Vinyl isn't dead yet...

Starsky wrote:
Dude stop. As you know I am worse at fixing stuff than Space with his wife and daughter sitting on him…

If it’s not operating perfectly I can’t

can confirm

I think it’s time to kill vinyl… or at least major label vinyl output..

The amount of vinyl variants coming out is a bit crazed at moment… 17 variants for the Inhaler debut, 18 for the Architects.. the dullplay album is being released in 11 different versions including a boxset of six cassettes on the album in different colors

Why do people collect all the colors? It makes no sense to me…

But if it makes people buy multiple copies why wouldn’t record companies put them out?



I think the way record companies put out vinyl guarantees it will remain a very small niche market and a luxury good…. Maybe it was going to remain that regardless and they are just squeezing every drop they can from Uber fans and record collectors

Still I can’t help but wonder how the vinyl revival would have gone if record companies had tried to keep costs down and exercised quality control

Geezus

https://thirdmanrecords.com/news/third-man-records-announces-vault-package-49-bob-dylan-springtime-in-new-york-the-bootleg-series-vol-16-1980-1985


Am guessing the highlights will be on the 2LP issue and this limited issue will be a lot of the rest… so to have all the songs you will also need the 5 cd issue

I got to confess I gave up collecting all this stuff… not sure what I will do here

Starsky wrote:

I got to confess I gave up collecting all this stuff… not sure what I will do here

I'm confused.  Did you give up or not?

Meaning I don’t automatically buy every Bob Dylan release


The best fit for me here is maybe to just get the Vault release

The cd set is $140!
2 LP $45?
4 LP $65

The 2LP is so limited! Just 12 songs!

you owe me a new keyboard

should we discuss the things covering their legs?
I see cargo shorts, cargo pants, and pleated khaki shorts
and the one guys got a belt phone holster

One of the better Twitter accounts right now is  Vinyl Stupidity, which is posting the outrageous prices being assigned otherwise nothing special releases

https://twitter.com/vinylstupidity?s=21

Today it’s for the latest Weller re-issues that are going for $38 for standard double black vinyl… 

Buying new vinyl seems a mugs game and it seems increasingly impossible for an independent artist to get them timely pressed… up to a year and ever increasing manufacturing costs

Very frustrating to have established acts reissue and “remaster” their back catalog over and over and over again. At ridiculous prices.

But there must be a market for it. Right?

There are always dupes who go for "collector's items", when its really just mass-produced garbage. I include myself in this crowd, on occasion. But it has to be extra-special mass-produced garbage.

Like for instance, Waxahatchee is selling a Lilac LP of St Cloud, but it's only available at the merch table on tour. I'm not even sure I have a working turntable, but….

there are definitely issues with new issues as well: when the avett bros. released a new record recently there were 9 or so variants. the completist/hoarders "Needed" to buy all 9.

Bazan was lamenting that his next record will take another many months to come out, becauses of the backlog.

kosmo wrote:
Buying new vinyl seems a mugs game and it seems increasingly impossible for an independent artist to get them timely pressed… up to a year and ever increasing manufacturing costs

an independent artist that i follow (Ott) recently tweeted that his new album is completed, mastered, and ready to share… but his vinyl pressing has been moved for the third time, to march 2022, and he honestly expects it to be moved again.  before the pandemic he typically had a 2-3 month delay between completing an album and having vinyl to sell.  now it's looking like it'll be over a year.  the funny/annoying aspect of his situation is that back in the winter he reserved a pressing date in september and he rushed to get the album completed in time… only to be told he now has more time.  nice.

What's more, the pressing problems that plagued vinyl in the 70s and 80s have come back full force. Lots of noisy, crap vinyl, warped, off center, etc. Just like it was when CDs hit the market and gave people plenty of reason to convert.

Yeah lots of annoying things about vinyl these days… you do wonder why record companies charge so much almost like they prefer selling a very limited small run at a high price than selling a lot more volume at a lower price….maybe it has to do with not being able to get stuff pressed?

One question I have is why isn’t more capacity coming online? Maybe potential investors think it’s just a fad?

Then there is the whole issue of lacquers which I don’t understand…supposedly the only American plant burnt down a few years ago?

a lot of these records are poorly pressed, straight from digital etc.  I would argue new vinyl is much worse in terms of pressing quality than in the 1970s


I guess it’s a combination of young people who spend more disposable income, older higher income earners and people buying records as gifts? I mean if a beer is $10 then I guess $35 for a record isn’t bad?

But then there are the box sets which definitely cater to older people…these sets are often just pure cash ins and cost $75 and up and will end up sitting on a shelf

All I know is my local record store is packed!

And don’t get me started on people who collect the eight diff color variants

I sometimes pay a lot but it’s usually something like an original rare Gainsbourg LP from the 60s… something I have wanted for years and given up on ever finding cheap

Or if it’s a reissue and I find it online cheap I will buy it… I got a Gainsbourg reissue recently for $8 plus $4 shipping… But it’s almost a forgery in my eyes… still I just gave up on getting an original which would cost $300 or something





I am fortunate I started collecting vinyl a long time ago… it used to be fun to walk out with a big stack for $20…

Justin wrote:
What's more, the pressing problems that plagued vinyl in the 70s and 80s have come back full force. Lots of noisy, crap vinyl, warped, off center, etc.

This is true. Just spitballing here, but what if instead of vinyl or plastic etching, we made records out of some sort of magnetic cellophane tape that could be played with some sort of special electromagnetic "needle"? This would be easier to produce, have more controllable quality, and potentially be easier to transport. Why are none of the big vinyl manufacturers R&Ding this sort of tech?

If the industry decided to create another format I’d probably just stick with digital for new releases.

I agree that QC has become a problem for vinyl. And I really don’t get why people collect color variants of the same record. But, then, I’m not materialistic.

StoneTheCrow wrote:
If the industry decided to create another format I’d probably just stick with digital for new releases.

I agree that QC has become a problem for vinyl. And I really don’t get why people collect color variants of the same record. But, then, I’m not materialistic.

but we are living in a material world