The vinyl advocacy group speaks with optimism following the devastating blaze at Apollo Masters earlier this year.
The Vinyl Alliance, an advocacy group comprised of several industry organizations, issued an official response to the recent fire that destroyed Apollo Masters in California earlier this year. The incident raised concerns about the future of vinyl production as Apollo Masters was the primary source of a critical lacquer used in vinyl record creation. Still, the statement released by Vinyl Alliance is optimistic.
“There are already alternatives available,” says the group’s president Günter Loibl, “which will help bridge the shortage of lacquer discs. This can also be an opportunity to embrace new technologies and to strengthen collaboration within the industry.”
Within hours after the fire, Vinyl Alliance members got into contact with each other to discuss possible repercussions. Simultaneously, start-ups and individuals reached out to share their ideas. Soon it became clear that the impact on the industry will be limited in the long run as there are alternatives and options available to deal with the temporary shortage of lacquer discs:
MDC, the remaining manufacturer of lacquers, is rationing supply to satisfy the demand of as many customers as possible
Direct-to-Metal-Mastering (DMM) is a working alternative, which does not require a lacquer and is available worldwide
Several start-ups are planning to manufacture lacquers, and they are expected to enter the market in the coming months
New technologies such as HD Vinyl – a modern way to produce stampers without lacquers – are in development
Scott Hull, a mastering engineer in New York, remains calm: “For the time being we have to be more careful with how we use lacquers, but I doubt that the consumer will feel the shortage before our industry will come up with a solution.”
`Heinz Lichtenegger, CEO from Pro-Ject, believes in the future of vinyl: “Perhaps we can find a silver lining in this tragedy. Vinyl is an amazingly durable medium for music that has stood the test of time. We have seen cassettes, 8-Tracks, micro-cassette, reel to reel, Mini-Disc, LaserDisc, CED discs, etc. come and go, but the vinyl LP is more cherished than ever. It is a format important to the industry, to the artists, and to millions of fans! “
The main concern at this moment belongs to the employees of Apollo Masters. “They are the ones directly affected by this tragedy “, says Zack Tipton, CEO of Vinylize. “Our thoughts go out to them and their families.”
We will continue to cover the Apollo Masters fire and the vinyl industry’s response to its destruction in the coming weeks. Follow Haulix on Facebook and Twitter for more information.
Mandatory Credit: Photo by Petr David Josek/AP/Shutterstock (6681855e)
In this picture taken, a worker checks a pressed record at vinyl plant in Lodenice, Czech Republic. As vinyl records make a global comeback in popularity, a little-known Czech company is riding the market surge to establish itself as the world's biggest record manufacturers, with plans to expand in North America and Asia. GZ Media, based in a small town south west of the Czech capital, has made deals with all the major music labels and is running its plant day and night, every day of the year - even on Christmas - to satisfy booming demand
Czech Republic Vinyl Revival, Lodenice, Czech Republic
A recent fire at Apollo Masters in California has left the future of vinyl record production in a difficult position.
Vinyl is back. To be more specific, vinyl is experiencing a new wave of popularity, which has been building in waves of the last decade. More vinyl records were sold in the last decade than in the two decades that preceded it, and until last week the likelihood of sales continuing to grow was very high.
Then the unimaginable happened.
According to the Desert Sun, a three-alarm fire broke out on February 6 at the Apollo Masters Corp., a decades-old company that produces a lacquer formula for making master discs, which are critical for the creation of vinyl records. Employees were inside when the fire started, but everyone was able to escape unharmed. The facility was destroyed.
SR 243 closed south of I-10 due to fire. Use alternate routes. Unknown duration. pic.twitter.com/muPVeCfTHj
Apollo Masters was the “primary or possibly only supplier of the styli” that is used in the vinyl pressing process. The loss of the company’s facility is placing an enormous strain on the vinyl industry. Other businesses are allegedly working to enter the lacquer business, but the wait between planning and executing that work could take some time.
“From my understanding, this fire will present a problem for the vinyl industry worldwide,” Ben Blackwell, co-founder of Third Man Records, told Pitchfork in an email. “There are only TWO companies that make lacquers in the world, and the other, MDC in Japan, already had trouble keeping up with demand BEFORE this development.”
“I imagine this will affect EVERYONE, not just Third Man Pressing and Third Man Mastering, but to what extent remains to be seen,” he added. “I don’t want to be an alarmist. But I’m attempting to be realistic as opposed to Pollyannish.”
