"Vinyl sales up 14% in 2010 compared to 2009"

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Mono-xID
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Re: "Vinyl sales up 14% in 2010 compared to 2009"

Post by Mono-xID »

can only speak for Berlin but in most clubs i visited (a lot) there were always a pair of Technics in the booth......in my early Punk/Skinhead days we had this saying "Tradition beats every Trend" :)
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Re: "Vinyl sales up 14% in 2010 compared to 2009"

Post by mr lee »

steevio -

What would you say to an existing all digital label looking to get into vinyl? Obviously the costs are much higher, but would you say that it is an investment worth looking into? And have you seen any good examples of digital shops converting?

The recent vinyl trend seems to be growing, but is it real or just a trend? Seems to me that the Djs I know who are going back to vinyl are doing so in rebellion of the "computer dj" & "controller dj" era.
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Re: "Vinyl sales up 14% in 2010 compared to 2009"

Post by lem »

I pretty much fell out of Djing when the whole digital thing took the mainstream. i use traktor scratch although i dont feel like i get anything out of Djing anymore. although part of that was record shops and community.
I think i have got to a point where my production is better than my djing ever was!

I have considered buying some vinyl again but i dont have the money. Im trying to sustain a eurocrack addiction!!

Btw, the lastest Steevio modular vol 2 is sick! the last vinyl i ever wanted.
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Re: "Vinyl sales up 14% in 2010 compared to 2009"

Post by steevio »

mr lee wrote:steevio -

What would you say to an existing all digital label looking to get into vinyl? Obviously the costs are much higher, but would you say that it is an investment worth looking into? And have you seen any good examples of digital shops converting?

The recent vinyl trend seems to be growing, but is it real or just a trend? Seems to me that the Djs I know who are going back to vinyl are doing so in rebellion of the "computer dj" & "controller dj" era.
it's really difficult to give advice on this, my label was until a year or two ago was vinyl and digital and also a netlabel, but for the last two releases its been vinyl only. our digtal sales were always fairly poor (on Beatport and Juno) but the label is very underground and quite obscure, we never push the label, or promote it heavily because we believe in word of mouth and that quality will win through in the end, and for digital sales to work, you have to be wearing a pimp suit. its just not our style.

its really all down to the quality of your music, our previous release kind of stayed well under the radar, because it didnt fit into any accepted contemporary generic mold, and although i might say it myself maybe was too obscure ( and the quality not high enough) to be charted by any of the well known guys, but i consciously decided that the new release would be less radical and more DJ friendly, and consequently sales have been much higher and responses have been more positive.

i think what i'm trying to say is that if you're going to commit to vinyl, the quality has to be high and the tunes marketable or you could be wasting your time.
its definitely a whole different game to digital, for a start you're hitting top international DJs who wouldnt be seen dead using anything other than vinyl. its not just a trend, these guys have never stopped being vinyl DJs, they live for vinyl.
the trend is in younger guys coming through wanting to join the party, these trends wax and wane, but theres a deep vein of vinyl DJs that are never going to go away. they are booked for their musical knowlege spanning decades of EDM and their mixing skills, these guys are serious professionals.

If you ever get the chance to check out DJ Bone, you will know what i'm talking about. this guy is a wizard on the decks, i simply couldnt imagine him on some digital format, its pure turntablism. If you want these guys to play your tunes, you've got to release vinyl. simple as.

if you can get a P&D deal from a distributor, or you have the energy to push your music yourself to the shops, you cant go wrong releasing vinyl, because it wont cost you any money. you wont make any money either but thats not what its about, its about producing a piece of art which will stand the test of time, but you must totally believe in it yourself first.
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Re: "Vinyl sales up 14% in 2010 compared to 2009"

Post by steevio »

lem wrote:
Btw, the lastest Steevio modular vol 2 is sick! the last vinyl i ever wanted.
thanks mate ! much appreciated
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Re: "Vinyl sales up 14% in 2010 compared to 2009"

Post by mr lee »

steevio wrote:
mr lee wrote:steevio -

What would you say to an existing all digital label looking to get into vinyl? Obviously the costs are much higher, but would you say that it is an investment worth looking into? And have you seen any good examples of digital shops converting?

