The Osenga Project 2: Electric Bougaloo
Okay, you probably forgot this site was around [if you even knew about it the first time]. You’re probably wondering what we have up our sleeves this time. Last time, it was doing pre-release sales for The Morning to fund its delivery. This time, it’s a bit more dastardly. Let me approximate the conversation I had with Osenga last night at Big Willie Stroud’s manse in Huntsville, Alabama [motto: Our Rockets? Bigger Than Your Rockets.].
AO: So I’m trying to figure out how to give away 10,000 copies of the [Letters to the Editor] EP on the Caedmon’s tour.
GM: How would you go about that?
AO: Well, it would take about $4500 to print them up and put a one-page, front-and-back booklet in the case.
GM: Hmmmm …
AO: [some discussion about how dumb the idea that I wasn't listening to because I was doing math in my head]
GM: We can do it.
AO: Huh?
GM: We can do it. I can raise you $4500, no sweat.
AO: What are you talking about?
GM: Simple, man. At $15 a pop, that’s 300 people. I can find 300 people to give you $15 for the CD. Or 450 people to give you $10 for it.
AO: Oh, whatever, dude.
GM: No, really. What would you put on this hypothetical CD?
AO: Well, the six tracks off the EP, maybe a couple songs off of Photographs or The Morning, and maybe one new song.
GM: So you’ve given this some thought.
AO: Yeah, but it just didn’t seem like a feasible idea. I’m a big idea guy … I just never have the money.
GM: Let me solve that problem for you.
So, I look at it like this:
Let’s find 300 people to give Andy $15. Or $15 + $2 S&H, so Andy can get you a copy of the CD you’re buying mailed out to you after he gets back from the CC tour—or before, if he can get them printed in time.
What do you get? You get the satisfaction of being a force multiplier—because of you, Andy would have 9,700 CDs to give away at Caedmon’s Call shows. These are people who, unlike us, have never heard the wonder of Andrew’s writing before. Put another way: buy a CD and get it mailed to you, and Andrew will give 32 copies of the CD to other people. How often do you get to buy one CD and get 32 free to give out to people? Not even BMG does that.
I’m willing to bet that Andy will be happy to autograph these for folks that do them, and if we can get the list of sponsors together in time, your name can be put on the back-page as a thank-you. Who doesn’t want thanks in the liner notes? Really. Those are details that Andy and I will work out.
I’m game if you’re game. And heck, if we get 30 people to sign up by December 15th, I’ll buy 30 myself and get us already 20% of the way to the goal.
How do you like them apples?! Leave us some love in the comments.