Pitchfork also points out that the Twitter account for Duplication, a Toronto-based vinyl/CD/DVD duplication, pressing, and printing company wrote, “Disaster for the vinyl pressing industry,” and “There will be a lacquer shortage, and possibly plants having to close or scale back operations for a while.”
It’s unclear if any artists depend solely on vinyl sales for income, but many in the rock and metal world have seen a healthy boost of revenue because of vinyl’s popularity. An industry scale back would impact artists at every level, but let’s be honest: Major labels have negotiation power that smaller names do not. It’s most likely that indie artists and labels will be the ones who feel the pinch of this crisis.
Follow Haulix on Facebook and Twitter for more information as new details become available.
Vinyl sales hit a fourteen-year high in 2019 while overall physical album sales continued to decline.
People like to argue about the longevity of physical media. Buying albums, they say, guarantees a record will be part of your collection for the foreseeable future. Streaming gives us access to virtually all music, but for how long? What is stopping Spotify from tucking specific releases behind a premium plan? Can anyone guarantee artists won’t decide to pull their catalogs from streaming platforms until royalty rates rise?
The individuals that like to make these arguments are correct in their beliefs regarding physical media. Streaming makes everything easy, but despite the popularity of services like Spotify, the future for the medium remains unclear. If you absolutely must have an album in your life, the best way to do so is to buy a physical copy.
Sadly, it seems, people want to own albums less and less. In 2019, Americans purchased 73.5 million records in some physical format, be it CD, vinyl, or even cassette tape. Of that figure, 18.84 million were vinyl, which is up over 14% from the year prior, according to data shared by Nielsen Music in its annual year-end report on how the music industry is doing.
In total, vinyl now accounts for more than one-fourth of all physical media sales.
A large portion of the vinyl album sold in 2019 stems from records widely considered to be classic. The Beatles sold more vinyl records than any other group last year. Bob Marley, Queen, The Beach Boys, and Fleetwood Mac also sold incredibly well.
When it came to new talent, Billie Eilish was ahead of the pack. The teenage pop singer sold more than 175,000 copies of her debut record, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, on vinyl. That’s more physical sales than most artists see from all physical formats combined.
It seems likely that vinyl will continue to lead physical media sales in 2020. Older generations are clinging to their favorite format, and younger generations have fallen in love with the sound and look of great records. Vinyl is a high-risk investment for young artists, but it can yield high returns with the right audience
Bandcamp is setting itself further apart from other streaming services with the reveal of a new way to fund and release vinyl.
Vinyl sales have surged in recent years, but cost of pressing remains high. Could Bandcamp’s new service be the solution DIY artists need?
Bandcamp has announced a new service that allows artists to launch crowdfunding campaigns for vinyl releases. Once a campaign reaches its minimum goal, Bandcamp will press and ship the vinyl record directly to fans, which saves artists time and lowers the risk involved in vinyl production. Artists will maintain full control of the record’s design as well as its price, though the cost will depend on the design, number of discs required, quality of sound, and other factors. The service—which aims to streamline the “financing, production, and fulfillment of vinyl records”—is set to launch for all artists and labels later this year.
The ‘Kickstarter for vinyl’ service was revealed by Bandcamp earlier this week. In the post, Bandcamp stated that sales of vinyl records on the service have grown 600% in the last five years, and every month another 3,500 unique vinyl albums are added to the site. While that figure is impressive, the announcement also says that only 9% of the albums with sales on Bandcamp in 2018 offered a vinyl version. The company hopes their new service will encourage more artists to explore vinyl pressing, as well as offer fans a chance to fund new pressings of records that may otherwise never be pressed again.
The reasons more DIY and independent artists don’t press vinyl are numerous, but cost is the biggest factor. A run of 500 records can easily costs thousands to press, and that isn’t accounting for postage to ship the albums to fans or the cost of packaging for those shipments. That price is too high for many artists, especially when it means taking a change that fans will actually buy the album once it is complete. Bandcamp’s service not only streamlines production and distribution, but it eliminates the risk factor entirely by funding production through fans. The worst that can happen is that a campaign does not raise the funds required for production, in which case an artist will have to rely on other means of getting physical media to fans.
Bandcamp launched its first brick and mortar store earlier this year. Whether or not releases funded through its new service will appear in the shop remains to be seen.
