So I've been toying with the idea (since I'm *still* unemployed, grrr) of making abctunesearch.com in to a subscription service, just so I can make a bit of money off of it... I kind of cringe at the thought, because it flies in the face of everything I think about the tradition music scene being open, social, and a sharing community. (Having been involved in various aspects of commercial music for much of my life, one of the things that really turns me on about Irish trad is how *un* commercial it is!)
The idea would be to make it something like $2 (US) a month, or $20 a year, or something like that. And do it all through PayPal.
So here's your chance to sound off on that idea.
* do you use the site?
* would you pay for the service?
* do you think I should take this idea and stick it where the sun don't shine?
If I were to change it, it would also allow me to do a bit more work on it, and get it on to a faster server... (BTW, there have been a few people who have very generously used the "donate" section of the site, and I would certainly offer those people free memberships)
I'm not exactly sold on this idea, but I thought it would be worth discussing, to get people's general reaction...
* do you use the site?
---- Occasionally
* would you pay for the service?
---- No.
* do you think I should take this idea and stick it where the sun don't shine?
---- No comment.
Reverend you couldn't have asked for money at a worse time. Not to mention the pound against the dollar but putting that aside there would have to be more aspects than just the search for tune names database to encourage folk to subscribe. After all this site delivers for free. If you can come up with a decent MIDI included that can actually pull off rolls and triplets convincingly then i'm in.
Rev, with all due respect, I'm thinkin' a lot of us are unemployed. My answers a year ago would have been much different than they are now. I do occassionally use the site, but it's tough enough to pay the energy bills and buy food, so I can't be a customer for a subscription fee. Sorry, but good luck with it no matter which way you go.
Rev - when I first became aware of your site, I thought that it was a great idea.
But then it dawned on me that I much preffered the social interaction (albeit virtual) of asking about a tune via thesession (or correspondingly, answering someone else's question about a tune).
So you can guess what my answer is.
However, I'm puzzled as to why someone with a brain as good as yours remains unemployed - even allowing for these difficult times.
I sure that you will be fixed up with something soon.
Rev,
Despite my ABC reluctance, I tried your site, and it helped me ID a tune, so it definitely has tremendous value.
however...if it was a subscription only site, i would have just posted my ABC snippet as a query here...
i dont think i would ever use an abc search for any reason other than to find the *name* of a tune, hence i would be reluctant to pay for it.
you have made a splendid product, but i think in the current climate, a subscription service wont fly.
i suggest an ad supported version of what you already have.
or you could try to build up traffic, and then just flog the site to someone else, who will then do something sinister with it.
another point is that your site relies on thesession tune database (amongst other sources) for tunes,
i wonder how people here would feel, freely building a database that others were making money from.
i think you should expand your product....
so that any numpty can hum a snippet of any song into a mic, and
itunes will them tell them what the tune is,and they can download it £$€
good luck
forgive the seeming somberness of this post, ive just run out of jagermeister.
I think it's a question of frequency of use, and the profusion of "competing" similar sites that are free. Generally, I don't use the web to search for sheets to such an extent that I would ever need a paid subscription for it. I look at my newspaper and magazine subscriptions sometimes and get irritated with myself for letting several issues pile up without reading them as thoroughly as I would have if I had picked up the same issues at a newsstand.
I've used your site a few times, I bookmarked it, and it's returned a few valuable results but it's only one of about twenty sites I use to find tunes when I really need to. Given the alternatives that are available elsewhere for performing the same function, I think that a subscription service would be prohibitive.
Do you solicit donations or have banners (admittedly I haven't stopped by for a while.. ) A link to a paypal accoutn for donations might rake in a few odd dollars although nothing like the lump that subscriptions would provide but you never know. On some of the software user sites I go to, they require verification that you visited a sponsor before you can access some of the DLs, in the way of entering the first few words from the top of the sponsor page. That might be another idea.
I've used it, think it works well, but sorry .. don't think I'd pay for something like this that I would only use on a very occasional basis.
If something on the web is very useful to you and/or you use the service regularly - then one is inclined to pay for it. But otherwise not - not much solace to you though!!
what if you had adds on the side of the web page? That would add a little bit of income for the site and help pay for the service, although i doubt it would be anything to live off of.
