What is the point of releasing records on vinyl?
Anyone know?
I ask because this week (November 23rd), at the launch party for Disappears' 'Low: Live In Chicago' LP at The 100 Club in London, we didn't have any copies of the record available to sell. There also weren't any in the shops last Friday as the official release date came and went. This is despite the order being placed in April, the audio being delivered in May, the artwork being signed off on July 8 and the test pressings being approved on August 5. Oh, and the small matter of paying £2,787 for the manufacture of what will undoubtedly be an incredibly beautiful and special record (despite what the reviewer on Drowned In Sound might claim).
Where else would you pay all that money up front, with no
guarantee of making a release date, or an album launch gig? Not to
mention the other costs on top of that, such as advertising, now
rendered almost completely pointless with nothing to actually sell.
So, again, what is the point of releasing records on vinyl?
It just seems to be a nice little earner for the major labels – some sample 'new' releases include Bob Dylan's freely available '60s albums and a triple-vinyl set of Roger Waters doing 'The Wall' *shudder* – and if you're an indie, good luck getting a pressing slot. Only four and a half months until Record Store Day! (This whole situation is more grist to the #recordstoredayisdying mill; it's the same problem, too many snouts at the feeding trough.)
Ironically, tonight's gig is being recorded and released on a tape that will be ready to sell at next weekend's Independent Label Market. If we're lucky we might have some vinyl to sell there, too.
Don't hold your breath, though...
UPDATE: After much delay, we finally have 'Low: Live In Chicago' by Dissapears on vinyl. It will be available at the Indie Label Market on Saturday, pre-orders will go out next week and it will be in shops from December 11. Big thanks to our very own Peter Saville - Marc Jones - for the design, and to @roxytheman for making it look more like how we imagined it in these photos!
Download the album
The Sound Of Confusion on Twitter and Facebook
So, again, what is the point of releasing records on vinyl?
It just seems to be a nice little earner for the major labels – some sample 'new' releases include Bob Dylan's freely available '60s albums and a triple-vinyl set of Roger Waters doing 'The Wall' *shudder* – and if you're an indie, good luck getting a pressing slot. Only four and a half months until Record Store Day! (This whole situation is more grist to the #recordstoredayisdying mill; it's the same problem, too many snouts at the feeding trough.)
Ironically, tonight's gig is being recorded and released on a tape that will be ready to sell at next weekend's Independent Label Market. If we're lucky we might have some vinyl to sell there, too.
Don't hold your breath, though...
UPDATE: After much delay, we finally have 'Low: Live In Chicago' by Dissapears on vinyl. It will be available at the Indie Label Market on Saturday, pre-orders will go out next week and it will be in shops from December 11. Big thanks to our very own Peter Saville - Marc Jones - for the design, and to @roxytheman for making it look more like how we imagined it in these photos!
Disappears' website
The Sound Of Confusion on Twitter and Facebook
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