As I looked at the calendar earlier this week and noticed I am closer to turning 28 than I am to still being 26, it dawned on me that I have been purchasing music for over 15-years at this point. I don’t know if I can pinpoint the first release I convinced my parents to buy me when I was young, but there are several standouts that come to mind. There was the three copies of Blink-182’s Enema Of The State on cassette that I wore out while riding my bike through our small town, as well as a CD copy Backstreet Boys’ immensely popular album Millennium, which my parents drove to across state lines to buy me on release day. I could name several more instances, but I think you get the idea that buying physical copies of music is something that has mattered a great deal to me for a long time, and it continues to be important to me in 2015. I don’t buy nearly as many CDs or cassettes today as I did at the start of the new millennium, but I do buy vinyl on a regular basis. I also subscribe to Spotify, and I’m more than certain I will at least give Apple Music a try when it becomes available over the summer, but even if I love that new platform I will scan record stores, eBay, Discogs, and Amazon for great deals on physical product ever chance I get.
Just last week I was doing an interview with Modern Vinyl when they asked me a question I had heard a dozen or so times before. We were discussing comedy on vinyl at the time, and someone inquired as to why I buy music at all, let alone on a physical format like vinyl. In their mind, streaming services are cheaper, easier to access, and easier to share. They also take up a whole lot less space than a physical music collection. That person, who shall remained nameless for this post, was absolutely right. All of those facts about streaming are incredibly hard to argue with, especially if the main thing you’re looking for when considering how to consume music is convenience. Life doesn’t get much more convenient than having almost every song of the last hundred years at your fingertips, 24/7, for one low monthly rate. I’m not here to argue that point, and as I already stated above I use Spotify regularly, but even with the convenience offered by that service I still believe there is need for physical releases in my life, and the reason is, in a way, incredibly selfish.
I buy music because I want to one day be able to share the albums I love with my future children. If not with them, then at least with the person I marry and the friends we make together. If it helps the bands, great, but at the end of the day I buy music because I want to share that particular song or album with people I care about. You could argue that is something easily accomplished with streaming services, but I disagree. When someone links to an album on Spotify or Rdio it looks like every other release on the platform, and there is often very little, if any, album notes to be enjoyed. The music is simply presented, through digital stream, as if it were any other file that was double clicked.
To me, the best way to share and discover music is through the exchange and promotion of physical product. Sitting down with an album someone you care about loves so much they bought it and dedicated a place in their limited living space to keeping it safe for future generations to enjoy is a very special thing, and it’s something that is becoming increasingly rare in the digital age. I think you can learn more about a person from the albums they care enough about to own than you can from hours of conversation. Their physical music collection is an extension of themselves as it shows you what matters to them, what influences them, and what they hope to discover when seeking out new art. It tells you about the sounds they enjoy when happy, sad, angry, or a little bit of everything all rolled into one. It tells you what bands and musicians keep them company when everyone else is busy with something or someone else. It show you their safe zone.
The first vinyl I ever purchased was a dollar bin copy of Bob Seger’s ‘Live Bullet.’ I wasn’t a gigantic Seger fan at the time, but my dad told me that when he was young ‘Live Bullet’ was the first album he made a part of his own vinyl collection. By following in his footsteps to not only own the album on vinyl, but sit in my room doing little more than listening to it spin and moving only to flip sides, just as he did thirty years or more prior, made me feel a connection to my father and the way he saw the world as a young man I’m not sure I could have even begun to grasp if I just pulled up the album on my phone and let it play while going about my day. In fact, I know it wouldn’t have been the same, and while the album may have sounded just as good, if not better, I wouldn’t have felt the connection to my father I did while listening to Bob sing “Old Time Rock And Roll” live from Detroit in the early 1970s on vinyl. That’s not to say the experience wouldn’t have been good, as I’m sure the album plays just as well in its digital format, but the experience would not have been the same.
I have no idea where technology is headed or how it will impact the way people consume music, but as long as I am able to buy music in physical form I will continue to do so. The idea of sitting down with a fellow passionate music fan, digging through records and sharing the experiences that lead to an album joining a part of my personal collection is everything to me, and if I could do that with my own offspring it would be a dream come true. I want future generations to not only know of physical music, but cherish it. I want them to understand the indescribable level of joy one feels when seated in a room with nothing on except a record with the power to change their lives forever. That power is still present in hundreds, if not thousands of records releases annually, but until we as a culture learn to put down our distractions and focus solely on the music pouring through our speakers the ability to feel that power is going to be hard to come by. If you find it, don’t ever let it go.
James Shotwell is the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also a professional entertainment critic, covering both film and music, as well as the co-founder of Antique Records. Feel free to tell him you love or hate the article above by connecting with him on Twitter. Bonus points if you introduce yourself by sharing your favorite Simpsons character.
