The music business is changing. Fewer people want to buy CDs. Fortunately, there is now a brilliant new option–the album pin. What is an Album Pin and Why do you want to own one? Let me tell you more.

What is an Album Pin?

An album pin is basically a lapel pin with artwork inspired by a specific album. Yes. It could be the actual album artwork on a lapel pin. However, it could also have something to do with a specific track on the album.

No matter what, a great album pin should stand out on its own. It should be something that appeals to anyone, not necessarily to just your fans. It should be bold and visually engaging.

However, that is only the start.

What truly makes it an album pin as opposed to a lapel pin is that it also has a digital album attached to the pin.

The album pin is attached to a postcard with a complete track listing and the official album cover on it. On the back of the card, you will find a download code for your album on Bandcamp.

Why Do You Want to Own One?

Album pins solve a few problems for fans.

Most modern fans who come away from a show want to support their favorite musician. However, they no longer have a CD player. It seems rather pointless to buy a CD when you can't play it. Sure you could decorate your home with an album. But that's a rare case. An album pin allows you to have a physical reminder of the show you enjoyed.

I have released 25 studio albums. I can't tell you how many fans come to table, look at my catalog with their eyes glazed over and say, “I don't remember which albums I have.”

An album pin solves that problem because you can literally wear your album on your sleeve. Go to the show and show others how much you enjoy your favorite musician by the number of albums you've bought. All the world gets to see.

The Album Card solves another problem. You will find a complete track listing of what's on the album. But it also gives fans another way to get autographs. Instead of autographing a CD, a musician can sign the Album Card that fans can save and display for years to come.

I found at my shows that more and more fans are extremely grateful to have a non-CD alternative for supporting my music. This makes a HUGE impact on my ability to make a living as a musician.

Better for the Environment Too?

I'm thinking a lot about the environmental impact of my business. One of the problems I have with CDs is that they are made of plastic. They are wrapped in plastic. There's just way too much plastic wasted with each CD.

My Album Pins use hard enamel. From what I understand, enamel is basically fusing a type of colored glass to metal. No need to use any plastic. The cards are all paper. The only challenge I have is when I order the pins, they are individually wrapped in plastic. I'm trying to find a printer that doesn't do that for the future.

Oh! And of course, the music is all digital!

Update to Musical Pins

I renamed the Album Pins at Dragon Con after talking to my musical partner, Andrew McKee. He came up with the name “Musical Pins”.

While “Album Pin” does a decent job conveying that it is related to an album, it doesn't grab someone's attention like Musical Pin. That term makes people ask a question. It invites curiosity, which is exactly what we need to get people interested in the albums.

The first weekend doing so seemed to grab the attention that I wanted. So I'm gonna continue using that phrase in the future.