Dec 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By David Weiss

For independent artists, efficiently running the merchandise aspect can get tough — packing up for a gig can be heavy enough without having to guess how many CDs you should bring along to sell that night. Digital distribution has leveled the playing field in every corner of the music industry already, and now it presents a solution to this dilemma in the form of Fizzkicks (www.fizzkicks.com). The process is simple: Using the online music service, Fizzkicks members can create their own prepaid music cards (above) to sell or give away to their fans. Each card has its own unique access code, which allows fans to download up to 20 songs per card from the artist's library.

Using Fizzkicks appears to be one solid way that musicians can cut down on the expense and logistics of maintaining a physical CD inventory, as well as give fans flexibility in which songs they want to purchase. Band news, bios, music videos, photo galleries and fan networking tools are all also included on each artist's Fizzkicks page.

Washington, D.C.-based hip hop artist K4sho is one example of an act that has been making good use of the service at his shows. “You set your own price point, and you can sell albums, singles and videos,” he says. “It's all in one self-contained site, and you can control your revenue. As long as you market and advertise yourself, you'll get the revenue that you need — all you have to do is work the system.”

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