Comment below and let us know: Why do YOU buy vinyl?
Hey everyone! You know we love providing you with the best industry advice and know-how, but sometimes when searching for such content we have to look in places other than our own memory banks. This post, for instance, was written by our friends at PledgeMusic. We don’t repurpose a lot of content, but this one is quite special.
This site exists to promote the future of the entertainment industry, and to do that we need input from people like you and your entertainment-loving friends. If you have any questions about the content in this article, or if you have an artist you would like to see featured on this blog, please contact james@haulix.com. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.
Record Store Day is cause for celebration for music fans everywhere, but some artists might not realise how far in advance they must plan. We asked our UK manufacturing partner Key Production what measures artists and record labels should take in preparation for this event.
When should artists and labels start thinking about their Record Store Day releases?
The sooner, the better! Record Store Day will be on April 18th this year and all submissions for releases need to be made by February 28th according to the website, however the manufacturing process needs to have been started before then. Most artists and labels will need to have their stock with their distributor 2 to 3 weeks prior to RSD – please check beforehand with your distributor – and allowing for approximately 8 weeks total manufacturing time, orders and parts should ideally be in place within the first week of February.
What is the normal lead time for a vinyl project and how does that compare during this season?
The production process usually takes 15 working days for test pressings and 20 working days for final pressings (upon approval of test pressings), therefore our planners recommend allowing at least 8 weeks for vinyl manufacturing. The good news is, that even in this hectic period, we’ve managed to keep our vinyl turnarounds exactly the same by securing extra capacity with our suppliers.
And in case you were wondering, coloured and shaped vinyl have the same production time as standard black vinyl.
Why does vinyl take longer to make than it used to?
With sales growing, record labels and artists have shown more interest in vinyl as a format and, as a result, have started producing more and more vinyl releases, but the number of pressing plants has remained the same. Therefore with sales and orders up and capacity the same, the time it takes to produce vinyl has gone up. There are various suppliers who are starting to invest in new equipment, so maybe this will have a knock on effect on turnaround in the near future.
What’s the one thing most people don’t realise about vinyl manufacturing?
Vinyl manufacturing is a process that hasn’t changed in the last 50 years, so it has its limitations and flaws, but that’s also what make it beautiful. Every piece feels, and at some level is, unique. Your vinyl pressing won’t (and shouldn’t) sound exactly like the CD version.
Is there a difference in quality between vinyl pressing plants? What makes one plant differ from another?
You’ll frequently hear people preferring one plant to another, but it depends on personal taste. With our 25 years expertise in the business, we always know where to go to fulfill a customer’s needs and deliver the kind of product the way they imagined it to be.
Why do you think people love vinyl so much?
Well, you can’t hug a download and there’s no satisfaction in hugging a CD. People love vinyl for the warm sound and because it looks beautiful. It starts with the sleeve artwork, the packaging and then you play it: the needle swishes, the music starts. It’s magic.
What’s your favourite piece of vinyl?
As you can imagine, here at Key Production, a lot of vinyl releases come in and each and every one is our favourite for a different reason. The Pixies “Indie Cindy” was the best-selling album of last year’s Record Store Day, but for beauty, we’ll have to go for Heavenly Recordings’ King Gizzard & The Wizard Lizard “Head on/Pill,” a picture disc with a swirling artwork by Oliver Hibert released in only 300 copies.
What now? Where does an artist or label go to get their vinyl release manufactured?
They can click here for our detailed manufacturing guide, where artists and labels can find all the information they need about formats, artwork and how to submit an order. Or they can contact us or their Campaign Manager for any further information.
Hello, everyone! Thank you for taking a little time out of your schedule to spend with us. We haven’t run as many advice columns as we typically do this week, but hopefully the appearance of this article will make a difference. Vinyl is big right now, but it’s not as big as everyone seems to think, and as a result it can cause serious problems for unsigned bands seeking to press their next release.
This blog exists to promote the future of the music industry, and to do that we need input from people like you and your music-loving friends. If you have any questions about the content in this article, or if you have an artist you would like to see featured on this blog, please contact james@haulix.com and share your thoughts. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.
Before we begin I just wanted to say that this article was inspired by the news that the soundtrack to Forrest Gump is being pressed to triple disc vinyl in the near future. That said, it’s written with the hope of saving unsigned artists from taking on unnecessary debt for the sake of coming across as cool or hip.
