Tim Collins Album

[David Lay]

I would like to find a copy of Tim Collins's album: "Dancing on Silver",  download or CD.  Any help would be appreciated. 

Edited August 1, 2023 by David Lay

[John, Wexford]

Tim has a Facebook account and you could message him there directly.

[David Lay]

47 minutes ago, John, Wexford said:

Tim has a Facebook account and you could message him there directly.

Tried that some time ago.  I will try again.  Anyone who knows him, please ask him to offer it for sale on Bandcamp or elsewhere.

[Peter Laban]

3 hours ago, David Lay said:

..please ask him to offer it for sale on Bandcamp or elsewhere.

Considering it was published in 2004,  I imagine it's long since sold out and offering it for download is really not worth the hassle unless you are likely to meet high demand.

 

 

Edited August 1, 2023 by Peter Laban

[David Lay]

Perhaps, with P. McNeela identifying the album as one of the best to own of concertina recordings, it will sell.  (I would think that traveling to performances, sleeping in hotels or a bus, etc. is much more of an expenditure of effort to connect with fans than the simple act of offering an existing album on Bandcamp.)

Edited August 2, 2023 by David Lay

[hjcjones]

It doesn't cost much to put an album online ($9.99 with CDBaby) and whilst there is a certain amount of work involved it isn't really that onerous or difficult. Whereas you'd only reissue a CD if you were confident of high demand, once it is online you can expect a small but steady stream of sales, and whilst these may not generate large amounts (a typical stream earns around $0.0012) they do add up, especially if people purchase tracks  or entire albums.

 

I've put three albums online, including one which stopped being available in the early 1990s. Over about a dozen years that album has earned $214. Not spectacular, but these are sales we would never have achieved without it and has been well worth the initial cost and small amount of effort. You also gain a global audience - it's also taken our music to places we'd never have imagined people would listen to it.

 

For the band's most recent album about 27% of our income has come from online sales, although most of that is sales of physical CDs through Bandcamp. Nevertheless streams and downloads, despite the puny amounts, do make a welcome contribution. 

 

I don't know Tim's reasons for not putting his album online, but I would urge anyone thinking of publishing their music to do so. These days it is an important way to bring your music to an audience, and it can generate a "long tail" of sales which can continue for years, even decades, after the physical product is no longer available.

 

 

[Peter Laban]

I don't know. I have been in the situation where people on the Internet were telling me off for not making a particular recording available for download. At the time I found it too much hassle (and to be honest, I didn't really wanted to carry it further after my duet partner died,). That was over fifteen years ago, things may be different/easier now but that aside, I made a decision to not keep the recording 'out there', even if the odd request still comes in.

Tim may look upon these things differently, I don't know. But sometimes it's time to move on from something rather than let it linger.

 It's nearly twenty years since Dancing on silver first came out, it's a long time to keep it available, especially if new projects and circumstances take up one's attention.

 

FWIW, I have a copy sitting somewhere.

 

Cross posted with previous post

 

Edited August 2, 2023 by Peter Laban

[hjcjones]

Of course. I found the process of setting it up quite interesting, but I can understand that someone might see it as hassle.  The first time is the hardest.

 

I don't think the length of time need be a consideration. This is music which doesn't quickly fall out of fashion and where there can be interest in, and demand for, an album long after it was published. However I take your point that a musician might be more interested in looking forward than back.

[Peter Laban]

2 hours ago, hjcjones said:

I don't think the length of time need be a consideration. This is music which doesn't quickly fall out of fashion

 

Ofcourse but there is a variety of reasons why musicians put out recordings and  the passing of time can mean a musician has moved on from the original intention and prefers to leave the recording  in the past.

 

I don't, ofcourse,  know if that is the case here but in general there can be all sorts of reasons why a recording isn't left to linger. 

 

Sometimes waiting for a second hand copy is your best option. I have seen Dancing on silver come up on ebay and in a charity shops in the past. There are no copies on Discogs but one sold there for 4 euro in April so that may be worth keeping an eye on.

Edited August 2, 2023 by Peter Laban

[John Wild]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dancing-Silver-Tim-Collins/dp/B0002SVI4C

 

This comes up in a search on Amazon. Unfortunately you can only read this messge: " Currently unavailable.
We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock."

[gcoover]

Unfortunately, Tim might have no say in whether it is available or not. It was published by Claddagh Records, so they very likely control the rights. In this case someone could perhaps contact the Browne family who license Claddagh recordings through Universal Music. (www.claddaghrecords.com). I see the company has been recently revived, with CD's, LP's, books, and other merch, but no downloads.

 

Continued availability is a problem with many older recordings. The trad/folk market is not huge, but it does tend to be steady. Print-on-demand and download services like Bandcamp are ideal for this situation. But many older labels have either gone defunct or have not adapted to newer delivery systems.

 

If Tim could somehow reclaim the rights, or convince Claddagh to provide downloads, he might at least get a little extra spending money. Or not. I've heard way too many stories of artists getting absolutely nothing for their work even when it was new. Always buy product directly from an artist whenever you can!

 

Gary

Edited August 2, 2023 by gcoover

[Peter Laban]

I am not sure that is correct Gary. I have my copy in front of me and there is no sign it was released by Claddagh. They may have taken care of distribution (I had a distribution deal with them around that time, that's how they worked at the time with independent releases) but the initial release at least was on  Tim's own label,  Croisín music CM001.

Discogs has the same infofmation: Discogs - Dancing on silver

 

Contacting the man himself is probably the best way to find out what the story is.

Edited August 2, 2023 by Peter Laban

[gcoover]

Thanks, Peter, that's what I get for believing the internet! Perhaps someone mistook the CM001 for a Claddagh release. My bad.

 

And yes, contacting Tim directly is best. If he's interested in making it available on Bandcamp I'm sure there would be folks like me who would be more than happy to help him set it up.

 

Gary

[Peter Laban]

Let us know how you get on. I'd offer to supply a digital version if my computer wasn't still in a state of disarray after a lightning strike a while back. I hope to be up and running fully in a while.

[Daniel Hersh]

On 8/1/2023 at 5:06 AM, David Lay said:

I would like to find a copy of Tim Collins's album: "Dancing on Silver",  download or CD.  Any help would be appreciated. 

Looks like it's now on Bandcamp for download: https://timcollins3.bandcamp.com/album/dancing-on-silver

 

[David Lay]

4 hours ago, Daniel Hersh said:

Looks like it's now on Bandcamp for download: https://timcollins3.bandcamp.com/album/dancing-on-silver

 

Yes, along with his new album.