Have you considered more aggressively monetizing the site through advertising?
I see you already have a bit from instrument makers like Herb Taylor and Forbes, your T-shirts etc. If you can put together a case with click-through data, unique visitors etc. you could approach other advertiser brands like Guinness, Irish tourism board, Aer Lingus, strings manufacturers like d’addario, the relatively big instrument retailers like Elderly, Johnson, Shar etc. and people like Martin, Fender etc.
The classic revenue model for traditional media (like newspapers and magazines) is through advertising, not subscription. I believe that model is still sound even in new media.
To answer your questions, though, I haven’t used the site other than to test-drive it. Since I get a lot of my tunes from people and recordings I haven’t been doing abc searches, so I personally wouldn’t get a subscription.
Yep, that's about the response I figured... So it will stay as is.
As has been discussed, there are advertisements and a paypal donation section, so we'll see how that goes, I guess.
I wouldn't say that the ads have sold more than maybe 3 or 4 tee-shirts. And the ad for Forbes and Taylor haven't generated anything more than a bit of brand-awareness...
The site does get used, so there is maybe a possibility of generating some more ad revenue from the likes of Guiness, D'Addario, etc.
Reverend don't take all this as negative feedback after all who else has put the time and effort into such projects? I admire you as someone who cares about the trad scene and how technology is helping it on the way. I hope you get fixed up with work soon as i only know too well. I'm in the building game and i'm down to about 4 days a week.. The strange thing is i thought this extra time on my hands would give me the opportunity to play more of my accordion but it's had the reverse effect where as my wife keeps saying "If you're gonna be round the house more you can spend more time with the kids" I end up taking my son down the local pond and all i can think of is the tune i'm learning at the moment but what happens is i end up feeding the ducks with my son and then being too tired to play when i get home and i'm ranting off topic i know.
My advice would be to make the site the best as you can with as many real cool features and then use it as a demo of your abilities as you seek employment in the web biz. Already it demonstrates database design, graphic creativity, Flash creation and usability.
I use Sessionite.com to demonstrate a little of what I can do. Whenever I develop a new application or feature for other clients, I add it to Sessionite, too. Clients are pretty impressed when I take them on a tour of the back end.
Kudos for your ABC finder (although I take personal exception for having to turn on flash in my browser just to use your site!).
I have to say that trying to make money the site it is somewhat of a lost cause. I run FolkTuneFinder.com, it's been around for a bit over a year and it's got a fair following in certain parts. It's a bit like yours but uses different techniques and does slightly different things.
I wrote Folk Tune Finder firstly as an academic thing but I've put a lot of effort into it because I love writing software, I love playing and finding music and I love all the thousands of people who transcribe tunes! It's a bit of a tribute to them really.
I run the site as a bit of a labour of love. I spend money on it like you'd spend money on any hobby. I never expected to get any cash out of it and I don't think I ever will. In my opinion, the web should stay (and could become) how it was designed: as an non-commercial way of sharing information between people.
John Chambers' excellent (but difficult to use!) site is and has been free since the year dot.
I wish you all the best of luck with your site, but I don't think anyone's going to want to pay...
It sucks what's going on in the software industry at the moment. I hope you find gainful employment ASAP!
abctunesearch.com usage
abctunesearch.com usage
So I've been toying with the idea (since I'm *still* unemployed, grrr) of making abctunesearch.com in to a subscription service, just so I can make a bit of money off of it... I kind of cringe at the thought, because it flies in the face of everything I think about the tradition music scene being open, social, and a sharing community. (Having been involved in various aspects of commercial music for much of my life, one of the things that really turns me on about Irish trad is how *un* commercial it is!)
The idea would be to make it something like $2 (US) a month, or $20 a year, or something like that. And do it all through PayPal.
So here's your chance to sound off on that idea.
* do you use the site?
* would you pay for the service?
* do you think I should take this idea and stick it where the sun don't shine?
