Vinyl records make a return

MacArthur grant for Howie Weinberg, to teach the children.

thicker vinyl = deeper grooves = richer sound, more durable/long-lasting medium

right?

you're probably right.. maybe i'm just ignorant..

From that article on best buy... : Compared with a CD, vinyl costs more to make and retails for a higher price -- $22.95 vs. around $13.99 for a CD -- but has lower margins.

I thought vinyl was inexpensive to press years ago.. Is it possible that all these extra "audiophile" elements to the record-making process, which seemed not all that present before the 90's, are now increasing the cost?

i think it's more that the scale of production has gone down, so the price has gone up.

I notice a difference in sound with thicker records, but I think it depends on the record. All this stuff is relative. Your turntable/receiver set up makes a difference, your needle...analog playback varies a lot more from stereo to stereo.

I heard that the difference between digital data and analog data is the digital can be deleted but analog must be destroyed.

cost prices of new vinyl..u make about 2 or 3 dollars after retail markup


RESTOCKS
Ben Harper Shimmer & Shine (10'') Virgin Records 95014 $3.19
Bloody Beetroots WARP (feat. Steve Aoki) 12'' Downtown/Dim Mak DM133 $5.19
Chingy Fly Like Me (Featuring Amerie) Def Jam B001058711 $3.99
DJ Felli Fel Feel It (feat. T-Pain, Sean Paul, Flo Rida, Pitbull) (12'') Def Jam B001270911 $3.99
Jamie Foxx Blame It (feat. T-Pain) 12'' J Records 88697462661 $4.69
Soulja Boy Tell'em Soulja Girl (Feat. I-15) Interscope B001021711 $3.99
Terror Squad Lean Back Universal B000270411 $3.99
Weird Science Haus Of Cards 12'' Downtown/Dim Mak DM125 $4.99
Slayer Psychopathy Red (Red Vinyl) (7'' w/ Picture Sleeve) Columbia 886975070671 $5.19
Sublime Superstar Punani / April 29, 1992 (Leary) (7'' w/ Picture Sleeve) Geffen/Gasoline Alley/Skunk Records 602527017792 $4.59
Bob Dylan Together Through Life [2 LP] (180 Gram Vinyl + CD of entire album) Columbia 88697438931 $17.36
Charles Spearin (of Broken Social Scene) Happiness Project [LP] (with Braille cover) Arts & Crafts 3900 $12.49
Common Resurrection [LP] Relativity Cat 12081 $5.77
DJ Rob Cartoon Breaks And Sound Effects Volume 1 [LP] Yosumi Records YSJ008 $8.89
Ida Maria Fortress Round My Heart [LP] Upper 11 B001282801 $8.39
J Dilla Donuts [2 LP] Stones Throw Records STH2126 $14.49
M.I.A. Kala [2 LP] Interscope B000971501 $10.77
Portishead Third [2 LP] (includes full album MP3 download card) Island B001114201 $10.77
Public Enemy Rebirth of a Nation [2LP] Guerrilla Funk GFK31021LP $11.29
Ray LaMontagne Gossip In The Grain [2LP] (w/full cd insert) RCA 88697326701 $17.40
Smif-N-Wessun Dah Shinin [2 LP] Nervous Records NRV 020051 $10.06
Tori Amos American Doll Posse [2 LP] [180 Gram Vinyl in Gatefold Sleeve] Epic 86140 $14.89
Van Morrison Astral Weeks Live At The Hollywood Bowl [2 LP] Manhattan 93423 $15.59

If you look at the stuff that Scorpio distributes, you are paying 11.99 retail for a "regular" vinyl reissue and 13.99 for the 180 gram ones, and that shit sounds amazing. There is a crappy cd/video game/dvd shop in my town that sells Scorpio catalog reissues almost exclusively and I am always very happy with the product.

Danbunny dropping knowledge.