It’s impossible to search for news on the music industry without stumbling across articles highlighting the continued decline in record sales. In fact, the only area of music sales that has seen any kind of consistent growth in recent years has been vinyl. Yes, the format many once thought dead has made a resurgence, causing labels of all sizes to begin pressing many more albums each year than the year(s) prior. What was once a popular trend amongst indie labels has now caught the attention of majors, thanks in part to events like Record Store Day, and as a result the market has become flooded with albums that, at least in my opinion, never really needed to be pressed to vinyl in the first place. More importantly, this upward trend in vinyl sales has led many unsigned artists to press their own records without the support of a label. I’m as big a fan of DIY artists as anyone you are likely to find in 2014, but as someone who owns a small record label and understands the costs associated with these releases I believe there are far better ways artists could be investing their money.
Vinyl is selling well, yes, but the total sales for every vinyl record sold this year will still account for less than 10% of all the money made from music sales in 2014. Of that 10%, the vast majority of the profits will go to major indie artists and labels who can afford to press so many records that their break even points are extremely low. The mom and pop record labels will follow them, making whatever they can scrape together after covering costs, and after them will be the indie bands that were so popular they found a record deal somewhere in the middle of the year. The point I am trying to make is that there is no real money to be made in this area of music, especially for bands who are likely still struggling to make enough playing shows to support a full US tour. Playing music should never be about making money, of course, but if you want to get ahead you need to learn to consider your efforts – at least in part – as a business. In order to have a successful business you need to grow, and in order to do that you need money. Not a lot of money necessarily, but some, and if you have the funds available to afford a small (300-500 copy) run of vinyl then you have enough to make a big impact on other areas of your business.
How much money are we talking? A typical 300 copy run of 12” LPs with one variant color, basic packaging, and full color jackets will cost you somewhere between $2000 and $2500. A 500 copy run will likely fall in that same range, but if you want high quality audio (180g) or special packaging (gatefold, multiple discs) that rate goes up. This is also before we take into account the cost of shipping materials such as boxes and tape, or the amount of time you will have to spend packing and shipping the records when they come in. I know you don’t consider the time you spend packing orders as something that costs anyone any money, but there is a value to that. The time you spend working on things like merch is time not spent honing your craft.
Let’s forget about the money for a second. Do you have space to store and keep vinyl? Even small runs will fill a few large boxes, and unless you sell out right away you are going to have to keep those records stored somewhere cool and safe. These are not CDs, and as such they cannot stay in your van or trailer in between gigs. Records can be warped from heat, even if they’re not directly exposed to the sun, and that is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to things that can ruin an album before it’s even spun. Are you ready to take on the commitment to preserve these records until they’re sold? More importantly, is that a commitment you should be taking on at this time?
The only independent artists who should be concerning themselves with vinyl are those who have found a label willing to press their work and those who have found a way to make music their full time career. If you’re not at that point, don’t let a lack of vinyl be the thing that keeps you up at night. If fans express a desire for vinyl releases, be honest with them and explain the situation. Who knows? You may find that they support you enough to help pay for such a release through Kickstarter or Indiegogo. Even if that happens however, I urge you to think twice about where and how you invest your money. Vinyl is pretty and yes, it sounds great, but is pressing your first or second recording as a group really going to aide you in furthering your career?If so, will it have a better impact than, say, funding a tour or even additional new recordings? Weigh all your options before moving forward, and never be afraid to be honest with fans about the reasons for your decision.
Hello again. Thank you for taking a few moments out of your day to spend with us. We have been planning a very special reveal for the end of the week, but before we get there we have the pleasure of hosting an editorial from Antique Records about their experience putting out their very first vinyl release. If you have any questions about developing as a business owner in music, please do not hesitate email james@haulix.com and share your thoughts. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.
For the last two years I have had the great fortune of running a tiny indie record label with my best friend. We started our label, known as Antique, on a whim. It dawned on us one day that we shared a mutual bucket list goal of owning a label and that life had put both of us in a position to create that very thing. It was exciting and thrilling, but also pretty low risk as far as money was concerned. You see, until very recently we were known solely for creating limited edition cassette pressings of popular indie albums. Yes, people still buy cassettes.
Anyways, at the end of 2013 we decided that if we ever wanted to take Antique to a new level we would have to invest more time and money into the products we create. We went back and forth on the best way to expand our horizons, but truth be told we settled on the very first idea that came to mind (after spitballing an additional 100 or so ideas that are still unexplored). That idea, as the title of this article suggests, was pretty simple: Let’s make vinyl. I was already an avid collector myself, as was my co-owner, but the costs associated with such an undertaking turned out to be about 10x what we had experienced when placing a new cassette order so we had – until that point – never thought about pressing records ourselves.
