Just over a year ago, two friends embarked on a business venture aimed at brining vinyl records to your doorstep once a month. Their idea seems to have come at a perfect time, mingling with similar subscription-based service models, like Birch Box, but with a distinct focus on music, cocktails, art prints and vinyl records. Everyone remembers the big name mail-order services like Columbia House and those models died out some years ago. In their wake, Vinyl Me, Please (VMP) freshens up the concept with an analog touch. Co-founder Matt Fiedler sheds some light on their business and the successes of year one. Continue Reading
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Vinyl Me, Please: Subscription Success
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Record Store Day and Black Friday
Founded in 2007, Record Store Day means different things to different people, but for most it’s a day singled-out to remind everyone that record stores are really cool places where music and people come together and share a passion. Spinoff events are now cropping up including Black Friday Record Store Day, first held in 2010, and the inaugural Cassette Store Day last year. If you’re allergic to crowds, waking up early to capture the coveted “first in line” spot at a local shop or are just tired of RSD, no problem; just stay in bed and enjoy your Thanksgiving feast coma all day long. If you go, here are some tips on how to score what you want. Continue Reading
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How to Insure A Record Collection
About a year ago I decided my collection had reached a point where insurance seemed compulsory and putting off the exploration of options only meant I would be tempting fate every day. It’s not that I felt a catastrophic event was looming over my home or person, but more so that the amount of time, effort and money I’ve tied up in my hobby now required a level of care beyond that which I already provide. Insurance seemed appropriate, I was already ahead of the game because my collection is well documented thanks to tools like Discogs and providing the information that my insurance agent would need was pretty simple. Here’s how I did it. Continue Reading
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Buy Random Records, Discover New Music
Boredom sets in for me periodically. I get to a point with my collection or with music that nothing is new and everything sounds derivative. Sometimes I take the easy way out and flip on some preprogrammed playlist or troll through Bandcamp and Soundcloud, randomly sampling music specifically because I have no idea what it is or the album art is interesting. But with records, it’s more fun and it can done inexpensively; think 10 records for $10 inexpensive. Choose a day, find a store, skip everything you already know and buy strictly based on pure curiosity. Continue Reading
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The Process of Reissuing Rare Jazz Records
Since 2006, Parisian label Sam Records have been reissuing rare jazz records in small, limited pressings including the previously reviewed Jazz Sur Seine. In short order the catalog became immediately appealing to me for its craftsmanship, quality and authenticity in sound. The construction of a quality reissue for any record is a process and it isn’t always easy. In order to really understand what it takes to reissue a record from the 1950’s or 60’s we asked owner Fred Thomas, a passionate jazz collector, about the process he employs for the Sam Records releases. Continue Reading
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