One thing about LPs that wont come back, but I miss, is the inner sleeve advertising the label's other offerings. Like pulling out the first Led Zep, and seeing these

http://www.kalamu.com/bol/wp-content/content/images/roberta%20quiet%20fire%20cover.jpg
http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm181/karl_ktarn/1-39.jpg

brklynphono

sumone else do th math pleez

PRICING

Mastering per side (side under 20 minutes)

$165.00

Mastering per side (side over 20 minutes)

$200.00



Plating per side (1 step and replacements)

$85.00

Plating per side (2 step)

$135.00



Labels printing:


_1 color

$165.00

_2 color

$215.00

_3 color

$300.00

_4 color

$400.00



Sleeves

$0.00



Jackets (stock black or white, with or without hole)

$0.35



Press set up charges

$150.00



Test pressing (5)

$25.00



140 gram record (black vinyl)

$1.25

(color vinyl is also available - ask for pricing)




Shrink-wrap (per record)

$0.15



Stickering and inserting (per item/per record)

$0.05

orig deep groove mono black label riverside

Once again... M.I.A.'s Kala is 47 minutes and it's a 2-disc set. I'm not into that idea.

the place you really lose money with new vinyl is with singles. to turn a profit a single has to be wholesaled for a minimum of $3.50-$4.25, so in store then this shit is costing like $6+. for a single! xp

One thing about LPs that wont come back, but I miss, is the inner sleeve advertising the label's other offerings. Like pulling out the first Led Zep, and seeing these

I was amazed looking at one of these that Redd Foxx has an album called "You Forgot To Wash Your Ass" or something to that extent.. I was 8 or 9 years old at the time, so naturally I laughed at this for several minutes.

Elvis Costello Complicated Shadows b/w Dirty Rotten Shame (exclusive track) (7'' w/ Picture Sleeve) Hear Music ELVISC7 $1.59
Menahan Street Band The Wolf b/w Bushwick Lullaby (7'') Daptone Records / Dunham Records DAP-1045 $3.99
Champion Jack Dupree Blues From The Gutter [LP] Doxy DOYLP 614 $20.39
Charles Mingus Trio (180 Gram Vinyl) [LP] Doxy DOXLP 815 $20.39
Charlie Feathers Liaison Field (180 Gram Vinyl) [LP] Doxy DOYLP 615 $20.39


FIRST TIME
Archies vs BP vs Effcee Satisfaction/Sugar Sugar Cleopatra CLP-SI-1369 $4.29
Black Flag Six Pack [12'' EP] SST Records Inc. SST 5 $5.39
BP vs Effcee vs A Flock Of Seagulls I Ran (So Far Away)/New Year's Day Cleopatra CLP-SI-1378 $4.29
A Flock Of Seagulls I Ran (So Far Away) Space Age Love Song Cleopatra CLP-SS-1938 $5.89
Black Flag Louie Louie / Damaged 7'' SST Records Inc. SST 175 $3.39
Black Flag Nervous Breakdown 7'' SST Records Inc. SST 1 $3.39
Black Flag Six Pack [10'' EP] SST Records Inc. SST 920 $6.59
Black Flag Six Pack 7'' SST Records Inc. SST 5 $3.39
Black Flag TV Party 7'' (non-LP version) SST Records Inc. SST 12 $3.39
Johnny Thunders Glam Punk & Junk - Chinese Rocks / London Boys [7''] Cleopatra CLP-SS-1933 $5.89
Leif Garrett I Was Made For Dancin' Cleopatra CLP-SS-1947 $5.89
Naomi Shelton & The Gospel Queens What Have You Done? (7'') Daptone Records DAP-1036 $3.99
Sharon Jones How Long Do I Have To Wait For You ? (Ticklah Remix) (7'') Daptone Records DAP-1040 $3.99
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings 100 Days, 100 Nights / Settling In (7'') Daptone Records DAP-1037 $3.99
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings I'm Not Gonna Cry / Money Don't Make The Man (7'') Daptone Records DAP-1031 $3.99
Sharon Jones And The Dap-Kings / Dap-Kings, The Got A Thing On My Mind (7'') Daptone Records DAP-1001 $3.99
Daptone Records Slipmats (Glow-In-The-Dark - pair) (includes Daptone sticker) Daptone Records G379 $12.99
Black Flag Damaged [LP] SST Records Inc. SST 7 $8.09
Bob & Gene If This World Were Mine...[LP] Daptone Records DAP-010 $10.99
Che Guevara The Voice Of The Revolution [LP] Cleopatra CLP-LP-2430 $14.99
Daktaris Soul Explosion [LP] Daptone Records DAP-009 $10.99
Larry Levan Paradise Garage [2 LP] Salsoul SSL-LP-1018 $16.59
Poets Of Rhythm Practice What You Preach [LP] Daptone Records DAP-007 $10.99
Sid Vicious F#@K Off You C#%T [LP] Anarchy Music ARY-LP-8089 $14.09
Various Artists Como Now: The Voices Of Panola Co., Mississippi [LP] Daptone Records DAP-014 $10.99
Various Artists Punk As Fuck [LP] Cleopatra CLP-LP-2725 $14.99
Various Artists Under The Sun Soundtrack [2LP] Ubiquity UBR11238-1 $16.49


