Guess I’m coming at this thread from another angle, as an artist / label runner more than a buyer. I’m not spending 2-3 years and hundreds of hours working on a project not to have something tangible at the end of it. Releasing a bunch of audio files into the digital ether wont cut it.
A question for those of you that do buy vinyl. Whats an acceptable price point for an brand new artist album with 8-10 tracks, assuming manufacturing costs are covered? And would there be anything to incentivize a purchase? Maybe including the digital files, or releasing an eco friendly product?
I might end up with records sat in a box in my studio collecting dust, but its gotta be worth a try.
Digital files for sure. It’s commonplace when buying on bandcamp to get the dl code along with Ur purchase,but that doesn’t happen if Ur buying form Ur local record shop.
Despite my silly rules, I totally get this sentiment, and do buy current releases from time to time if it’s something I really connect with. Artwork is a big one, it’s the whole package.
Double or single vinyl? Single vinyl I guess around the £20-25 range with some nice artwork. Double lp £25+ but £20 would be great! Whatever covers cost. No coloured vinyl
No gimmicks just awesome music required! Which I’m sure it will be- looking forward to hearing it
I grew up on CDs, they were the first medium I bought extensively so they’ll always have a place in my heart. Travelling to Japan it was kind of heartwarming to see they were still sold and loved. I still have maybe around 2-3K split 30/70 between classical and everything else. At some point there will need to be a purge. I always had records but didn’t buy strategically and didn’t really build up a battery of 12" bangers until 2005. My wife protested, so I don’t really buy a record unless I have to have it.
Playing a CD is a nice middle ground between passively streaming and taking the time to put on/flip a record especially if you’re doing other things. And if you like opera, it’s a great medium --you can find box sets complete with the libretto - a great way to explore and get to know an opera.
But as CDs now often come in a sad little piece of flimsy cardboard I will usually spring for the record instead. And it’s funny but the item I’ve most been asked to sell/rip on Discogs is this
I spend far more TIME searching for records online / reading through the odd forum / going through new releases / mooching around discogs / deciding on what I’m actually going to buy / buying them / receiving them THAN ACTUALLY LISTENING TO THEM.
I just like having them. They’re there if I need them.
Around £20. No more than £25. Fat sounding pressing. Heavy weight vinyl. Download codes included. Nice sleeve art and some notes. Most important of all: all killer, no filler on the music front.
I very rarely access the download codes you get. It does occasionally grate on me that the links to a lot of them will have already expired but I just can’t be arsed to go through the hassle of downloading, filing and backing them up.
does bandcamp offer pressing on different continents? i ask because some EU artists i’ve bought from seem to fulfill from US origins as well as EU (and i’m in the US). if that’s an option, strongly consider it.
i don’t know if you have access to any physical distribution - shit, i don’t even really know who the major players are in this type of distro nowadays - but if you hope to move some units, it’ll be the only way to actually end up in record stores around here.
i don’t mind paying $25 for a good record, but adding another $25 on it for shipping in to the US is killing me. i’ve been eyeing the new good block album on bandcamp, but by the time it arrives at my doorstep, it’d be damn near $70.
Yeah really it’s the shipping more than anything that has cut down on my BC vinyl purchases. $17 seems quite reasonable for an EP but then you get this…
I buy files of stuff that is file only, on Bandcamp. Often, if I’m not too slow there is a cheap pressing, where some money actually goes to the artist. I used to buy vinyl because most of it was only available on vinyl, that has obviously changed, but I think that I actually have come to enjoy vinyl more now than ever. Mainly because I have a nice system to play them on at home. One thing that I have noticed is that some things are obviously mixed/mastered for a digital release, and then just going at get it pressed to vinyl can result in sub standard reproduction.
I occasionally stay up till 2am on Discogs searching through list after list and putting things in my basket, only to wake up the next day and delete it all. Am I insane? Please tell me I’m not the only one who does this.
Also, this thread has inspired me to list a ton of stuff I no longer really listen to onto Discogs, so that’s not a bad thing.
Something I was thinking about today - why does Tracey Chapman’s debut album cost so much on wax when it sold 20 million copies? Sure, a lot of these would have been on cd, but still…
I buy records purely with the thought of playing them out. I never put a record on at home to listen to, i’ll just stick it on youtube on the tv. I honestly haven’t put any of my records on to listen to all the way through for over 20 years. At 53 and playing a few hours every other month i think i’m crazy buying so many but, i enjoy it so who cares?
Tell me about it- I bought the Puli Lp on Bandcamp after @Piers article and cost me about £40 with shipping. It took ages and arrived (well packed at least)… after it was available on Juno for half the price
