kudzurunner
4683 posts
May 09, 2014
10:27 AM
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The Blues Doctors are going into the studio this summer to record a couple of sides, and although I initially assumed that I would sell the result as a digital download, I'm now thinking, at least provisionally, of releasing it as an old-fashioned 7" vinyl single--a 45 rpm, two-sided record. The way things used to be.
Has anybody here done that? Or do you know a blues act, or other pop music act, that has done that? It's fairly expensive, as gimmicks go. 500 records cost about $700. What do new 45s sell for these days?
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STME58
805 posts
May 09, 2014
11:35 AM
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An interesting idea. Do a lot of people still have accessible turntables, outside of the purists who want completely analog systems?
In my case, playing a 45 would require going in to an old dusty garage and finding my turntable somewhere in the stacks of stuff around the disused 29 Chevy. If I found it, and it worked after dusting it off, I could not only play vinyl but 8 tracks too!
If you put it out on a 78 I could play it on the mechanical spring wound Baldwin turntable in my entryway.
I did see a turntable for sale in a department store the other day. I think its intended use was to transfer music from vinyl to digital.
PS: Spam filter ate my first posting of this. The was posted from a different computer than the first.
I think I have been flagged as a spammer. I can no longer access MBH from my home web connection.
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ej
56 posts
May 09, 2014
11:53 AM
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Don't know anyone around who plays 45s. Had lunch with some folks the other day and we were talking about 45s and the twenty something sitting there said she didn't even know what we were talking about--she had never seen nor played a 45
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Dog Face
257 posts
May 09, 2014
11:55 AM
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Indy acts here in Raleigh do it often. At festivals and live events in the area I often see them for sale by the band.
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Brad
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nacoran
7730 posts
May 09, 2014
12:30 PM
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I've gotten one or two as freebies, also a tape. I've never listened to them. I just do most of my listening on my computer. Usually, they also come with a code for a free digital download.
I read an article once on people's Netflix queues (before they were primarily digital downloads). It seems lots of people put a lot of classic movies on their lists. Netflix would send them the movie, and the movie would just sit there while people found excuses not to get around to watching it.
Vinyl might fall into that same category. People look at it and say, you know I really should listen to more vinyl. It's got more warmth. They buy the record, and it just sits there.
That said, it's fine for single point sales. People buy the record. If you include a free digital download they listen to you and become bigger fans as they give it more listens. I suspect not many people actually listen to the actual vinyl recording though.
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Nate
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First Post- May 8, 2009
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The Iceman
1641 posts
May 09, 2014
12:39 PM
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45's would be a wasted effort.
There is a lot of music being released on 33 1/3 albums (parallel to CD's) these days.
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The Iceman
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kudzurunner
4684 posts
May 09, 2014
1:17 PM
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Vinyl in general has exploded in the past 12-18 months, something that many here might not be aware of. Here's a story on the Nashville place I mention above. They've got so much business that they've just opened a second factory; their first is running 24/6, literally.
http://www.newschannel5.com/story/25459986/nashville-record-press-plant-expanding-as-vinyl-sales-boom
This is why I asked about 7" 45s. I know that full-size LPs are part of the boom. I wasn't sure whether the 45s were a part of that boom.
And yes: it does seem that downloads have to be part of the deal, so that if and when somebody purchases the vinyl, they get a download along with it.
More stories about vinyl:
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music-arts/vinyl-album-sales-booming-article-1.1251477
http://onlineathens.com/business/2012-02-24/cd-sales-wane-vinyls-popularity-booms
http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/retail/6077613/united-record-pressing-expands-jay-millar-vinyl-sales-qa
http://www.tonedeaf.com.au/news/local-news/347440/vinyl-sales-double-in-australia-as-resurgence-continues.htm
http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2014/01/06/vinyl_lp_sales_hit_22_year_record_in_2013_digital_music_sales_down_chart.html
Last Edited by kudzurunner on May 09, 2014 1:26 PM
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Frank
4222 posts
May 09, 2014
1:34 PM
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Is this one in there ?