RESTOCKS
50 Cent I Get Money Interscope B000980811 $3.99
Betty Padgett vs. Artur Foy Sugar Daddy / Get Up And Dance 12'' Luv N Haight Records LHR 100571 $5.39
Black Eyed Peas Pump It Interscope B000630611 $3.99
Black Flag TV Party 12'' (non-LP version) SST Records Inc. SST 12 $5.39
Bloody Beetroots WARP (feat. Steve Aoki) 12'' Downtown/Dim Mak DM133 $5.19
Chingy Fly Like Me (Featuring Amerie) Def Jam B001058711 $3.99
Daddy Yankee Gangsta Zone (Machete Remix) Interscope B000702611 $3.99
DJ Felli Fel Feel It (feat. T-Pain, Sean Paul, Flo Rida, Pitbull) (12'') Def Jam B001270911 $3.99
Elvis Presley That's All Right Mama (Elvis vs 13 Cats Remix) 12'' Cleopatra CLP-SI-1377 $4.99
Eminem Encore (feat. Dr. Dre & 50 Cent) 12'' Aftermath B000383611 $3.99
Estelle American Boy (Feat. Kanye West) Atlantic 422972 $4.25
Estelle Wait A Minute (Just A Touch) Atlantic 405948 $4.25
Game Game's Pain (feat. Keyshia Cole) Aftermath B001156211 $3.99
Jay-Z Anything / Big Pimpin' Def Jam 3145626701 $3.99
Jay-Z/Linkin Park Numb/Encore ADA/Warner Bros. Records WBR 427730 $4.39
Juvenile Back That Azz Up Universal 0121564821 $3.99
Lady GaGa Just Dance (feat. Colby O'Donis) [Remix] Interscope B001129811 $3.99
Lil Wayne Got Money (ft. T-Pain) Universal Motown B001160211 $3.99
LL Cool J Baby (ft. The-Dream) / Rockin' With The G.O.A.T. Def Jam B001165911 $3.99
Ludacris Stand Up (Feat. Shawnna) Def Jam B000118311 $3.99
Mariah Carey I'll Be Lovin' U Long Time b/w Remix feat. T.I. Island B001177511 $3.99
Memphis Bleek Like That Def Jam B000377611 $3.99
Nas Hero (feat. Keri Hilson) Def Jam B001166011 $3.99
Ne-Yo Because Of You Def Jam B000867811 $3.99
Ne-Yo Closer Def Jam B001122211 $3.99
Ne-Yo Sexy Love Def Jam B000734211 $3.99
Ne-Yo So Sick Def Jam B000619011 $3.99
Plies Bust It Baby Part II (feat. Ne-Yo) b/w Who Hotter Than Me Atlantic 506620 $4.25
Shiny Toy Guns Le Disko (Remixes) Universal Motown B000829911 $3.99
Shiny Toy Guns You Are The One (Remixes) Universal Motown B000980911 $6.79
Simian Mobile Disco Hustler Interscope B001052911 $3.99
Weird Science Haus Of Cards 12'' Downtown/Dim Mak DM125 $4.99
Yuksek Tonight (includes new remixes) 12'' CherryTree/Interscope B001288411 $4.49
Yung Joc Bottle Poppin' (Feat. Gorilla Zoe)/Play Your Cards Bad Boy 334460 $4.25
Johnny Thunders Disappointed In You 7'' Cleopatra CLP-SS-3298 $5.89
Ramones I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend b/w Judy Is A Punk 7'' Norton NR 65 $5.69
U2 Vertigo [7''] Interscope Records B0003580-21 $3.99
Ultimate Breaks & Beats I Believe In Miracles Street Beat SBR774-7 $5.99
Vibrators Troops Of Tomorrow 7'' Cleopatra CLP-SS-3308 $5.89
