Physical objects - will they ever catch on?

Today I added CDs and paperback books to Bandcamp.

This is a very different experience from flogging tracks online or making them available to streaming services. I had to decide on packaging for the CD, the book, the CD/book bundle (which took several attempts and quite a few Amazon returns, which isn't easy in a small town that's lost its Post Office) and then try to calculate mailing costs. I decided to use Royal Mail because I feel sorry for them. Actually, this isn't really true - I found the Royal Mail site pretty easy to use and the costs transparent, plus they'll collect and provide labels for free. Seems pretty good to me.

So yes, you can now buy the CD, the paperback or a bundle of the two, which is cheaper, from Bandcamp. The CD is good because it allowed me to apply cross-fades between some of the tracks, which is how I always imagined the album working. This is just not feasible with streaming services, which expect everything to be in nice little packages, ready for monetisation and playlisting and algorithming.

I'm afraid the P&P charges for anywhere outside the UK are a bit expensive. This is because I know that I'll have troubles with customs declarations and all that stuff. I might be able to lower the charges once I've worked out how to tackle it.

I think you'll agree the bundle looks pretty funky in the photo. It's definitely the best way of experiencing the album and book - the full experience! - if you can afford it. Of course, the book will also be available from Amazon, in Kindle or paperback form, and the album will be available on many online sites, to stream or purchase.