Following up on their launch of Card Included, a low cost music download card and custom download page, the Mango brothers have announced the relaunch of Limited Run. This new direct-to-fan ecommerce platform provides a free store with attractive themes and some unique options especially suited to musicians.
I know it's tough out there for everybody but Limited Run is another excellent example of how competition and innovation on the web are giving DIY artists some great tools for taking care of business.
Limited Run relaunched earlier this week after what Nick and Tom Mango describe as "more than a year rebuilding their entire service."
Stores are free to set up. The signup process is quick and simple. And you have options beyond just the store such as a blog and contact form. Some nice looking themes are available and you also have access to html and css.
Rather than taking a percentage of sales, they charge for the number of products in your store (first 5 products are free to list) and for downloading (1.5 cents per 10 mb). They do not charge for free downloads and they also offer such options as name your own price and discount codes.
Special features worth noting:
"Labels and artists have the ability to upload lossless audio, have Limited Run convert it into various formats, and then let fans choose the format they want to download after purchase."
"Tightly integrated with SoundCloud, giving you the option to automatically have your uploaded music sent to SoundCloud and music players embedded in your product pages."
Cart Limiting: "sellers have the option to restrict the number of copies someone can purchase. This helps combat record flipping, a problem that has been plaguing vinyl ever since its resurgence in 2007."
Digital Street Date: If you're combining a digital download with a vinyl release, you can take presales and an email will be automatically sent on the "digital street date" informing customers that the download is available.
Some of the stores already in action include:
They've even making some unique customer service moves with Free One on One Skype Sessions for both product demonstrations and help setting up your store.
Check the homepage for more features or to signup.
More:
Card Included: Low Cost DIY Music Download Cards & Custom Download Pages
Nick Mango On The Fine Art of Indie Vinyl Releases
Hypebot Senior Contributor Clyde Smith (@fluxresearch) blogs about business at Flux Research: Business Changes and about dance at All World Dance: News. To suggest topics for Hypebot, contact: clyde(at)fluxresearch(dot)com.
