eCommerce comes to the music industry
Llandudno launch, 2 September 2004

Robert Shrigley

Right, so tell me your name and where you’re from.

Hello. My name is Robert Shrigley. I live in Colwyn Bay, north Wales.

OK – so, what’s your background in relation to music and eCommerce?

My background is I have albums of my own with a company called CDBaby.com, based in Oregon. They are the distributor, and people can listen to my samples, and hopefully buy from there. At the moment I’m trying to work locally and work with other local songwriters and artists, and see if we can do something in north Wales – and advertise as artists from north Wales on the World Wide Web.

In terms of your use of technology so far, how have you got into it? How were you attracted, and what decisions did you make to use things like CDBaby?

I joined the International Songwriters Association, based in Limerick, Ireland. They send you lots of newsletters, and from reading other artists and what they’re doing, someone mentioned CDBaby and Atanata in Paris. It was from there, that I got the advice from being a member of the ISA. From there I went ahead, contacted CDBaby, my stuff is now on there, and that’s going to lead hopefully locally – meeting you guys and I might get some backing and help with other artists and work together… have some success, hopefully.

12 months down the line, what would you like to achieve? After a period of time, how would you like to develop onwards?

I’d like my own proper Web site, where I can send maybe 5 or 6 versions of my own song, and get people to come in and give me their critique – what they think, what should be changed, intros too long, middle 8s, whatever… and I’ll come up with a final piece, work on it, and see if they’re interested in buying or just share with other artists… basically, just be part of a community.

Overall, how did you find the presentations and what you’ve picked up this evening?

Professional. I’ve had my own self-employed companies in the past through other kinds of work, so I’m used to this kind of presentation. It was professional. It’s fine.

Has it inspired you to actually come and visit us or give us a call, to see how you could use eCommerce and the Internet a bit further?

Yes. I’m going to meet one of your colleagues for the… eBusiness…

…eCommerce review?

eCommerce review… and we’ll want to have a chat. Someone will come round to my place and have a chat, and see if I can get some help on how to go about building my own Web site, in the hope of future business.

That’s brilliant! Robert, thank you very much indeed.

Thank you.

Robert's album "Everybody needs someone to love" is available to buy on-line at

www.cdbaby.com/cd/shrigley