This weeks Billboard Magazine mentions some of the things that have been happening here in Boston.

Tim Luckow, owner of Boston-based G-House Management, estimates that the redemption rate of download cards given away at concert merch tables is around 10%, and that figure can jump to as high as 50% if an artist gives away the cards in person.

Luckow says he’s made DIY cards by using the download code service offered by DIY music/merch platform Bandcamp. Artists can purchase codes for 1.5 cents-3 cents per song download. Fans can redeem the codes at an artist’s Bandcamp page. For an EP release by Ben Talmi, Luckow paid $300 for codes good for 20,000 song downloads and printed cards at Kinko’s for $200.

Rather than give the cards away, Talmi sold them at shows for $1 apiece. At that price, artists can quickly recoup their investment, Luckow says. “We’ll still have nice CDs and vinyl,” he says, “but download cards are a big opportunity.”