Neil Young Makes Entire Album In Jack White's Recording Booth
Last Edited by Frank on May 09, 2014 1:38 PM
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arzajac
1362 posts
May 09, 2014
6:03 PM
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This is exciting. I haven't owned a turntable in 20 years.
USB turntables are available on ebay - some for $25 shipped. I would buy one. It seems like a really fun idea.
I would probably buy vinyl because it's fun. And the sound is nice and warm. And the cover art is way better than CD sleeves - even on a 7 inch record.
I'd probably listen to it once and then just keep it. The digital download would be what I would listen to full-time. If an artist set up CDs and vinyl at a gig - I would gravitate to the vinyl for sure. Digital download included, of course.
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Custom overblow harps. Harmonica service and repair.
Last Edited by arzajac on May 09, 2014 6:04 PM
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J_Bark
6 posts
May 10, 2014
4:35 AM
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I happen to have a turntable that works, and about a hundred LPs from the 70s and early 80s. My son who is very creative and plays many instruments in band and orchestra at high school has listened to many of them. Micheal Jackson's early stuff and Journey seem to be his top picks for vinyl. (It's tough to argue with Journey on vinyl i have to admit)
To Adam's question I think that 45s would be good for promo items at shows, print a QR code into the label so that a cell phone can scan it and go right to your download page and I think that would be pretty slick.
The cost of $700 for 500 is way less than I would have guessed, with that cost and the mindset that it is a promo item I would do it to use as giveaways and merchandises sales at shows. If you played a show that I was at and I liked the song I would buy the 45 for $2 or $3 put the download on my phone and have the disk as a memento. The fact that I could actually play it as well would just be a bonus.
If you sold half of the disks at $3 you could give away half and have 500 people listening to your download and not have spent a dime. Maybe that works for you maybe not, but to me it seems like a decent marketing tool.
Cheers,
Jerry
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atty1chgo
924 posts
May 10, 2014
5:18 AM
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Last year in Las Vegas at the Sin City Blues festival, Tommy Castro had a 7 inch 45 RPM vinyl record for sale.
http://tommycastro.com/order-the-new-single/
Last Edited by atty1chgo on May 10, 2014 5:19 AM
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kudzurunner
4687 posts
May 10, 2014
5:23 AM
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Thanks J_Bark and atty. I just checked out the Tommy Castro. He's charging $8! Postage for me is another $2. That's very interesting. Thanks.
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FatJesus
47 posts
May 10, 2014
6:18 AM
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From the consumer side...
As someone who's gotten big into records over the last couple of years, well, 45s are dead/novelties, I think.
LPs are where it's at--particularly the heavy-pressed ones (with accompanying FLAC/AAC digital download).
But those suckers cost $20.
However: From a marketer's perspective, I think J_Bark is dead-on-balls accurate (and pretty much what I was going to say). It's a lot of bang for not so much buck--even if you sold them at $2 a pop ($1 a song--very iTunes!).
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Joe_L
2470 posts
May 10, 2014
7:29 PM
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I would think that creating a vinyl record would be a mixed blessing.
1. They are thinner than CD's and will take up less space in the garage should you produce too many.
2. Most people seem to be moving toward digital media, not toward vinyl. Audiophiles will always embrace vinyl.
What's your target market? Who did you last CD sell to? The eclectic blues audience who would embrace vinyl or your forum members many of whom struggle to pay for their next harmonica, microphone or amp purchase.
What's your goal? If it is to get your music heard, it vinyl the right media for that? What do radio stations want?
Personally, I would avoid vinyl, unless I knew the answers to those questions.
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The Blues Photo Gallery
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JustFuya
141 posts
May 10, 2014
8:22 PM
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My neighbor, who is a total vinyl blues freak, is in the process of digitizing his collection. I helped him get the equipment and software to do that. He helped me define my taste in blues. A lot his vinyl is signed. How do you digitize that!