The recent vinyl trend seems to be growing, but is it real or just a trend? Seems to me that the Djs I know who are going back to vinyl are doing so in rebellion of the "computer dj" & "controller dj" era.
it's really difficult to give advice on this, my label was until a year or two ago was vinyl and digital and also a netlabel, but for the last two releases its been vinyl only. our digtal sales were always fairly poor (on Beatport and Juno) but the label is very underground and quite obscure, we never push the label, or promote it heavily because we believe in word of mouth and that quality will win through in the end, and for digital sales to work, you have to be wearing a pimp suit. its just not our style.

its really all down to the quality of your music, our previous release kind of stayed well under the radar, because it didnt fit into any accepted contemporary generic mold, and although i might say it myself maybe was too obscure ( and the quality not high enough) to be charted by any of the well known guys, but i consciously decided that the new release would be less radical and more DJ friendly, and consequently sales have been much higher and responses have been more positive.

i think what i'm trying to say is that if you're going to commit to vinyl, the quality has to be high and the tunes marketable or you could be wasting your time.
its definitely a whole different game to digital, for a start you're hitting top international DJs who wouldnt be seen dead using anything other than vinyl. its not just a trend, these guys have never stopped being vinyl DJs, they live for vinyl.
the trend is in younger guys coming through wanting to join the party, these trends wax and wane, but theres a deep vein of vinyl DJs that are never going to go away. they are booked for their musical knowlege spanning decades of EDM and their mixing skills, these guys are serious professionals.

If you ever get the chance to check out DJ Bone, you will know what i'm talking about. this guy is a wizard on the decks, i simply couldnt imagine him on some digital format, its pure turntablism. If you want these guys to play your tunes, you've got to release vinyl. simple as.

if you can get a P&D deal from a distributor, or you have the energy to push your music yourself to the shops, you cant go wrong releasing vinyl, because it wont cost you any money. you wont make any money either but thats not what its about, its about producing a piece of art which will stand the test of time, but you must totally believe in it yourself first.
Thank you for the perspective. It helps to hear it from someone who has experience.

The plan is to monitor digital sales and gauge if there is enough market to support a vinyl release. And just like there are guys who will only play vinyl, I've seen producers only produce for vinyl - so it goes both ways. Quality tunes and a vinyl distro deal are a must, however I'm glad to hear you speak about making money, or lack thereof. I'd love to do a vinyl release, but I'm not looking to break the bank doing it. No matter how much I believe in myself, I have to have confidence in the market. I have no problems breaking even or even losing a few bucks, that comes with the territory.

As for my thoughts on vinyl.. I worked in record stores for the better part of 2000's until vinyl tanked and digital took over. The four shops in town have all closed up, quite sad really. I miss the late night digging turned into jam session and eventually the after party. Some good times for sure, and ones that will live in a history long forgotten in this town. Although I haven't played vinyl in 5 years, I still program, mix, and play like I was on vinyl - even when playing multiple decks. Can't stand the way some of these kids bang it out...
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Re: "Vinyl sales up 14% in 2010 compared to 2009"

Post by steevio »

^^^

i'm not entirely sure that monitoring the digital sales will be an effective way to guage a potential vinyl release, unless of course your digital sales are exceptional on a particular tune.

the problem is that the tunes will be old before the vinyl gets out there. it kind of works the other way round with vinyl, you have to make it exclusive in some way. vinyl only small runs (300) are very common and popular now, even people like Jeff Mills are doing it. If there's not 300 DJs out there in the world who will buy your record then its probably not worth bothering anyway. If you get a distro P&D then you can happily put out regular releases and it wont cost you anything, at the moment i have one with Decks.de and they handle everything, all you do is send them your wavs and label art. I get a sales report every single day, so i know exactly whats happening. Obviously if you put out a few releases which dont sell, you'll lose the deal.
the other alternative is to do it all yourself, which is what i did for nearly twenty years, but you'll probably need to release digitally after a short vinyl only period, to help pay for it. Its way more risky, because you have to work hard to sell it, and it helps if you've got lots of good contacts. I have built up relationships with several key shops, so that you can almost guarantee a core of sales to get you off the ground.
some good frieds of mine just started a vinyl only label and they found it very easy to sell doing it all themselves, dealing directly with shops like Hardwax etc. but as mentioned earlier, the quality of the tunes is key. its best if you can guage the strength of the release by sending mp3s to trusted knowlegeable friends who you know will give you an honest appraisal beofre committing to vinyl,
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Re: "Vinyl sales up 14% in 2010 compared to 2009"

Post by mr lee »

steevio wrote:^^^

i'm not entirely sure that monitoring the digital sales will be an effective way to guage a potential vinyl release, unless of course your digital sales are exceptional on a particular tune.

...
I guess what I meant is that digital sales could give some impression of how strong the label is doing overall. At least enough to give confidence to try vinyl. 300 is a lot easier of a number to digest than say a 1000, which is what we used to consider a small run.

Thanks for the advice. You've given me plenty to think about. Glad to know vinyl is still kicking.
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