If I were to change it, it would also allow me to do a bit more work on it, and get it on to a faster server... (BTW, there have been a few people who have very generously used the "donate" section of the site, and I would certainly offer those people free memberships)
I'm not exactly sold on this idea, but I thought it would be worth discussing, to get people's general reaction...
Thoughts?
# Posted on February 26th 2009 by Reverend
Re: abctunesearch.com usage
* do you use the site?
---- Occasionally
* would you pay for the service?
---- No.
* do you think I should take this idea and stick it where the sun don't shine?
---- No comment.
# Posted on February 26th 2009 by Nico
Re: abctunesearch.com usage
Reverend you couldn't have asked for money at a worse time. Not to mention the pound against the dollar but putting that aside there would have to be more aspects than just the search for tune names database to encourage folk to subscribe. After all this site delivers for free. If you can come up with a decent MIDI included that can actually pull off rolls and triplets convincingly then i'm in.
# Posted on February 26th 2009 by upmine3
Re: abctunesearch.com usage
Rev, with all due respect, I'm thinkin' a lot of us are unemployed. My answers a year ago would have been much different than they are now. I do occassionally use the site, but it's tough enough to pay the energy bills and buy food, so I can't be a customer for a subscription fee. Sorry, but good luck with it no matter which way you go.
# Posted on February 27th 2009 by whistler gan ainm
Re: abctunesearch.com usage
Rev - when I first became aware of your site, I thought that it was a great idea.
But then it dawned on me that I much preffered the social interaction (albeit virtual) of asking about a tune via thesession (or correspondingly, answering someone else's question about a tune).
So you can guess what my answer is.
However, I'm puzzled as to why someone with a brain as good as yours remains unemployed - even allowing for these difficult times.
I sure that you will be fixed up with something soon.
# Posted on February 27th 2009 by Mix O'Lydian
Re: abctunesearch.com usage
Rev,
Despite my ABC reluctance, I tried your site, and it helped me ID a tune, so it definitely has tremendous value.
however...if it was a subscription only site, i would have just posted my ABC snippet as a query here...
i dont think i would ever use an abc search for any reason other than to find the *name* of a tune, hence i would be reluctant to pay for it.
you have made a splendid product, but i think in the current climate, a subscription service wont fly.
i suggest an ad supported version of what you already have.
or you could try to build up traffic, and then just flog the site to someone else, who will then do something sinister with it.
another point is that your site relies on thesession tune database (amongst other sources) for tunes,
i wonder how people here would feel, freely building a database that others were making money from.
i think you should expand your product....
so that any numpty can hum a snippet of any song into a mic, and
itunes will them tell them what the tune is,and they can download it £$€
good luck
forgive the seeming somberness of this post, ive just run out of jagermeister.
this had got nothing to do with anything.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgLXdt9wdmg
# Posted on February 27th 2009 by rumpole
Re: abctunesearch.com usage
I think it's a question of frequency of use, and the profusion of "competing" similar sites that are free. Generally, I don't use the web to search for sheets to such an extent that I would ever need a paid subscription for it. I look at my newspaper and magazine subscriptions sometimes and get irritated with myself for letting several issues pile up without reading them as thoroughly as I would have if I had picked up the same issues at a newsstand.
) A link to a paypal accoutn for donations might rake in a few odd dollars although nothing like the lump that subscriptions would provide but you never know. On some of the software user sites I go to, they require verification that you visited a sponsor before you can access some of the DLs, in the way of entering the first few words from the top of the sponsor page. That might be another idea.
I've used your site a few times, I bookmarked it, and it's returned a few valuable results but it's only one of about twenty sites I use to find tunes when I really need to. Given the alternatives that are available elsewhere for performing the same function, I think that a subscription service would be prohibitive.
Do you solicit donations or have banners (admittedly I haven't stopped by for a while..
# Posted on February 27th 2009 by gravelwalks
Re: abctunesearch.com usage
okie dokie, Just saw the donations tab.
# Posted on February 27th 2009 by gravelwalks
Re: abctunesearch.com usage
I've used it, think it works well, but sorry .. don't think I'd pay for something like this that I would only use on a very occasional basis.
