Members Mathew Posted March 24, 2006 Members Posted March 24, 2006 say goodbye to any younger people you might want to market yourself to
Members brassic Posted March 24, 2006 Members Posted March 24, 2006 Originally posted by Mathew say goodbye to any younger people you might want to market yourself to Most of the indie music buyers in the UK (where thisboyshouts is located) are males between the ages of 16-25. And they buy vinyl. Most of the DJs I know (who also buy vinyl) are in the 18-30 age bracket. If anything, I'd say the older market buys less vinyl than the younger.
Members SunRaFan Posted March 24, 2006 Members Posted March 24, 2006 This thread really points out to me how different various music scenes are. For hipster indie rock/punk vinyl is still a popular distribution format. It's probably easier to get people's attention with a 7" than a CD. As other people said, you do usually need to have different mastering done. Mastering for vinyl is actually more important because you need to make sure that the needle won't jump out of the grooves. I haven't done a 7" in quite a long time, but I'd guess reproduction costs are going to be about $1 - $2 per unit depending on packaging and whether or not you want stuff like colored vinyl.
Members brassic Posted March 25, 2006 Members Posted March 25, 2006 thisboyshouts - if you're going to PR and plug the single to radio, it's worth having some promo-only CDs made up too. A lot of publications and freelance journalists will only review from CD, and radio DJs use mostly CD (though I admit that radio plugging is not my area of expertise). Club DJs seem to go for vinyl more. By all means use the vinyl for your "special" contacts, but if you're going to go for reviews and editorial (rather than simply awareness) have the CDs ready - you can get away with doing an artworked CDR for review purposes. And I wouldn't be surprised if you managed to sell quite a few of the 7"s at your shows. If I see a band I like and they're selling vinyl, I usually buy it right then and there. I don't think I've ever bought a CD single at a show though.
Members dirtyragamuffin Posted March 27, 2006 Members Posted March 27, 2006 Hey I've never posted in this forum so don't mind me, but I came across this thread and have a couple cents to throw in. I'm a vinyl fan and I have to tell you that records are NOT novelty items; in fact, vinyls sales have been steadily increasing since the 90's--this is while CD sales plummet. Over the last few years vinyl has been steadily growing in popularity especially among people my age (24, but let's call it 15-30). There definitely vinyl buyers, both male and female, in the under-30 set and the chances of them throwing said vinyl on a turntable and actually listening to it are pretty good. I would expect these people to buy the majority of the 7"ers, not so much collectors and nostalgic old dinosaurs--though there will be those as well. If you're doing an idie/art-rock thing in London of all places, you shouldn't have any trouble geting rid of a couple hundred of them. Just don't try too hard to distribute to the cave BlueStrat and his friends are living in Incidentally, I'm into high end audio and listen to vinyl from that bent. Vinyl is still the standard in high end audio despite what some snobby mongrel who just spent $20,000 on a digital rig will try to tell you. Once again these are music lovers and that's who is buying vinyl. I think if "music lovers" are the kinds of people who get in to your music, there should definitely be some consideration for vinyl. I'm still amazed at how many new released these days are on vinyl. It's getting to be the norm in "indie" and "alternative," if you will, to press vinyl. I almost never buy CDs any more. If I buy music it's on vinyl 98% of the time, and I'll only buy a CD if it's absolutely not on/going to be on vinyl and if I can't live without it. I'm sorry I can't recommend a facility to press them, but I will check back to this thread with interest as I've always wanted to record some songs strictly to press a 12" EP. Just be picky about the facility, or you'll end up with boxes full of really shoddy, poorly cut, warped records. UK/Europe manufactureres are usually better quality than US but from there I can't help you. If you do press some 7", put some in a few good stores, sell them at shows, and use them as promo/giveaway for radio stations and the like too. You shouldn't have any trouble unloading them and the cost shouldn't be too high if you can get them made for a couple quid apiece and fold your own sleeves. Cheers-
Members thisboyshouts Posted March 28, 2006 Author Members Posted March 28, 2006 Great advice here. Thanks everyone.
Members HuskerDude Posted March 30, 2006 Members Posted March 30, 2006 Incidentally, there are only a few places that do pressing that your average person/band can use. Most of them, regardless of the country the company is in, press in eastern Europe, as far as I can tell.
Members Lee Flier Posted March 30, 2006 Members Posted March 30, 2006 United Record Pressing in Nashville is a historic pressing plant that's still in business and one of the last vinyl plants in the U.S. This is where the band I just recorded is having its EP pressed. It does have pricing details on their web site and, as you can see, pressing costs vary with the type of sleeve and label you want, etc., but it's not unreasonable as far as price. Oh, and I think dirtyragamuffin's post is right on. There is definitely a very viable niche market for vinyl in the indie world.
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