I (turntable) Vinyl T-Shirt (Large) Warner Brothers MH-63804 $12.99
I (turntable) Vinyl T-Shirt (X-Large) Warner Brothers MH-63805 $12.99
Amy Winehouse Frank [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl Import) Island (Import) 1776241 $19.79
Black Flag Everything Went Black [2 LP] SST Records Inc. SST 15 $10.29
Bob Dylan Another Side Of Bob Dylan (180 Gram Vinyl) [LP] Sundazed Music SUN-LP-5121 $14.09
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan [LP] [MONO EDITION] Sundazed Music SUN-LP-5120 $14.09
Bob Marley & The Wailers Gold Collection 1970-71 Vol.1 (Picture Disc) [LP] Erika ER2002 28 $14.19
Bob Marley & The Wailers Gold Collection 1970-71 Vol.2 (Picture Disc) [LP] Erika ER2002 29 $14.19
Brian Wilson Smile Rhino Records RHI 765821 $20.59
Budos Band The Budos Band [LP] Daptone Records DAP-005 $10.99
Budos Band The Budos Band II [LP] Daptone Records DAP-011 $10.99
Common Be [2 LP] Geffen B000467001 $10.77
Daft Punk Homework [2 LP] (Import) EMI Canada MB 42609 $31.29
Dan Deacon Bromst [2 LP] Carpark Records CPK 700481 $11.79
Duffy Rockferry [LP] Mercury B001082201 $10.77
Erykah Badu New Amerykah Part One (4th World War) / [2 LP] Universal Motown B001080001 $10.77
Erykah Badu Worldwide Underground [LP] Motown B000073901 $6.19
Game Doctors Advocate Geffen B000793301 $10.77
Game LAX [2 LP] Geffen B001146501 $10.76
Jay-Z American Gangster Acappella / [2 LP] Def Jam B001052201 $10.77
Kanye West College Dropout Def Jam B000203001 $10.77
Killers Day & Age [2 LP] (180g + mp3 download card with photo + poster) Island B001219701 $13.39
Kinks Muswell Hillbillies [LP] Velvel Records VEL-LP-79823 $15.79
M.I.A. Arular Interscope B000484401 $10.77
Mariah Carey E=MC2 / [2 LP] Island B001027201 $10.77
Miles Davis Isle Of Wight Concert (200 Gram) [LP] (DMM) Vinyl Passion VP 80001 $15.49
Neil Young Sugar Mountain: Live At Canterbury House [2 LP] (200 Gram Japanese HQ Vinyl) Reprise A-512563 $53.39
Rihanna Good Girl Gone Bad [2 LP] Def Jam B000896801 $10.77
Shiny Toy Guns Season Of Poison [2 LP] Universal Motown B001220901 $10.79
Shiny Toy Guns We Are Pilots Universal Motown B000761501 $10.77
Snoop Doggy Dogg Doggystyle (Explicit Version) [2 LP] Death Row DRR-LP-63002 $13.29
The-Dream Love Vs. Money [2LP] Def Jam B001257901 $10.79
Timbaland Timbaland Presents Shock Value [2 LP] Interscope B000859401 $10.77
Various Artists Ultimate Breaks & Beats v.10 Street Beat SBR510-LP $11.79
Various Artists Ultimate Breaks & Beats v.11 Street Beat SBR511-LP $11.79
Various Artists Ultimate Breaks & Beats v.8 Street Beat SBR508-LP $11.79
Weezer Weezer [LP] (Blue Album) Geffen 424629 $26.69