A few weeks after Craig, my label’s co-owner, and I had that conversation about expansion we decided to take a leap of faith an register an LLC for our label. We admittedly should have done this about two years ago, but as we were paying for everything out of pocket and barely breaking even, if not losing money outright, we never thought it too necessary to pay the costs associated with ‘properly’ starting a business. Once we did, however, we were able to sign up for a company credit through American Express, which made our dreams of making vinyl (and accruing large sums of debt) a reality. We searched the net and found the perfect voice to represent the future of our label, made a deal to press their latest album, and in early February placed an order for 500 vinyl records.
Months passed, but eventually the records did show up at my apartment, which for the time being doubles as Antique Records HQ. There, buried amongst boxes and packing tape, I embarked on a multi-hour mission to organize, pack, and ship 150 pre-orders that until this very afternoon were a drain on my free time. Now that I’m all caught up, I’m ready for more, but first I wanted to take a few minutes and share some insight on my experiences with this release. Some of it may feel obvious, but when you’re in the midst of trying to start your own business, let alone doing so while promoting a relatively unknown artist’s new album can make you so busy you overlook basic tricks of the trade. So, here it is, the best of everything I learned while putting out my label’s first vinyl:
1. Record pressing, like pretty much every other facet of entertainment, can be a long and frustrating process that is almost entirely out of your control.
When we decided to press our first record in the early months of 2014, I knew we would be facing competition at the production facility from all the major label releases planned for Record Store Day in April. What I did not realize, however, was just how much of an impact the growing demand for vinyl would have on my business. The company we ordered from guaranteed a 6-8 week turnaround, but told me it may be closer to 10 considering how many orders were pouring in when we first contacted them. By my math, that put our album release date somewhere between April 15 and the beginning of May. You know when the records arrived? June 25. That’s just over four months after I placed the order, which is a fact people who pre-ordered the album reminded me of well over a dozen times in the weeks leading up to the record’s arrival at my label’s doorstep. I called multiple times during the wait, but the most insight anyone could offer is that it was ‘being processed.’ Ultimately, I had no choice except to keep my cool and wait for word from the plant.
2. You will always need more tape. Always.
One thing no one ever talks about when it comes to putting out records is the amount of time and tape you will need to box and send off your product. We all want our records to succeed, of course, but as the owner of an independent label you need to realize the responsibility of making all those consumers happy falls entirely on your shoulders. As such, you need to make sure you’re ready for your first album to arrive by buying plenty of boxes, tape, and whatever additional shipping supplies you feel you may need well in advance of the final product arriving at your door. I cannot tell you how much time I wasted making not two, but three extra trips to the office supply store because I underestimated the tools I would need to do my job well. Plan ahead. Over plan, in fact. Just be prepared.
3. You cannot please everyone. You should try to, of course, but eventually you have to accept that some people have demands that are just too great.
When releases records, especially early on in the life of your label, people may be suspicious of just how well you actually run your operation. Delays may be out of your control, but that does not mean people will not blame you when their orders do not arrive on time. Likewise, there will be people who expect you to ship their order the same day the final product arrives from the plant. You may be able to comply with this request on rare occasions, but if you try and meet every demand made by consumers you will be inundated with too many requests to handle. Keep communication open at all times, but don’t be afraid to put your foot down whenever necessary.
Above all, don’t be a dick. Even when you have to be the bad guy, be as nice as you can possibly be.
4. You’re going to need help.
The fact you’ve taken it upon yourself to start a label and put your own money into making records is great, but if you believe you can handle all the ins and outs of owning a small business without a little help from your friends you’re sorely mistaken. As your business grows so will the various task that demand your time and attention. This goes double for super successful order, which come with a large number of pre-orders that need to be packed and shipped in advance of the album’s intended release. It’s the kind of thing people call a ‘good problem,’ but it’s a problem nonetheless. If people ask to help, let them. If not, consider seeking an intern.
5. International shipping has the power to break your spirits (unless you plan accordingly).
We may live in a digital age where essentially every task that can be turned into an app has been turned into an app, but that does not mean every thing your business needs to succeed is automated as soon as you sign up to open an online store. Many services automate overseas shipping, but not all of them. I know at least three labels who put up records with $5 shipping and forgot to make sure international orders had a different rate, including my own. The results, while not completely miserable, set the labels back several hundred dollars. Some orders even lost money! Always. ALWAYS. Double check shipping before pushing a new product live.
