Warner starting new fan-driven, vinyl-only record label

[Phil O'Keefe]

Called Run Out Groove, it will issue three releases a month based on what the fans want - whether it be new releases, out of print material from the past or compilations, the fans will determine what gets printed via voting.

 

http://www.billboard.com/articles/business/7743353/warner-music-new-label-run-out-groove-fan-driven-vinyl-only

 

What do you think of the idea?

[Anderton]

So..why can't they make it available in a format other than vinyl? I'd love to get a copy of the Echo &the Bunnymen album but don't really want to have to deal with vinyl.

 

"With LP's you feel like you have actually got something worth having, to hold and read while you listen," Sergeant added. "I love the organic visceral nature of the record, a piece of plastic that can bring forth such wondrous sound. It’s all pretty weird when you think about it, some sort of wonderful sonic voodoo."

 

I have to say one of the things I like about Windows' Groove Music is the liner notes if your music is in their database. Some of it is downright fascinating historical information.

 

[philboking]

"Called Run Out Groove, it will issue three releases a month based on what the fans want"

 

Selecting by lowest common denominator; a sure sign that drivel will predominate. This may be a harsh outlook, I guess...

[Phil O'Keefe]

"Called Run Out Groove, it will issue three releases a month based on what the fans want"

 

Selecting by lowest common denominator; a sure sign that drivel will predominate. This may be a harsh outlook, I guess...

 

From the label's perspective I'm sure they're just 1) trying to give fans what they want and 2) trying to make money... not necessarily in that order.

[audioicon]

Called Run Out Groove, it will issue three releases a month based on what the fans want - whether it be new releases, out of print material from the past or compilations, the fans will determine what gets printed via voting.

 

http://www.billboard.com/articles/business/7743353/warner-music-new-label-run-out-groove-fan-driven-vinyl-only

 

What do you think of the idea?

 

I am one of those people who by vinyl for just having it. I never play them. In fact, I mostly buy multiple copies so I can keep on and play the other.

 

Any process or business which puts music on vinyls is great to me. As long as it is not metal rubbing and sand paper music.

 

[philboking]

 

From the label's perspective I'm sure they're just 1) trying to give fans what they want and 2) trying to make money... not necessarily in that order.

 

 

Agreed. And perhaps you could say vinyl buyers are maybe more likely to have tastes that don't wholly intersect with the Billboard top 40.

 

I'm all for vinyl, soundwise. I appreciate the fidelity of audio rendered to vinyl is fairly corrupted, what with compression, limits on bass panning and amplitudes, and the RIAA EQ curves going in and coming out.

 

And yet, I still prefer the sound. I've noticed myself actually tailoring my mixes to sound like vinyl, ironic as that may seem.

 

[Mandolin Picker]

You know, I'm beginning to think the whole vinyl thing is like the 'hot rod' car thing. People are paying a lot of money to buy a car that has no air conditioning, standard rack-and-pinion steering, AM radio (maybe) and a whole lot of stuff - just for the experience of driving that type of car. I've been watching some of the car shows on a station called Velocity. You hear comments like "You can really feel the power in this car" or "This is the way driving was meant to be". Yet other people would look at the same car and say "Are You NUTS! No AC - forget it!!!" It seems the folks who are "into" vinyl are the same. Similar types of comments. Its all about the experience.

 

Another commonality I've noticed is that it crosses all age groups. Its not just a nostalgia thing. I was in Books-a-Million the other night, and there was a number of young people going through the vinyl albums there.

 

You know, some of us buy/lease a car just to get us back and forth to work. No bells and whistles. These may be like the streaming folks. It works.

 

Other folks buy an older car and pay to fix it up. These are your folks who like vinyl.

 

Then there are folks like us. Like a mechanic who can take any engine apart and put it back together, folks like us create the music others listen to, and really don't care the mode (live, streaming, CD, vinyl).

[Mikeo]

I bought vinyl albums as a teen all the way up until just about everything was released on the CD format. There's something special and nostalgic abut vinyl albums, but that's about it for me. I personally love the cd format, and I can play it at home on my stereo system, in my car or on my computer.

 

In recent years may live shows I have gone to, the merchandise table had cd's and vinyl copies of the bands music for sale. I will choose the cd format. The 180 gr and 200 gr vinyl is a lot nicer than the vinyl I bought back in the 70's and 80's.

 

When many were ditching out there records I kept mine, and we have 1000 or more albums here at the house, in really nice shape. For cd, I don't actually know how many we have, but it's a lot. It gets a bit more difficult to buy cd's as time goes by. The record shops that I used to hit are gone, and even many department stores and electronic stores had call it with cd's. I end up on Amazon, picking and choosing music, only to have to wait a few days or so to listen to them. Gone is the impulse buy.

 

I personally don't download that often, and fell like I'm missing out of something with downloads.

