Scott Andrew - lo-fi acoustic pop superhero!

Here’s an idea. All of these on-demand and short-run media manufacturers (like Mixonic for CDs, Shutterfly for photos, 4by6 for postcards, and CafePress for everything else) popping up are great. But I often find myself needing to combine a number of these items in a package.

For example, if I wanted to do a mailing of the Sandalwood Sessions to a bunch of indie folk radio stations, I would normally assemble a package containing a CD, a cover sheet introducing myself and the music, a 1/2-page flyer, and a return postcard mailer. I’d order each of these items in bulk, assemble them at home, and mail them out from the Post Office. It’s a helluva lot of work, and at the end I’d be stuck with several hundred extra photos, flyers and postcards to somehow get rid of.

Seems to me there’s a business opportunity here for someone to offer an online service that offered all of these items in configurable packages. Like Mixonic, each user could have an account to store MP3s and graphics online, but also include space for an 8×10 band photo, a flyer, and some basic “documents” like a cover sheet and band bio. Let the artist pick and choose what items go into a package, then order whatever number is needed. The service then prints the requested materials in-house and ships it at the artist’s expense.

Bonus whuffie to the service that also provides an online address book, so that artists can have packages shipped directly to their contacts at radio stations, clubs, and the press.

This would probably be a pretty expensive service, but I bet it’d be a hit with DIYers who’d rather spend $50 for three complete kits they need right now, as opposed to several hundred dollars for a bunch of separate pieces that need to be manually assembled, addressed, stamped and mailed, with the extra boxes of product getting shoved under the bed, ultimately becoming worthless when the band changes its name or breaks up.