Ok,

So I'm a solo musician and I'm moving to a new town in August, and i fancy building up a new fan base. My idea was to burn off a load of CDs (100+) on the cheap, hand them out for free at gigs / on the street etc. You can get a spindle of 100 CDs for a tenner, and those little plastic wallets cost next to nowt.

Then I got thinking that the CDs could eb used as a demo, to be sent to the various press media for review, or to promoters for gigs etc etc.

But then I arrived at a dilemma: How much effort is too much (or too little) effort for a CD demo? I could spend an insane amount of money on recording in a studio, getting it printed with problem artwork, get some nice photos done for a press pack... but I'm only just starting out really, and I'd rather keep the cost down so I can give it away for free instead of asking people to pay for it.

Think about it - say you're an audience member, and the band are giving you a few tracks for free. Would you be happy that it was burnt on a CDR, with the band name scrawled on with a pen, in a plastic wallet? Would it offend you if it wasn't particularly well mastered/produced? And what would you think if you were a promoter / reviewer listening to it?

Putting in too much effort is better than putting in too little effort - but my money and time is limited. I'm still wondering what to do - I have a bit of time over the summer to get some mastering / recording done if absolutely necessary.

I would love to hear from anyone who has any advice... maybe you're a band/musician with a demo, or maybe you're a promoter who receives loads of CD demos every day, or maybe you're a writer who reviews said demos all the time...

Cheers,

RB