Well if they're going to keep stretching 47 minute albums into a 2-record set at least they could throw on some bonus tracks or something..

I think a lot of artists could benefit from a 40-minute ceiling for their records.

we're doing double vinyl for our new album but that's cuz its about an hour long

One thing about LPs that wont come back, but I miss, is the inner sleeve advertising the label's other offerings. Like pulling out the first Led Zep, and seeing these

Ha, I got a copy of Tangerine Dream's Rubycon the other day - the sleeve has ads for Acker Bilk 'Sheer Magic' and a Songs Of Praise tie-in record among others. Wonder how much crossover there was?

With prices like those, either the majors are gouging or they don't know shit about efficiency. (Or both, I suppose.) Break-even for small electronic labels is around 300-500 pieces of vinyl, as I understand it (and these are records that are retailing for between 8 and 10 euros; I think the wholesale is around 4 or 5). Granted, these may be bedroom operations with virtually no overhead, promotional budget, etc. But the cost of actually pressing vinyl, even with color sleeves, are not exorbitant, even in tiny runs.

please ban bendy for posting mann hair. rightous flack do can't even cancel that shit out.

(on my copy of push push someone wrote the name CHICO right on herb's belly. also a german pressing. sounds phenomenal.)

Hey cxuxk, is that return-of-vinyl Billboard piece you mentioned available online?

"Once again... M.I.A.'s Kala is 47 minutes and it's a 2-disc set. I'm not into that idea."

i never even made it through the last couple of wu tang albums. we are talkin' like 8 sides there. i can't be expected to get out of my chair THAT much.

xp Maybe with a billboard.biz password, though navigating the website search tool isn't always easy. I'll try poking around and see if I find it.

i prefer multivinyl sets. the loudness of the record is dictated by how long the material on each side is. the more sides you have, the louder your pressing can be. it's that simple.

i'm in the process of making a record right now, you can read about it on my blog where i discuss each step of the process. i'll be able to break even at a very very small number of records sold.

http://991.com/newGallery/Led-Zeppelin-45rpm-Box-Set-358028.jpg

if you like lots of sides, you need this.

i never even made it through the last couple of wu tang albums. we are talkin' like 8 sides there. i can't be expected to get out of my chair THAT much.

Whatever label pressed my copy of 36 chambers did it the right way.. 58 minute album, 1 LP. The order of tracks is not consistant with the CD, but somehow I totally do not mind at all.

Once again... M.I.A.'s Kala is 47 minutes and it's a 2-disc set. I'm not into that idea.

the idea of bass?

yeah more than 20 minutes a side is really asking for trouble. unless you don't care about the last track on each side

The thing is, sometimes doubles happen w/albums where the sides couldn't possibly be more than 20 minutes

Case In Point:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41mNN3mIp-L._SS400_.jpg

Total time: 34:33 for 11 songs, resulting in a double w/two and three short songs per side.

i never even made it through the last couple of wu tang albums. we are talkin' like 8 sides there. i can't be expected to get out of my chair THAT much.

Whatever label pressed my copy of 36 chambers did it the right way.. 58 minute album, 1 LP. The order of tracks is not consistant with the CD, but somehow I totally do not mind at all.

― billstevejim, Thursday, April 30, 2009 4:37 AM (11 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

those old loud pressings don't really sound very good though

i just don't think i have the energy to take every album on a case-by-case basis, doing internet consumer report testing on whether cd or vinyl sounds better

Esp. since indie-rock bloggers are mad gung ho about it right now, and somehow got the idea that records like Merriweather Post Pavillion and Veckatimest were "Made for vinyl"

And they're welcome to it.

back in the day (mid-90s) i bought vinyl -- new and old -- because it was cheaper for my teenage budget. I could get, say, the new pavement album for $8.99 on LP, rather than $15.99 on CD. Now i go to record stores and they're trying to sell stuff like that REM album posted above for $27 ...

yeah i mean i dunno we've had zillions of arguments about it, but honestly it also depends a lot on your turntable, needle, cartridge too...it's not like if you're playing it on some hashed old table with a worn out needle it's going to sound good...the difference in hardware is a lot more apparent with vinyl IMO than with CD

back in the day (mid-90s) i bought vinyl -- new and old -- because it was cheaper for my teenage budget. I could get, say, the new pavement album for $8.99 on LP, rather than $15.99 on CD.

