What's up with all these ultra-limited editions nowadays for every album?

Whenever I see some boomkat's newsletter, the 50% of the albums are something ridiculous like 50-300 copies limited. If it's in CD, there's no LP, and viceversa. Never a digital download. And the price of the copy is always standard.

So, I don't think this makes sense for an economic viewpoint (Shouldn't every copy cost more with less supply?), neither for other reasons (Why wouldn't you want to be heared?). This only favors collectors and speculators. I just don't get it.

Maybe can I get some explanations from some artists in here.

1. get a what.cd invite, download anything you want

2. pay the artist what you think he/she deserves via paypal or something

3. put an end to 20th century retarded music industry paradigm.

4. win

in in many cases, limited releases can build a fanbase the way that widely-released albums cannot. washed out (as wank as he is) was really smart in releasing a cassette-only version of an ep, limited to 50 copies or something like that. once that happened, he then released a limited vinyl version of another ep in something like 1000 or 500 copies, which promptly sold out. his next album is coming out on sub pop in what i would guess is an unlimited edition.

limited releases are almost a treasure hunt or something—aside from that, at times the demand is honestly very low. what i'm thinking of right now is james ferraro and spencer clark of the skaters. their releases are generally limited to a couple hundred CDrs and cassettes, which fans clamor for. then again, the rare case that they, too, release a more widely available album, then it tends to be snatched up all the more quickly. the only difference in that case is that they simply release WAY more limited CDs and cassettes, but beyond that it's basically the same dynamic.

as an artist, too, it must be a lot of fun to make a release more intimate, provided that your fanbase is large enough to make the demand that much larger than the edition size of your release. so you've got limited supply and increased demand, ensuing fanbase growth, and intimacy between the musician, their releases, and the audience that listens to said releases. it makes sense dude.

  On 6/10/2011 at 2:21 PM, eugene said:

1. get a what.cd invite, download anything you want

2. pay the artist what you think he/she deserves via paypal or something

3. put an end to 20th century retarded music industry paradigm.

4. win

or this

Smaller runs mean less overhead and less chance of surplus. The market now is way more labels but the same amount of customers, so naturally it has gone to a more boutique style business model. In order to attract buyers, a lot of labels use nice packaging or some kind of bundle deal with hardcopy releases.

  On 6/10/2011 at 6:08 PM, patternoverlap said:

Smaller runs mean less overhead and less chance of surplus. The market now is way more labels but the same amount of customers, so naturally it has gone to a more boutique style business model. In order to attract buyers, a lot of labels use nice packaging or some kind of bundle deal with hardcopy releases.

my point was from the p.o.v. of the artist, but this sounds totally spot on too, from a label perspective. generally speaking, the purchase of physical copies of music has decreased so much that, from a marketing stance, limited and deluxe editions/packaging makes much more sense to convince prospective buyers.

  On 6/10/2011 at 6:11 PM, KY said:

  On 6/10/2011 at 6:08 PM, patternoverlap said:

Smaller runs mean less overhead and less chance of surplus. The market now is way more labels but the same amount of customers, so naturally it has gone to a more boutique style business model. In order to attract buyers, a lot of labels use nice packaging or some kind of bundle deal with hardcopy releases.

my point was from the p.o.v. of the artist, but this sounds totally spot on too, from a label perspective. generally speaking, the purchase of physical copies of music has decreased so much that, from a marketing stance, limited and deluxe editions/packaging makes much more sense to convince prospective buyers.

I certainly wasn't disagreeing with what you posted, merely trying to post another aspect to it.

  On 6/10/2011 at 6:08 PM, patternoverlap said:

Smaller runs mean less overhead and less chance of surplus. The market now is way more labels but the same amount of customers, so naturally it has gone to a more boutique style business model. In order to attract buyers, a lot of labels use nice packaging or some kind of bundle deal with hardcopy releases.

True although there are exceptions to the rule, it's economically unviable to press less than 250 copies of something on vinyl. However, unfortunately a lot of the time, the press of an average electronic 12" won't be more than 300ish anyway. Saying something is limited is a good way to gain a sense of urgency, whether it is artificial or not is another question. When you think about it, everything is limited really, it's just that some runs are more limited than others

I like the limited-ness. Gives you a part of summit nice.

Plus for me its the green light to download it if its sold out. Unless there is a digital download.

rarity makes things cooler

If it wasn't limited I probably wouldn't have bought 36's new single. Keeping it limited makes me feel like "I don't know if I'd like this record... What if I end up liking it, but I didn't buy it, and now it's overpriced for rareness?" and end up buying.

dwindling sales - 300 is the new 2000

limited or not, for it to be sought after it has to be good. some bands and artists should focus more on making quality music before worrying about the rest.

  On 6/11/2011 at 7:54 PM, Squawk2 said:

dwindling sales - 300 is the new 2000

shit, well, I was making a release that was limited to 50 but with that ratio that means that 50 is the new 300, and i was aiming for the former 150 or so, so i guess i should cut down my production.

Goon is correct - it's easier to low-ball it if you're doing things on a budget or just aiming to sell everything you press up. Another reason lots of artists and labels are doing shorter runs now is probably because most manufacturers (vinyl, CD, CD-R, tape) are now willing to do lower runs, possibly due to the economy being slower and "some" cash being better than "no" cash.

From my super-jilted perspective (I'm playing the role of both artist and label here) the lower-runs thing works better for me because it enables me to continually have room/money to release new work with faster turnover, as opposed to making 1000 of something and sitting on it for a really long time. Ultimately, everything depends on what kind of market the music is meant for, how popular the music is and how interested the listeners are in acquiring a physical format release.

