Thursday 14 November 2013

Vinyl?

Ok folks; I need your help again.
Marcus and I have been discussing the format for the forthcoming release of 'To the Bone'.
Marcus reckons vinyl is the way ahead; will open up a whole new world of listeners to us.
Not having a record player I am a little reluctant. I get his point but don't want to add plastic to that pile of unsold MM cds in the attic. It is not cheap either. Manufacturing costs for decent vinyl can be upwards of £4 a unit as apposed to @ £1.50 a unit for decently packaged Cds...
We will be making the album available as a Hi Res download with Linn; they do all of the variables of download too; CD quality/MP3 etc.
What about not doing it on CD?
Does anyone buy CDs anymore.
Discuss...
Help...

18 comments:

  1. Vinyl, Trevor. One listen and it'll all make sense.
    Steve

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    1. Thanks Steve. One listen on what though? I wonder how many folk have players. Mind you, Marcus and I had a 'moment' last weekend listening to a scratchy copy of Dvorak's 'New World' Symphony. Get us! It certainly focusses the listener does vinyl. I wonder why? What mad aural physcology is that?

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  2. Cd for me. I haven't got as i guess most people haven't a system good enough to spot the difference. (maybe you need to do your own Pepsi challenge!)
    you may get a bit of publicity from people looking to do a rebirth of vinyl story but then there is the hassle of getting copies out there.
    on dodgy territory disagreeing with the scientist but i am not sure how it will open up to a new audience, especially if you have to match price of other vinyl releases as i think you will end up preaching to the converted. As a fan i,d buy but if i wasn't not sure i would take the punt .

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  3. CD for me Trev, my Ruark R4i doesn't play vinyl ! I have a record player but rarely (if ever) use it. Too much hassle cleaning the blooming things.

    Mel A Sheffield

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    1. Thanks Mel; particularly for reintroducing the word 'blooming' to the English language! I'm not the cleanest either; and my caffeine condition ensures a shaky hand and inevitable scratches... Marcus's face a picture last weekend as I negotiated his £350 (£350!) stylus...

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  4. Lets start with this. More to come tomorrow :) http://ourvinyl.com/insights-into-music-formats/

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  5. CD please. Have a hard time inserting LP's into my car stereo.

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  6. Ha! All well in your winter haven?

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  7. CD for me too. I don't own a record player. I download more and more due to CD's going missing in the post and the amount of time it sometimes takes to get to our sunny shores.
    Phil
    Tel Aviv

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  8. The heart says vinyl but the pocket says CD. I have to make an effort to play vinyl, although I still do. Mostly I commit the capital crime of burning everything onto a hard drive and playing through my laptop and a pair of pretty crappy speakers. Don't have the money to set up anything more satisfying at the moment and the kids would probably wreck it so you can put me down as undecided. Helpful?

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    1. This seems to be the message from most Seamus.
      I think that Marcus sees it as a way of connecting to a very small but mostly minted music fans. We get a fair bit of income from Linn and their Hi Res downloads; folk who have invested in Streamers that will play these music files (I still haven't heard our quality downloads), These folk seem to snap up almost everything that comes out in that format, as if to justify their investment. We are applying the same logic to vinyl; oddly it seems a 'new' way forward. Cost could be the biggie...

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  9. Well, I can only say that going Back to Black was the best move I've made this year. What people forget is that playing vinyl is not just about listening to the music. It's also about the ceremony of it. When you look at the cover, take in the artwork and actually be able to read the text. Admitedly with glasses these days. Have room to actually read the words to the songs. TREV, you're such a good lyricist (don't like that word, seems to devalue the words - ok, wordsmith), your words AREworth reading. Then it's about cleaning the record and needle and placing the needle on the record. I would love to able to get a copy of any MM or jones work on vinyl. Let's face it, the majority of the people who buy your music must be of an age to remember playing vinyl. I hope it comes off :)

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  10. Thanks Nick; I guess that was another of Marcus's points; that the kind of folk who take the time to listen to our stuff are of a certain age and disposition. I recognise that there's a quality to our music that would appeal to the world weary audiophile...
    I only recently really remembered the thrill of the 'ceremony' of vinyl . So perceptive, hammer to nail sir! It was during the initial recordings of this album. Marcus has invested in much vinyl. We had an evening of total engagement with music. So unusual for Marcus who, after a day of toiling with sound usually craves silence. A holy reconnection; ceremony indeed...

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  11. Do you know, that when I listen to certain albums on cd I can still anticipate the clicks and jumps of the vinyl equivalent that I purchased many moons ago. You should hear Paddy's Crimson Red on vinyl. It's lovely. It has a warmth that is missing on cd. And don't talk to me about downloads. I hate them. In the words of Richard Hawley, I wouldn't buy any music I can't hold. But sometimes we just have to. I only use MP3 to put on the player as a means of portable music. I change the bit rate to 320 wherever possible but it's not the same.

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  12. Ha! My 'shagging' record at college was Hall and Oates 'Silver' album. I still anticipate the jumps and scratches when I hear those songs now. I remember the dusty clicks better than the lusty chicks. Funny that...

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  13. Thanks for sharing that. I'll never listen to Hall & Oates in the same way again :(

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