Patrick, vinyl records, and Wired

[bitterfruit]

Patrick was quoted in Wired about vinyl records (http://www.wired.com/entertainment/music/commentary/listeningpost/2007/10/listeningpost_1029):

"For many of us, and certainly for many of our artists, the vinyl is the true version of the release," said Matador's Patrick Amory. "The size and presence of the artwork, the division into sides, the better sound quality, above all the involvement and work the listener has to put in, all make it the format of choice for people who really care about music."

[Lukas]

I didn't realize how popular the vinyl-to-digital idea was. Isn't it kind of inane? You are not getting the studio master of the album, and you lose the qualities of vinyl by converting it to digital. The only advantage in doing this would be that you are transfering the non-compressed version of the album.

[Paul]

San Francisco indie band The Society of Rockets, for example, plans to release its next album strictly on vinyl and as MP3 files.

Hey tino, Josh stole yr idea!

[Benjamin]

I'm curious about two things:
(1) Is the vinyl any less (or more?) profitable for a label than CD format?
(2) Vinyl re-issues - is there another batch coming? I'm looking for a copy of "Painful" and don't want to pay the ebay prices.

[Patrick]

I'm curious about two things:
(1) Is the vinyl any less (or more?) profitable for a label than CD format?

Too many variables, but in general the price of vinyl needs to go up to deal with increasingly expensive packaging and higher-quality, heavier discs... combined with smaller sales volumes.

The biggest problem with vinyl is keeping it in print. Sleeves need to be reordered in minimum batches of 2500 (compared to 300 for CD print), and access to the three HQ180 presses at RTI is limited by the huge queues of labels who want to use them... and new releases are prioritized.

No new pressing machines have been manufactured in this country since 1986.

(2) Vinyl re-issues - is there another batch coming? I'm looking for a copy of "Painful" and don't want to pay the ebay prices.

See logistical problems above... yes, but it's taking forever, unfortunately.

[dola]

sorry to be a downer and i know that pvc plastics are pervasive throughout our built environment but maybe it's time we sacrifice a bit of audio 'warmth' so as not to contribute, if even in a fractional way, to production processes that form insanely toxic dioxins as a byproduct. i'm not well versed on the subject but even a glance online tells me that progress in this sphere is very welcome. if any of you audiophiles have done extensive research and determined that the (mostly) private reward is worth the shared risk, then rock on.

[tinobeat]

Hey tino, Josh stole yr idea!

What can I say, its the brave future, all are welcome... heh heh