My first post-pandemic sci fi convention happened this week. It was at Magic City Con in Birmingham, Alabama.

I was a bit worried. Both because of safety concerns but also because of sales concerns. I will share what I learned last weekend.

I SAID IT MANY TIMES…

The music industry is changing. More and more people are streaming music. I need to figure out new products to sell.

My career for the past 20 years was established on selling CDs, and later digital downloads. I released 20+ albums because I realized the more CDs I had available, the more money I could make. Because of new music, I could keep making a living as a musician.

If I got booked at a small convention and wasn’t paid anything or very little, I knew that I could make a decent income at the convention and make fans.

I saw this change coming for the past 5 to 10 years. I didn’t address it because I had so many CDs sitting on my shelf.

WHAT I LEARNED…

I learned with many of you already told me. If you like CDs, you will still buy them.

Sales were not nearly as bad as I expected. I played Magic City Con in 2018. I made a little more on Saturday this year than I did three years earlier.

Sometimes at small conventions, when sales are also small, I get a little cray-cray in my desperation to sell. I didn't this year. I didn't try to sell CDs to people who didn’t want to buy. I was pretty relaxed and yet, I still sold decently. That was reassuring, especially since my sales skills are very rusty.

My sales over the whole weekend were down. But I pin that on Friday's location. Sales on Friday were a flop. My table was with the other Guests. We all had reduced traffic.

I realized how important it is to have a sales table in the dealers room, or at least where the traffic is. That is still essential for my business.

I also got a lot more people asking about streaming. They didn't usually ask outright. I feel like they felt sort of bad about wanting to stream my music and not pay for anything. That's something I want to avoid in the future. Again, it’s not like CD sales decreased much.

I tried to sell stickers. I promoted five dollars for two stickers. That promotion was mostly a failure. There was one woman who spent a good minute in decision on whether to buy a sticker for her dad for just five dollars!

No one wants to feel that way. Plus one of my  goals is ust to promote my music. Stickers are a great way to spread the word and make people feel a part of your music.

Oh! And it’s also a good way to get people to go to your website.

I haven’t yet figured out how to sell the USBs.

One of the big things I learned was that the table is a powerful place to promote my podcast as well as my music. I had a Celtic podcast shirt up all weekend. It attracted a bunch of Celtic music fans. It was a great promotional tool for bringing people to my table as well as getting potential new fans for the podcast.

HOW WILL I ADJUST?

I know this is just one convention. Every convention is different. But I do feel that it is a good starting point for understanding how to go forward.

First, CD sales are still my thing. I still have a couple thousand on my shelf. I need to try to sell them. And of course people will still buy them.

If I can find a good way to do it, I might offer one CD available by donation. I saw good success with that at Sherwood Forest Faire this year. I’m just not sure how to do it without cannibalizing regular CD sales.

Second, I won’t try to sell stickers. I will give away at least one to each person to come to the table. And the stickers will include my URL.

Finally, I will try new product ideas. I need other things to sell that allows people to support my music even if they don’t buy CDs anymore.

OTHER THINGS TO TRY

I usually have a catchphrase that I use at my table. I say “sci di drinking songs” or “Irish drinking songs for cat lovers.” This elicits a laugh. Sometimes people perk up long enough to look at my table and find something that delights them.

I do that at most conventions, except at Dragon Con. That’s where the table belongs to the Brobdingnagian Bards. There, we ask, “Do you like Celtic music?”

I’ve come to realize that people don’t usually buy my traditional Irish CDs. The Scottish one usually sells. But overall people aren’t as interested in my traditional music. However, my Celtic music is what brings people over to my table. Celtic music is why they find me.

So I feel I want to lean into promoting the Celtic music, before guiding them to my Sci F’Irish music. Because anyone who is at a science-fiction convention and likes Celtic music will probably like my music as well.