"I can get 'What's Going On' by Marvin Gaye for £2.99"

The album is in the late, late stages of completion, the artwork is in the bag, we've got digital distribution sorted out, we know which firm will be pressing the CDs and we've even decided on a publisher and are about to sign with them. All that remains is for us to figure out a way to start selling some bleeding records......

Anyway, when I was having a few beers with Executive Producer Robson at the weekend we bumped into our mate Neville. Our conversation with him was very enlightening.

Neville is in his late 30s, a proud citizen of Birmingham and a self-employed tailor (I actually have one of his shirts....and in it I'm told I look very dapper). Neville enjoys life, likes a few beers at the weekend and, crucially, is a big music fan with a broad spectrum of tastes. He is, therefore, very much in our ..ahem..'target demographic'.

After chatting around a variety of subjects, he asked me how the album was going. I told him it was going great and that it would hopefully be available shortly. I asked him if he'd buy a copy when it came out. Sure thing, he said. Then he told us a story....

Neville: I knew this bloke once, right. He was in a band and he had an album out, so I said 'Ok, I'll support you. I'll buy a copy'.

Executive Producer Robson: So, you bought a copy...

Neville: Well, not quite. Ok, listen. I said to him 'How much?' Do you know how much he wanted?

Executive Producer Robson: I dunno. A tenner?

Neville: Yeah. A fucking tenner! A TENNER!!! Do you know what I said to him?

Executuve Producer Robson: Go on...

Neville: I said, 'Listen mate', I said, 'I can go down the shops and I can get What's Going On by Marvin Gaye for £2.99, and you want a tenner for yours. Why would I pay £10 when I can get Marvin for £2.99?'

Executive Producer Robson: What did he say?

Neville: He said that he had to sell them for a tenner and he wouldn't drop his price

Executive Producer Robson: What did you say?

Neville: I told him 'Bollocks'

Executive Producer Robson: I see. No sale, then.

Neville: [Incredulous at the memory] A tenner, man.

At this point, Neville said his farewells, left us to it and wandered off to another part of the bar....

Anyway, this may or may not be a good time to announce that 'Lighting and Electrical' by Friends of the Stars will go on sale with the price tag of £10.

I'll have Executive Producer Robson continue to work on Neville in the meantime.