Granted...I am a pretty biased party as I make dozens of hours of new music each year and release a handful of things each month from my own bedroom studio here. My experiences won't apply to most folks.

Wouldn't be better is you launch a shorter run of LPs/CDs while allowing digital downloads at the same time? I noticed in the last times that more and more artists doesn't put his work available to download. I thought that with time it would be the complete opposite... it isn't profitable?

Things seem to slowly be shifting to more digital. I think part of it is that the people who buy want to buy a hard copy. Those who want just the digital will just pirate it.

no,

im an avid pirate, i haven't bought a cd since 2000's kid a, but recently i started buying flacs. i think the main variable affecting this decision is the connection with the artists, the internet age musicians tend to be more communicable and more accessible (socially), you sort of end up caring more for them, you didn't get this with multimillionaire rock stars and such in the previous century. i never gave a fuck about having a physical copy either, it's all about the music after all.

  On 6/13/2011 at 6:34 PM, Hertha Thiele said:

Wouldn't be better is you launch a shorter run of LPs/CDs while allowing digital downloads at the same time? I noticed in the last times that more and more artists doesn't put his work available to download. I thought that with time it would be the complete opposite... it isn't profitable?

Sorry, forgot to note the digital aspect of releasing my work as well: I do already offer almost every single release I press hardcopies of in both FLAC & MP3 formats.

The thing about digital stuff is - in my case - most people who follow my work still prefer physical editions of my music, but there's a smaller, separate group of people who seem to favor digital files. Personally, I could really care less about digital stuff, and even CDs/CD-Rs - I prefer vinyl and cassettes over all other formats for music, but because I do things on a budget and I want to meet the needs of my listeners, CD-Rs and digital files it is. It doesn't really bother me, it's simply a reality of the current industry...albeit a reality of an industry so fickle that it can literally change overnight. Like right now, vinyl is coming way back into trend and CD sales aren't really cutting it as much, but again that's just my experience with selling my own stuff at Milieu Music and selling work by a handful of well-known and not-so-well-known experimental artists at Install. Case in point: Install is just now finishing up its current release schedule of CDs/CD-Rs and after that, we're doing vinyl and tapes for the foreseeable future.

  On 6/14/2011 at 6:05 AM, Mellow U said:

after that, we're doing vinyl and tapes for the foreseeable future.

excited for this from milieu.

  On 6/14/2011 at 6:35 AM, ganus said:

  On 6/14/2011 at 6:05 AM, Mellow U said:

after that, we're doing vinyl and tapes for the foreseeable future.

excited for this from milieu.

Thanks man! I can assure you there is a very tasty Milieu LP due out within the year at Install, and if you're familiar with my band VCV, our Jovian Clouds LP is just about to be released this week. Beyond that, if you're REALLY bent on getting more of my vinyl stuff, I've got a full-length Coppice Halifax LP, a split 7" with Biathalon, and a 2x7" split with a surprise artist all due out in the next few months.

It's simply a way to make money selling instant "rarities", it makes people rush to buy your limited to 100 copies tape or CDr.

In fairness, they're going to do whatever they can to try and make money out of fleeting market.

  On 2/17/2013 at 8:05 PM, SampleScience said:

It's simply a way to make money selling instant "rarities", it makes people rush to buy your limited to 100 copies tape or CDr.

Agreed, though in some cases, I suppose it's not exactly "feasible" to do a larger run, i.e. if you're a label like Cotton Goods and all 100 editions are handmade, stamped, bla bla. I'm sure making 500 of those, or more, would suck.

I'm not sure I understand the collectability of cassettes. Are these just novelties for a generation too young to remember the 80s, is it an ironic statement like some of the fugly fashions popular now? Or is it some kind of indie backlash against downloading, preferring the tape hiss of the past as opposed to a super clean digital release? Really curious.

  On 2/17/2013 at 10:00 PM, Rubin Farr said:

I'm not sure I understand the collectability of cassettes. Are these just novelties for a generation too young to remember the 80s, is it an ironic statement like some of the fugly fashions popular now? Or is it some kind of indie backlash against downloading, preferring the tape hiss of the past as opposed to a super clean digital release? Really curious.

I think often it's become a combination of all of those things. Personally I think factors like irony and fad-ish popularity is less and less the case - more and more artists are releasing on the format. It's piggiebacked on vinyl in the whole resurgence of hard formats. It's cheaper to print, especially in small batches, than vinyl. The hiss is probably appealing to (and hell, there's still dolby to turn on and it's still better than shitty mp3 rips). The idea of ordering one, especially with cool artwork, seems more appealing than simply downloading a release. Seems like the perfect format for limited edition releases. I'm a bit of a nut for the format too partly it's a lot easier for me to "crate dig" for cassettes than vinyl at thrift stores. I find a lot of cool oddities and novelty cassettes I could never discover anywhere else.

I'm 27 and I did have a cassette walkman before simply burning CDs in middle school and high school, but I'm probably the cut-off in terms of people who actually remember the format - so in that sense I suppose part of it is nostalgia (my mom and dad had a ton before he started buying CDs and likewise they mostly listened to records as kids and teens and didn't really have them around when I grew up). Hell, some cars still have tape decks and if not most have 1/8 " audio inputs - swap your iPod with a walkman and now you can listen to your limited edition drone tape on the road!