 

I wish them luck, but it's definitely a limited market, but not a dead market.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Myrta001]

Sounds interesting.

[Alndln3]

Personally I don't expect to see the majors involvement to last too long but I think the hobby angle/hot rad analogy is how it will probably remain in the long run. would I buy Vinyl myself? And spend a lot of money on a good turntable? And another audio system to accommodate it? Instead of spending on new DAW and Guitar gear? And being perfectly happy with cheap digital downloads and free YouTube? Guess.

[MikeRivers]

People who are fans of popular music have other things to spend their money on than a precision turntable and the other trappings of a high quality playback system that presents the phonograph record (and any other recorded music medium) in its best light.

 

I'm all for having something tangible rather than a disembodied download or a data stream from a computer somewhere. But there's nothing wrong with a CD. If a vinyl record sounds better than a CD of the same material, it's not because it's vinyl, it's because of what happens between the recording studio and the delivery medium. A vinyl release at a premium price gives the record company a profitable means to go back to the vault and make a record that's optimized for listening and not airplay sales.

 

There isn't any reason why they can't make a CD version from the vinyl pre-master before optimizing for for disk cutting and payback. But how do you think a $25 "premium CD" with 25 minutes of music would go over?

[Bucksstudent]

People who are fans of popular music have other things to spend their money on than a precision turntable and the other trappings of a high quality playback system that presents the phonograph record (and any other recorded music medium) in its best light.

 

I'm all for having something tangible rather than a disembodied download or a data stream from a computer somewhere. But there's nothing wrong with a CD. If a vinyl record sounds better than a CD of the same material, it's not because it's vinyl, it's because of what happens between the recording studio and the delivery medium. A vinyl release at a premium price gives the record company a profitable means to go back to the vault and make a record that's optimized for listening and not airplay sales.

 

There isn't any reason why they can't make a CD version from the vinyl pre-master before optimizing for for disk cutting and payback. But how do you think a $25 "premium CD" with 25 minutes of music would go over?

 

I wouldn't buy any CD over $20, and I have a hard time going over $10 most of the time.

 

A lot of early CDs were actually rips of the vinyl mix. Most were the album with flat EQ in those days, if I remember correctly. By the nineties, engineers figured out how to mix for CD, and vinyl was on its way out the door by then.

[MikeRivers]

 

I wouldn't buy any CD over $20

 

Then you probalby wouldn't buy a vinyl record for over $20 either, but apparently there are enough people who will, at least for a while, so that there are record companies making money off them. There are even vinyl-only record stores popping up here and there. Of course there isn't nearly as much inventory as there was before record stores went out of style, but there are shoppers now who are buying records over the counter. I really think that's not going to last very long, though, maybe it'll peak in two years and be done with in five or six.

 

[Bucksstudent]

 

Then you probalby wouldn't buy a vinyl record for over $20 either, but apparently there are enough people who will, at least for a while, so that there are record companies making money off them. There are even vinyl-only record stores popping up here and there. Of course there isn't nearly as much inventory as there was before record stores went out of style, but there are shoppers now who are buying records over the counter. I really think that's not going to last very long, though, maybe it'll peak in two years and be done with in five or six.

 

I have bought vinyl for over $20 depending on the album. If I have extra cash and want to buy myself something, I don't mind because vinyl is a different experience from a CD for better or worse.

 

A friend of mine owns a vinyl shop, and he's doing pretty well. I won't wager on how long it'll last, because vinyl began trending again around 2012 and has only increased in popularity. It's niche enough that Walmart won't sell it, but independently ran shops are popping up and not going out of business for now. Barnes and Noble have a bigger vinyl selection than CDs too, though their prices are stupid.

[Hard Truth]

My two cents on the vinyl fad can be read at http://www.oranjproductions.com/vinyl.htm

 

"...For optimum quality one needs a vinyl record that has not been played frequently that has been stored properly and cleaned before it is played. (of course the cleaning process is likely to damage the vinyl also) In addition, the needle (stylus) must be of good quality, in good condition and clean. The cartridge, which converts the motion of the needle to an electric signal must be of high quality and not too old. The turntable that spins the record needs to move smoothly and consistently and be isolated from any vibration in the room, otherwise someone walking heavily near the turntable may cause it to skip. The signal from the cartridge is very week and requires a good quality preamp for optimum quality. The sound system must be high quality overall to be able to perceive any differences at all.

 

To summarize, the vinyl advocate will tell you that vinyl is better, but only the first few times you play the record and only if you have expensive equipment, properly clean the record and the stylus every time it is played and consistently store the record properly. That is why vinyl is a medium suited for people with ample wealth and leisure time. Of course, these factors can be considered benefits rather than negatives by elitists or the type of people who enjoy the required cleaning and storage rituals..."