really hard
   If people can’t instantly hear what you do and instantly find where to buy it, you’re losing them. Fast.

2. You’re not asking (explicitly)
   Press is great—but are you actually selling to retailers, distros, and your buyer list? One post isn’t a campaign.

3. Your package is unappealing
   Artwork, presentation, bundling, and the whole campaign vibe matter more than most labels want to admit.

4. Your pricing structure is off
   Too high, too low, shipping friction, perceived value—pricing is psychology and math.

5. Your music is bad (or not interesting yet)
   Sometimes it’s not ready. Sometimes it’s the wrong fit. Sometimes it’s “good” in the worst way: forgettable. Let’s talk about aiming for interesting.

If you’ve been feeling stuck, this episode is meant to give you practical tweaks you can make immediately—without turning your label into some salesy corporate robot.

Listen now and pick one change to implement this week.