Pressing records

Hiya!

Quick poll: do you still buy records or CDs? Is it worth a musician pressing them up in this day and age? I've been in two minds about this for a while, as it might lend some kind of she-put-her-money-where-her-mouth-is legitimacy to my releases and help get them into shops that sell physical copies as well as digital downloads, but I can picture them ending up sitting in my house indefinitely if people simply don't really buy physical records anymore, which would be a bit disheartening. (It seems less bureaucratic to get vinyl records mass produced than CDs, due to piracy concerns regarding the latter requiring the company involved to have proper licensing and the like that really eats into the profit margins of tiny niche companies.)

Anyway, opinions on whether this would be a good idea?

Thanks!

I buy both records and CDs. I attach the physicality of the item to owning it, I suppose...

I see your point of view though. I think it might be difficult to move physical items unless you're already decently established. I think the whole bandcamp approach is quite good for startup musicians (no idea where you're at in your musical career, tbh. I'd love to hear some of your music though, I see your bandcamp there!).

I think it's reasonable to use bandcamp and digital until you reach a level where people are asking for physical releases. On the other side of things, maybe getting pre-orders from fans will help you determine if you can afford a physical release etc.

Not sure!

Rarely, if ever, buy just digital music. Buy CD's and vinyl, even if I listen to it mostly on my computer/DAP. Hasn't vinyl sales gone up recently due to all the hipsters buying 12s?

  On 4/12/2014 at 3:25 PM, azatoth said:

Rarely, if ever, buy just digital music. Buy CD's and vinyl, even if I listen to it mostly on my computer/DAP. Hasn't vinyl sales gone up recently due to all the hipsters buying 12s?

yeah vinyl is making a huge comeback. I do the same as you, I buy CDs etc and then rip it and put it on my ipod lol.

But I still prefer to have that physical copy in my collection.

When I buy music I only buy vinyl. lost my interesst for CDs a while ago. Not interessted in buying digital files, at all.

But I have to admit I stopped myself in hoarding records, well at least a bit...

I buy vinyls and digital downloads. If I have to buy a CD then I just rip it. I don't see any point in digital physical releases. It's the same bits over the internet as in the CD and the CD isn't good for archiving either.

  On 4/12/2014 at 3:16 PM, ZoeB said:

Hiya!

 

Quick poll: do you still buy records or CDs?

Nope, think Go Plastic is the last cd I've bought when it came out in 2001. Don't have a cd player anymore, putting a cd inside my laptop feels clunky and redundant, rather have digital versions. Whenever I do purchase music it is flacs with my paypal account through bandcamp. I'm thinking about getting an usb-record player for sampling sake, surely I will start buying records then, but not intent on becoming a collector.

With that being said, I like the idea of limited cd-r, vinyl or cassette releases, something personal that can come additionally with a bandcamp release merchandise option.

  Quote

 

Is it worth a musician pressing them up in this day and age? I've been in two minds about this for a while, as it might lend some kind of she-put-her-money-where-her-mouth-is legitimacy to my releases and help get them into shops that sell physical copies as well as digital downloads, but I can picture them ending up sitting in my house indefinitely if people simply don't really buy physical records anymore, which would be a bit disheartening. (It seems less bureaucratic to get vinyl records mass produced than CDs, due to piracy concerns regarding the latter requiring the company involved to have proper licensing and the like that really eats into the profit margins of tiny niche companies.)

 

Anyway, opinions on whether this would be a good idea?

Depending on the type of music you make, popularity, I think trying to get on a label which already releases similar media and has a network, might be a smarter move compared to d.i.y (bandcamp) selling. You would ride on the validation of the labels stamp, affiliated artists and automatically get more exposure through all the connections.

I'm in a project right now where 500 records have been pressed, quality vinyl, artwork & mastering costs making it around 4000 euro's total, hopefully the costs will get returned for the initiators, but I have doubts. The idea is to sell most records during the festival shows, family / friends / fans & a few record shops in Holland. The music is accessible though, I wouldn't press such numbers for my own music.

Good luck.

I buy vinyl wherever possible, and digital download as a secondary. It's very rare that I buy a CD anymore, last time I was buying CDs was back in 2004-2005.