Hello and welcome to the first blog post of the week here on the official blog of Haulix. We have a lot of great content planned this week, starting this afternoon with a piece on an individual who is making a big name for himself in the digital age by covering technology many consider to be outdated. If you have any questions regarding the content of this blog, or if you would like to learn more information about the services offered by Haulix, please email james@haulix.com and share your thoughts. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.
Digital music sales may have dipped in 2013, but for vinyl sales continued to rise, ending with a 32% improvement over the year prior. While we could dispute whether or not the resurgence of vinyl is a passing fad with a considerably long shelf life, this post is about something else entirely. This post is about pursuing your interests, and how sometimes that pursuit can land you at the forefront of a global community.
Chris Lantinen was working the crime beat at one of America’s remaining print publications when had the idea to launch a website dedicated to his interest in vinyl records. He had never written about music before, but something about the topic intrigued him so much that he purchased the domain name Modern-Vinyl.com and dedicated any free time he had outside the office to creating content. Two years and several months later, that same site is now the go-to authority on all things vinyl, and in the paragraphs below you will learn how it all came to be.
I have been reading Modern Vinyl for well over a year at this point, but it wasn’t until I began working with Chris on this feature that I realized the level of thought and care put into each post. Chris and his team of contributors are creating content for the sake of celebrating (and hopefully helping further) an area of the industry they are passionate about, and their clear adoration for the subject matter keeps you coming back again and again. No one knows where vinyl sales will be at the end of 2014, but I have absolutely no doubt Modern Vinyl will continue to grow.
If you would like to stay up-to-date with everything Chris and his team are working on we highly recommend following Modern Vinyl on Twitter. Additional questions and comments can be left at the end of this post.
H: For the record (no pun intended), please give us your name, job title, and the publication you’re here to discuss:
C: My name is Chris Lantinen and I’m the owner/editor-in-chief/everything else over at Modern Vinyl.
H: Thanks again for taking the time to do this. We like to start with a little bit of history. When you think of your formative moments with music, be it a band/album/concert/etc, what comes to mind?
C: My earliest musical moments were most certainly made in the back of my family’s Ford Bronco, as my father played albums from groups like Queen, The Beatles, Kansas and Simon & Garfunkle. So I certainly grew up on a steady diet of classic rock. In regard to personal taste, I know it’s not quite the same these days, but MTV and MuchMusic had a huge impact on what I listened to growing up. Between MTV2’s “Rock Countdown” and MTV’s “Hard Rock Live,” they actually used to play music on those channels! And good music!
H: What was the first album you purchased with your own money? If not a vinyl release, please also include your first vinyl and when it was purchased.
C: The first album I ever purchased with my own cash was most likely Third Eye Blind’s self-titled, which is somehow still in the rotation today. In terms of vinyl, the first record I purchased was Beach Boys’ “Endless Summer,” which came from a Goodwill store out in Oil City, Pennsylvania. The record was in rough shape when I purchased it, but it’s still hanging in there, haha.
H: Speaking of vinyl, we’re probably going to talk about vinyl a lot in this interview. Let’s start with the basics on the site. When did you first come up with the idea for Modern Vinyl, and what was the first post featured on the site?
C: There wasn’t really a lightbulb moment as to when the idea initially came to me. I was working in the print journalism industry, writing on the crime beat, while also putting together features on a variety of topics. Modern Vinyl was just my way of having another creative outlet. There were no monetary goals when it started and it was more of just a hobby than anything else. I’d work on the site before going to work from 3-12 and then I’d come home and work on it some more. It’s just been a day-by-day experiment since then. The first post was about The Dangerous Summer’s “War Paint.”
H: Did you write online elsewhere before stepping out on your own?
C: I did not. I would keep on on the pop-punk/alt-rock scenes through Absolute Punk, but that’s about it. Wasn’t even a forum member or anything.
H: From my personal experiences, labels are sometimes unwilling to share vinyl with press ahead of release. Sometimes it’s for security reasons, but more often than not its because of cost. How did you convince labels to send you music early on?
C: Cost certainly plays a part, but I think it’s more because of the pressing timeline and just how close some releases cut it to the release date (or don’t cut it at all, as in delays). I’ll certainly admit that it was tough early on, though. When your blog is getting 100 views a day, there’s little benefit to labels sending out an expensive record. Luckily, people like Jenna over at Razor & Tie and Jake at Pure Noise Records were willing to help us out. So it wasn’t really anything that I did (I just asked), it was the kind people who made it happen. It also helped that I just bought a whole bunch of records during those opening months to make sure we had solid content and reviews.