so true - for a long time I was buying vinyl both cuz it was a better product, sounded nicer, and was cheaper.

you can still buy plenty of new LPs for $10-15, which doesn't seem like too much money imho.

a lot of it depends on who the label is aiming the product at (aging REM fams developing a hip audiophilia vs. punx) and how they manage their costs.

yeah, i suppose you can still find cheap indie vinyl, as opposed to like REM/Radiohead collector gouging.

re: Radiohead, like I said earlier (xpost) they create digital music, so listening to it on an analog medium does not make sense to me.

yeah it depends...sometimes i don't mind. like the capital reissues of roxy music and the band have been really nice sounding....or anything pressed at RTI like the astral weeks reissue..if it's a total classic record i don't really mind cuz i know i will always want to have it...but yeah a lot of newer punk stuff is still around the 12-13 price range...or like deerhunter cryptograms was about 16 i think? and that had the flourescent gray EP on it too

re: Radiohead, like I said earlier (xpost) they create digital music, so listening to it on an analog medium does not make sense to me.

― billstevejim, Thursday, April 30, 2009 4:47 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

it's a lot more than digital vs analog. like i've said before you can get a pretty sensitive great record player for not too much, the equivalent CD player would be way more expensive.

plus a lot of the ways in which vinyl sands off the harsh edges of stuff can really help to make newer records more listenable, they aren't compressed as much in mastering, etc

like i've said before you can get a pretty sensitive great record player for not too much, the equivalent CD player would be way more expensive.

Well, I dunno about that. Rather depends on what you mean by "equivalent". I mean, if you accept that there is no real equivalence because the two formats have different strengths, then I don't know at what point you can say that any given turntable is as good as any given CD player.

You can get close to state-of-the-art 16/44.1k playback from a $300 Sony - the same can't really be said wrt vinyl replay of a $300 Thorens or MusicHall (that's what they called ProJect in the US, right?). It'll sound good - indeed, if that's the sound you prefer, it'll sound better than maybe any CD player. But I'm not sure you can really say "this old belt-drive Dual beats any sub-£1000 CD player" cos I don't think it works like that.

I'll sell my Copland before I sell my Michell, though...

Whatever label pressed my copy of 36 chambers did it the right way.. 58 minute album, 1 LP. The order of tracks is not consistant with the CD, but somehow I totally do not mind at all.

― billstevejim

that wu tang lp sounded so horrible audio-wise i sold it back after a week, it was mixed so low : /

interesting that m@tt's said that the newer vinyl's mastered different from the cd, i'd been wondering abt that

that wu tang lp sounded so horrible audio-wise i sold it back after a week, it was mixed so low : /

I don't mind it at all.. My stereo has a volume knob. As far as I can tell, all the music is there.

I bet if they made less expensive special editions of these records that were 1-LP instead of 2, the 1-LP editions would sell better.. which is exactly what they should do if they want to increase sales.

Yeah, 36 Chambers doesn't sound great but it's not horrible and somehow this album just wouldn't WORK as a double - I mean, too few songs per side, too many flips, but also the whole out-of-the-underground speed and raggedness of the whole presentation is hard to sustain with a double-LP 180 gram prestige package, you know? (Hence the impact and swagger of Wu-Tang Forever being a double CD, this time around they'd conquered all - I mean the lead single was "Triumph" for pete's sake.)

I buy vinyl exclusively; I won't rehash the reasons because there's tons of threads like that - but as far as supply and demand goes, I will say that I would buy a LOT more new vinyl if major reissues could get priced at the point of, I dunno, new releases on Kill Rock Stars. I hear what people are saying about economies of scale and shit, and I'm no economist, but I'm pretty sure if KRS can put out a $12 record Sony should be able to. The REM cited above is a case in point, actually all their vinyl post-New Adventures has been one continuous gouge. WTF, guys?

plus a lot of the ways in which vinyl sands off the harsh edges of stuff can really help to make newer records more listenable, they aren't compressed as much in mastering, etc

But the problem here is the way current CDs are being compressed, not that CD sounds that way in the first place. Today's music isn't being mastered for CD, it is being mastered for iPods and mobile phones. And that is the main problem about it.