Also if you have some feelings of trepidation about releasing CDs, you could always try digital vinyls lol

  On 4/12/2014 at 4:07 PM, StephenG said:

digital vinyls

You joke, but some Spectrum games were released on vinyl and even over the radio. :)

  On 4/12/2014 at 4:31 PM, ZoeB said:

 

  On 4/12/2014 at 4:07 PM, StephenG said:

digital vinyls

 

You joke, but some Spectrum games were released on vinyl and even over the radio. :)

 

also the kickstarter is essentially for some digital vinyls

I haven't bought a CD since Heligoland

Yeah, CDs are obsolete.

CDs are the master race format.

I like my CDs but quite honestly never play them direct off the disc. Maybe it's something I should try.

CDs are the best for a high quality experience. Vinyl is nice but inherently imperfect (part of its appeal...) but I rarely buy vinyl because my equipment is sub-par. If I care about an album, I always buy CD. I buy digital for some stuff that I'm mildly interested in, or if I can't justify splurging on the expensive cost that some labels charge for CDs these days.

Sent using magic

I'm still planning to burn CD's but everyone of my friends on facebook say it isn't worth the hassle

I buy all formats still (and if you release something on vinyl Zoe I'd be all over it).

Haven't actually played CDs for a long time but recently I've been doing it for novelty's sake.

I play records more than CDs, though my record player has just died :c

I used to buy CDs. Then I moved across the country. Now I'm not really into it anymore.

I occasionally buy vinyl, but I have a shitty player/system so it's not really much of a thing. but you usually get digital downloads with them anyway and the artworks are a big pro. CDs are a bit more boring in comparison, don't really see the point anymore. I'd go for USB sticks or something.

if you end up making something you will get a lot of work selling them.. I have a friend who ran a label for a while, did some vinyl. two releases. but he gave up trying to sell them and now he has tons of them rotting away in his parents garage somewhere. like he stopped caring about trying.

I pretty much only buy mp3s. I'll buy a vinyl if I know the artist personally or if the release would sound fucking awesome in that format (Lusine, Miles Davis, etc). I think CD releases are a bit silly these days. For an indie artist, I think digital + short run vinyl makes sense (but as was said above, you want people to be asking to buy it first).

ZoeB!

There is beauty in CD's and tapes and vinyl that isn't--or shouldn't be--negated by the prevalence and practicality of digital.

If I was to release a record on tape (which I'm about to do) I would do it because I wanted there to be tapes of my record in the world. However many actually get sold or otherwise disseminated is (at a certain point) beyond my control.

Similarly, if I happened to have the money sitting around to press vinyl, I'd do it just because it's fun and interesting and beautiful. I probably wouldn't put too much thought in how many I'd actually sell.

I don't know if that makes sense, but that's how my brain works. Some of my favorite bands are on tape labels that sell 50 copies per record.

100% digital. Only keen to buy physical if it's for a mate/music that i absoloutly adore. Missed out on a limited physical release from Silent Season & regretted not buying it afterwards 8-(

As far as the beauty of it goes, I'm not sure I really romanticise physical releases all that much. I'm very much into the music itself, and the cover artwork too, whereas I'm less into that whole idea of having a physical thing to hold in my hands. (Although ironically, I do like breaking my albums up into different "sides", which it seems someone at Discogs isn't too happy about.) Partly as I'd rather spend my time making music than queueing at a post office, and perhaps partly because I spend most of my time thinking about things in a pretty abstract way, not paying much thought to the literally mundane, as it were. (Mundane has too religious connotations, but I'm trying really hard not to say "meatspace" here!) So this would be more for other people's enjoyment, as well as getting it into (online record dealing etc) shops.

OK then, a quick follow-up question: for those of you who do buy records, would you be more likely to buy an album in a more interesting or novelty type form such as a coloured disc instead of a plain black one? Is big, 12" squared cover artwork essential to you, or is the label in the middle of the record itself sufficient, housed in a plain sleeve?

If we're talking about having something more to appreciate the beauty of, instead of to sit down and listen to (I'm guessing most records come with instant downloads these days), I'm guessing the coloured Artificial Intelligence releases are better than, say, the Hangable Auto Bulbs?

Novelty all the way for me fer shure.

Example: one of my most recent vinyl purchases was Merzbow's Frog (note I already own this as the expanded 2CD version).

Pics in spoiler.