I wouldn't do it just because only a few have the equipment to play it. Coney Island ain't what it was.
I still have a Charlie Musselwhite 8 track where he was just pretty good. I paid a good .99 in the 70s out of the bargain bin. That will be our next project. I still have players for that format and I'll be the one to re-spool the tape if necessary. (Pull & flick!) I totally skipped the cassette era.
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Joe_L
2471 posts
May 11, 2014
12:23 PM
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Depending on where your 8-track tapes have been stored, the rubber rollers might be shot. If you haven't listened to them in a while, don't be surprised if they are no longer playable.
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The Blues Photo Gallery
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barbequebob
2549 posts
May 12, 2014
10:40 AM
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I know for a fact that Alligator recently began repressing a number of items in its catalog on vinyl and there is some demand for it, tho still not like it is for CD's or downloads. For younger crowds, what you need is less CD's, maybe some vinyl, but someplace where they can download the tunes and if you put out a recording independently and use CD Baby, they can download directly from there and the now parent company, Disk Makers, recently sent me a catalog where there is a deal where you can, instead of selling CD's, sell pre-coded download cards with the correct link for them to do so.
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Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
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mr_so&so
826 posts
May 15, 2014
10:08 AM
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My 2 cents on this is ... depends who you're audience is. I got rid of my vinyl and turntable a long time ago and I'm not going back there. I prefer a digitally mastered CD for archival purposes and then rip that to whatever digital format I'm using at the time.
A somewhat related thought ... I've owned the complete Robert Johnson recordings on several different media in the past. The digitally cleaned up version I now have on CD is a million times more listenable than the analogue media I first had it on. This also holds true for other pre-war recordings I now own on CD.
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Last Edited by mr_so&so on May 15, 2014 10:16 AM
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isaacullah
2760 posts
May 15, 2014
10:32 AM
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Adam, the irony of vinyl in the 20teens is that anyone who remembers vinyl as a major medium for audio recording no longer buys vinyl. Instead, it's the uber-hipster millenials who are buying on vinyl (and buying in droves). All the coolest hipster bands release their albums on vinyl FIRST, and then on other media second. This gives a chance for the "cool kids" to brag about their record collections and how they "got it first" because "vinyl is the only REAL way to listen to music". These kids are all too cool for the blues (unless it's interpreted for them by a contemporary act like the Black Keys, although apparently they are now too mainstream for the super hipsters). My sense is, unless you've got a lot of hipster youth showing up at your gigs, if you cut some 7" records, you are gonna be stuck with lot's of 7" records.
EDIT: And the COOLEST bands release their EP's (cause full-length albumns are so uncool these days) on COLORED vinyl with custom sleeves, which are numbered limited editions. Then they post about it on FaceBook.
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YouTube! Soundcloud!
Last Edited by isaacullah on May 15, 2014 10:37 AM
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IndianaHarpKid
35 posts
May 17, 2014
3:17 PM
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I'm another youngster and I most certainly am interested in such things. I'd definitely buy one.
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BronzeWailer
1267 posts
May 17, 2014
3:30 PM
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I went to a comedy show the other day and the comic, Ronny Chieng (very funny, BTW)was selling a DVD ($20) memory stick ($15 IIRC) and a vinyl LP ($30).
BronzeWailer's YouTube
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blueswannabe
466 posts
May 17, 2014
7:31 PM
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like the idea. Hope vinyl makes a strong comeback. tube amps, vinly, old radios...the blues just sound better, more organic...less "computerized."
You can't beat the album art and photos on the larger canvas of an album cover.
Also, i like the idea that this nashville company recognizes that the mp3 is not going away and is offering the vinyl along with the digital version to hear it on the go.
Last Edited by blueswannabe on May 17, 2014 7:49 PM
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