Digital Audio Insider -- the economics of music and other digital content


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Digital Audio Insider is David Harrell's blog about the economics of music and other digital content. I write from the perspective of a musican who has self-released four albums with the indie rock band the Layaways.

My personal website has links to my LinkedIn and Google+ pages and you can send e-mail to david [at] thelayaways [dot] com.

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If you enjoy this site, please consider downloading a Layaways track or album from iTunes, Amazon MP3, Bandcamp, or eMusic. CDs are available from CD Baby and Amazon.

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February 06, 2007

About the Ads
by David Harrell
No, I'm not trying to "monetize" this blog -- the average daily traffic, counting page views and RSS readers, is in the low three-figure range. It's a good group of folks (according to the IP addresses on the server log, regular visitors include employees of Universal Music, eMusic, Warner Music Group, Ryko, TVT, etc.) but not large enough that it's going to generate any real ad revenue.

But I am curious about the whole Google AdSense thing -- what kind of ads it will serve up based on the posts, click-through rates, and so on. Hence the advertising experiment.

So far, it's generated a whopping 99 cents in AdSense revenue, $99.01 short of the minimum payout level from Google. Which makes me wonder -- how does the Google accounting work for all the blogs that never reach that threshold? Google gets paid from the advertisers for the clicks, but there are no doubt thousands (tens of thousands? hundreds?) of blogs and sites with Google AdSense advertising that will be abandoned long before reaching $100 in ad sales. I have to think that at some point Google gets to "keep" and recognize the portion of the ad fees that -- in theory -- are supposed to be shared with the blogs and sites that contain the ads. (Somewhat related: Chris Anderson of the Long Tail has a great post on a Google loophole for advertisers, more thoughts from Tom Evslin.)

UPDATE: Nicholas Carr at Rough Type posted last year about "the great Google float."

Anyway, let me know (via the comments or an e-mail) if you think the text ads are totally annoying -- especially the ones in the title bar. It's easy enough to take them down. Thanks!

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    THE LAYAWAYS

    Out Now -- "Maybe Next Year" -- The New Holiday Album:

    <a href="http://thelayaways.bandcamp.com/album/maybe-next-year">Joy To The World by The Layaways</a>

    "This is a sweet treat, deliciously musical without being overbaked for mass media consumption." -- Hyperbolium

    "Perfect listening to accompany whatever holiday preparations you may be making today." -- Bag of Songs


    O Christmas Tree - free mp3 lyrics and song details
    Away In A Manger - free mp3

    Download from eMusic, iTunes, Amazon MP3, or Bandcamp. Listen to free streams at Last.fm.



    album cover art from The Space Between

    <a href="http://thelayaways.bandcamp.com/album/the-space-between">Keep It To Yourself by The Layaways</a>

    "...about as melodic and hooky as indie pop can get." -- Absolute Powerpop

    "Their laid-back, '60s era sounds are absolutely delightening." -- 3hive

    "...melodic, garage-influenced shoegaze." -- RCRD LBL

    Where The Conversation Ends - free mp3
    January - free mp3
    Keep It To Yourself - free mp3

    Download from eMusic, iTunes, Amazon MP3, or CD Baby, stream it at Last.fm or Napster.



    album cover art from We've Been Lost

    <a href="http://thelayaways.bandcamp.com/album/weve-been-lost">Silence by The Layaways</a>

    "The Layaways make fine indie pop. Hushed vocals interweave with understated buzzing guitars. The whole LP is a revelation from the start." -- Lost Music

    "Catchy Guided by Voices-like rockers who lay it on sweetly and sincerely, just like Lionel Richie." -- WRUV Radio

    Silence - free mp3 lyrics and song details
    The Long Night - free mp3

    Download from eMusic, Amazon MP3, or iTunes, stream it at Last.fm, Napster, or Rhapsody.



    album cover art from More Than Happy

    "These are songs that you want to take home with you, curl up with, hold them close -- and pray that they are still with you when you wake up." -- The Big Takeover

    Let Me In - free mp3
    Ocean Blue - free mp3

    Download from eMusic, Amazon MP3, or iTunes, stream it at Last.fm, Napster, or Rhapsody.

    More Layaways downloads:

    download the Layaways at eMusic download the Layaways at iTunes

    the layaways website