If something on the web is very useful to you and/or you use the service regularly - then one is inclined to pay for it. But otherwise not - not much solace to you though!!
# Posted on February 27th 2009 by the wounded hussar
Re: abctunesearch.com usage
what if you had adds on the side of the web page? That would add a little bit of income for the site and help pay for the service, although i doubt it would be anything to live off of.
# Posted on February 27th 2009 by irishflute93
Re: abctunesearch.com usage
Rev,
To echo some of the thoughts above:
Have you considered more aggressively monetizing the site through advertising?
I see you already have a bit from instrument makers like Herb Taylor and Forbes, your T-shirts etc. If you can put together a case with click-through data, unique visitors etc. you could approach other advertiser brands like Guinness, Irish tourism board, Aer Lingus, strings manufacturers like d’addario, the relatively big instrument retailers like Elderly, Johnson, Shar etc. and people like Martin, Fender etc.
The classic revenue model for traditional media (like newspapers and magazines) is through advertising, not subscription. I believe that model is still sound even in new media.
To answer your questions, though, I haven’t used the site other than to test-drive it. Since I get a lot of my tunes from people and recordings I haven’t been doing abc searches, so I personally wouldn’t get a subscription.
Best of luck however you proceed.
Joe
# Posted on February 27th 2009 by fidkid
Re: abctunesearch.com usage
Yep, that's about the response I figured... So it will stay as is.
As has been discussed, there are advertisements and a paypal donation section, so we'll see how that goes, I guess.
I wouldn't say that the ads have sold more than maybe 3 or 4 tee-shirts. And the ad for Forbes and Taylor haven't generated anything more than a bit of brand-awareness...
The site does get used, so there is maybe a possibility of generating some more ad revenue from the likes of Guiness, D'Addario, etc.
Thanks for the input.
# Posted on February 27th 2009 by Reverend
Re: abctunesearch.com usage
Reverend don't take all this as negative feedback after all who else has put the time and effort into such projects? I admire you as someone who cares about the trad scene and how technology is helping it on the way. I hope you get fixed up with work soon as i only know too well. I'm in the building game and i'm down to about 4 days a week.. The strange thing is i thought this extra time on my hands would give me the opportunity to play more of my accordion but it's had the reverse effect where as my wife keeps saying "If you're gonna be round the house more you can spend more time with the kids" I end up taking my son down the local pond and all i can think of is the tune i'm learning at the moment but what happens is i end up feeding the ducks with my son and then being too tired to play when i get home and i'm ranting off topic i know.
# Posted on February 28th 2009 by upmine3
Re: abctunesearch.com usage
My advice would be to make the site the best as you can with as many real cool features and then use it as a demo of your abilities as you seek employment in the web biz. Already it demonstrates database design, graphic creativity, Flash creation and usability.
I use Sessionite.com to demonstrate a little of what I can do. Whenever I develop a new application or feature for other clients, I add it to Sessionite, too. Clients are pretty impressed when I take them on a tour of the back end.
# Posted on March 1st 2009 by feardearg
Re: abctunesearch.com usage
Rev,
Kudos for your ABC finder (although I take personal exception for having to turn on flash in my browser just to use your site!).
I have to say that trying to make money the site it is somewhat of a lost cause. I run FolkTuneFinder.com, it's been around for a bit over a year and it's got a fair following in certain parts. It's a bit like yours but uses different techniques and does slightly different things.
I wrote Folk Tune Finder firstly as an academic thing but I've put a lot of effort into it because I love writing software, I love playing and finding music and I love all the thousands of people who transcribe tunes! It's a bit of a tribute to them really.
I run the site as a bit of a labour of love. I spend money on it like you'd spend money on any hobby. I never expected to get any cash out of it and I don't think I ever will. In my opinion, the web should stay (and could become) how it was designed: as an non-commercial way of sharing information between people.
John Chambers' excellent (but difficult to use!) site is and has been free since the year dot.
I wish you all the best of luck with your site, but I don't think anyone's going to want to pay...
It sucks what's going on in the software industry at the moment. I hope you find gainful employment ASAP!
Joe
# Posted on March 25th 2009 by Joe Wass