H: People who are active in vinyl culture can no doubt find content on your site that would appeal to them, but do you offer anything for those just getting start in the world of turntables and vinyl?
C: It’s not that we offer content specifically for beginners (even though I’d love to get to turntable content eventually). Instead, I try to treat beginners, especially when they reach out to me via social media, with respect. Not everyone who reads our site will be a seasoned collector and people will have questions, whether they relate to turntables, who’s a good outlet to buy from or just general knowledge. There’s a tendency to treat these questions with disdain, though, in certain circles of record collectors. I just try to treat them with respect and help in any way I can. Our content is designed to appeal to passionate collectors, but our attitude is that anyone is welcome.
H: What would you say is the ultimate goal of Modern Vinyl?
C: Our goal is pretty simple. We just want to provide as complete of a vinyl news experience as possible. I’m not sure any other outlets on the web have quite hit this goal, so I really do believe we offer up something unique. We recently started covering cassettes, which I think is another valuable and physical music medium. All this being said, we still have a long ways to go if we want to hit this end goal.
H: How do you monetize your efforts? Do you plan to explore additional avenues for revenue in 2014?
C: Primarily, I’ll utilize the Amazon Affiliate program, which succeeds because of all the Modern Vinyl readers expanding their collection. Google ads is our other source of income at this time. Record labels and indie record stores can also advertise with us and we have very reasonable rates. We don’t sell too much merchandise, and when we do, it’s either for charity or at lower prices so that customers don’t have to break the bank for us.
H: When it comes to receiving music for review, do you only work with vinyl?
C: Mostly. A digital copy is always great to get a start on the music portion of our reviews, but we obviously need the record for sound quality and packaging purposes. To tell you the truth, some albums are even improved upon when throwing it on the turntable. The most recent example was The World Is A Beautiful Place.
H: The new year has just begun. What can readers expect from Modern Vinyl in 2014?
C: Hopefully, we can continue to provide the constant news, while keeping up on our regular features more often. Other obligations have taken hold recently (such as graduate school, other life responsibilities) and things like interviews, reviews and opinion pieces have been hard to come by. I’m hoping to bring those back in a big way this year.
H: If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
C: I could go on and on about this, but I’ll try to keep it short and sweet. In my opinion, major labels are playing a large part in the creation of a vinyl bubble, which will burst in case we’re not careful. Just like the inflation of compact disc prices prior to their slow, painful death, vinyl record prices have continued to increase. Single LPs are often times $20 each, which in the long run, will kill this habit. The hardcore collectors won’t really go anywhere, but if prices keep increasing, the casual collector will be pushed aside. There’s a really good interview on the subject over at Record Collector News, which everyone should check out (http://recordcollectornews.com/2013/05/the-rising-cost-of-new-vinyl/).
In terms of music blogging? An emphasis on “hit-whoring” articles or sensationalized material is really hurting the credibility of many blogs and as I’ve become more and more involved in the scene, it’s only been getting worse. I’m not going to start calling people out (I’m sure they know who they are), but music journalism needs to get back to what people really deserve out of it: solid and informed music coverage.
H: How many people are currently on the Modern Vinyl team?
C: Currently, we have 3 individuals (including myself) who are contributing regularly and a couple more who add in a review every now and then. I contribute almost all of the news material, while throwing together a review whenever time allows. James Cassar and Bill Houck deserve special recognition as people who have contributed much over the years.
H: Keeping on the subject of contributors, what do you look for in new recruits?
C: A passion for music is a must, as is some writing skill. The flow required to construct a solid article or review is tough to teach, but when you see it in someone’s writing, its a thing of beauty. Very few can actually write with purpose and poise.
H: What advice would you offer to someone hoping to get their start in the music industry, be it an artist or aspiring professional?
C: My advice is simple. Stop planning, start doing. And if you want to be a writer? Start blogging. It’s free and easy. What the hell are you waiting for?
H: What are your career goals?
C: To be honest, it will be curious to see how Modern Vinyl progresses after I graduate with my master’s degree. I’m hoping for it to be a solid source of income by then, so that I may continue to expand its operations. If it’s unsustainable, I’d still love to be involved in the music industry, either in the PR or social media avenues. The professional plans are definitely a toss-up at this point in my life.
H: I think that just about covers everything. Before I let you go, is there anything else you would like to share with our readers?
C: For anyone that reads Modern Vinyl, thank you from the bottom of my heart. It makes all the hard work I put into it worth it. You can always reach out to me at news@modern-vinyl.com or through Twitter, @ModernVinyl.
