Vinyl. How To Burst A Bubble

Savage warns that the industry may be pushing its luck. “It’s ripping off fans,” he says. “We fear it may lead to buyer exhaustion and cause the bubble to collapse.”

Exactly, that is why I found the article interesting.

Remember these big acts are those who keep the record pressing plants profitable, and prices at their current already extortionate level.

Also a recent Guardian article said that many young record buyers are starting to turn to the CD format as you can buy two or three CD’s for the price of a vinyl.

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But it’s not going to happen, even if a record shop owner from Birkenhead thinks it might. :grin:

Well I’m thinking of buying a new CD player and I’m in my 60’s.

I bought 2 cd’s on Thursday, one a Sacd, very nice sounding. It’s the future.

But I’ll still be buying LPs.

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The article, and others, makes it clear that it already is happening.

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"We fear it may lead to buyer exhaustion and cause the bubble to collapse.”

The use of the word may and cause indicates that is not the case.

Ultimately it all depends on whether you believe all you read in articles.

I’ll say it again then, “… and others”.

Great long thread on this on Reddit involving multiple sellers from across the globe talking about percentage and actual sales drop offs on pre orders being of enough concern that there is an active pivot away from those genres where there’s an issue.

Good series of articles on it in Billboard and NPR have covered it too. Figures showing the start of a downward trend are freely available. The issue is not whether there will be such a trend but how bad it gets.

Site already on line tracking incomplete releases and gaining momentum rapidity

Ultimately it depends on whether you read something and decide to read wider and deeper on it.

Concern.

There is a thread on the Naim forum claiming missing tracks on vinyl albums has burst the bubble. :sob:

It’s the Internet, people complain about stuff.

I expect the people who care, will simply not pre order but wait to see if there is a problem before purchase.
No big deal.

If sales of records with problems discussed actually do drop off in any great number, the record companies will obviously make sure problem goes away.

Really? Why do they buy?

That is a fact. Ownership of stuff from an artist. Good for display purposes. Lots of odd reasons to those on the outside if it.

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Is there a thread you’d like to contribute to without demeaning the subject and dismissing it as trivial?

It is, as you tediously keep noting on various threads, the internet and, yes, people do complain about stuff. Putting aside the sheer “so f%4kung what?” of that and the fact it doesn’t actually require comment, this is not a complaint thread and your posts don’t appear to have noticed that. An article of interest to the OP has been posted for discussion purposes. We are doing exactly that. You seem more keen on being dismissive.

The “people who care” pre order because it’s about being seen to be both committed to a specific artist and owning everything by them even and being seen to be ahead of the cultural curve. As is clear from the current issue, they actually don’t wait and see. Once they know there’s an issue they don’t buy at all because their attachment to the artist is such that they feel personally let down. The people who collect for the sake of collection will buy anyway even though there’s no extra value in this. It’s the rest where the concern/issue lies.

Really

Quote from OP

“Vital tracks missing, unfinished versions of songs, heavy handed editing and a load of other crap seem to be the order of the day with some artists”

One of your posts.

“Pushing out albums with missing tracks and unproduced versions is still on the wrong side of disgraceful though” .

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They’re called “observations”. I no longer buy vinyl or own a turntable. What possible “complaint” could I have?

You seem more interested in demeaning the subject than discussion.

Discussion forums with matters some see as trivial. Who knew? :woman_shrugging:

It’s not actually compulsory to post on threads you see as being trivial.

I stopped at “The Guardian”. Legacy media, waste of time.

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Music business Worldwide:

NME (who knew it still existed) with this link has similar results for the UK

Here is a screeenshot:


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With some time to waste whilst drinking my first coffe of the day, I tried to find some other articles about this latest Record Company rip off.

From Headphonesty.

Pressing a record isn’t quick. Each disc takes around 30 seconds to make, and the full production process, from final music submission to warehouse delivery, runs 10 to 12 weeks. By contrast, streaming platforms can get files as late as Wednesday for a Friday release, and sometimes even within 24 hours.

When artists keep tweaking their albums until the last moment, physical formats can’t keep up. That’s why even the CD versions of these albums, which can hold up to about 74-80 minutes, also arrived with shortened tracklists.

However, labels still ship those incomplete editions because they count the same for chart purposes.

Under Billboard’s current rules, 1,250 premium streams or 3,750 ad-supported streams equal one album unit. A single vinyl or CD sale also equals one unit, no matter how many songs are included, as long as the release has at least four tracks.

For RIAA certifications, on the other hand, 1,500 streams equal one album unit. Either way, selling a stripped-down LP boosts first-week numbers just as much as selling the full thing.

That math helps explain why fans are paying full price for what feels like half an album.

This NPR link is a good one too.

Now I understand what “First pressing” and “One time pressing” mean. Then the record companies then sell the the punters a “Complete Edition” or “Official Vinyl” with all the tracks and handily sell two copies of the same album.

Laa laa laa laa I’m not listening.

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Interesting talking to my 21 year old and their friends about this. All musicians. All with a keen interest in the reproduction of sound from their instruments. None of them interested in separates for the reproduction of music because they take up too much space and add too much complexity when they want to listen to music. All own smart speakers of varying quality (the offspring still uses and loves their Muso QB). All own headphones. All horrified by the idea of owning speakers.

All of them own vinyl for display purposes by artists they love. My 21 year old has a couple of Rush picture discs. Views them pretty much as the same thing as the various framed NFL shirts on their wall.

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You don’t buy vinyl. :thinking:

But you make a very good point.
Why would somebody who doesn’t buy or own vinyl complain about vinyl.

I posted this a while ago
I was in a record shop browsing and there were a couple of guys clutching armfuls of LPs
They were quite sociable so I said I hope you’ve got something decent to play them on .
Answer
We don’t play them we just like the package and collect the big artwork.
:scream:

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It seems we’ve discovered a new irregular verb:

  • I observe
  • You complain
  • They whine like an annoying little child
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