On pressing CDs in 2026

Digital-first doesn't mean digital-only.

The streaming platforms are where the listeners are. Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, SoundCloud, Bandcamp. That's not debatable. But streaming royalties are measured in fractions of cents per play. A thousand streams on Spotify earns roughly R50. That's not a business model. That's a rounding error.

Physical media is different maths. A CD manufactured in Cape Town costs R25–R40 per unit at runs of 100. Sold at R150 locally or $12–$15 internationally through Bandcamp, the margin is significant. Sell 20 CDs at R150 and you've covered the manufacturing cost. Everything after that is profit.

The logistics from Cape Town are the challenge. Domestic shipping is manageable — R30–R50 via SA Post. International is where it hurts. A small packet airmail to Europe or the US runs R100–R200, which eats into a R150 sale price. The play is to sell through Bandcamp where the buyer pays shipping on top of the purchase price. They know what they're getting into. They want the physical object enough to pay for it to cross an ocean.

There's also the argument that has nothing to do with money. A CD is an object. It has weight. It has artwork printed at a size you can actually look at without pinching to zoom. It has liner notes. It has a catalogue number printed on the spine. When someone puts NRD-001 on a shelf next to their other records, that's a relationship with the music that a Spotify save can't create.

The plan is modest. Short runs of 50–100 per release. Card sleeve packaging with full-colour print — not jewel cases, which crack and feel cheap. Sold through Bandcamp merch and at whatever events make sense in Cape Town. No global distribution deal. No warehouse of unsold stock. Just a small stack of objects that represent something real.

The brutalist website says "no cookies / no tracking / no comfort." A CD says "here is a thing you can hold." Both are honest in their own way.