Invest in Vinyl Collective/Suburban Home's Future

[hickey]

yeah, ive done some touring. and its all been with dudes who are looking to get new people to hear their jams and make new friends and see new places. dudes who could give a fuck if they get $10 or $100 for a show. dudes that are stoked that their music has taken them outside of their hometown.

I'm sure they are stoked. But excitement doesn't put food in their collective gut.

[kyle]

Out of curiosity, and I honestly don't know, do people who set up distros at shows have to pay either the venue or the bands to have that set up at the show (either up front or a cut)? I can see pros and cons of that but I really don't know

No, and I don't know anyone who would. However, I only set up my distro (which is really nothing more than a couple boxes of 7"s and some t-shirts) at shows that I'm somehow involved with. Either a band I've done a release for is playing, or I booked it or I'm really good friends with the promoter or something along those lines. I would never just show up to a show that I have no part of where I don't know the promoter and just expect to sell my shit.

[redscare]

yeah, ive done some touring. and its all been with dudes who are looking to get new people to hear their jams and make new friends and see new places. dudes who could give a fuck if they get $10 or $100 for a show. dudes that are stoked that their music has taken them outside of their hometown.

Well, I'm not sure how long your bands lasted at $10 per show, but I can't imagine. Gas is expensive and money is tight for everyone. Like I said, I distro my shit at shows, but I don't look down upon bands that aren't comfortable with it.

Anyhow, so when are you signing up for the VC distro and can I get you to take in some Red Scare stuff too?

[servo]

I'm sure they are stoked. But excitement doesn't put food in their collective gut.

nah, but the sweet diy promoters who understand what bands like this are doing usually had a huge bowl of pasta for us. and the rest of the time we just dumpstered bagels.

it was like a lot of the early billy joel tours, before he sold out

[servo]

the $10 thing wasnt the rule it was the exception. but still when life hands you lemons like that you can either be totally bummed out or stay posi

[jesse]

How much of the problems that VC have had in 2009 versus 2008 is due to the fact that the Gaslight Anthem released 2 records in 2008. That was crazy sales and exposure for VC. 2009 hasn't seen any bands that vinyl collectors like that much release anything. I mean the rarest colors of GA sold out in minutes. Maybe instead of investing in VC Virgil should get people to front money for studio time for GA.

Genius.

[servo]

hahahahahaha

[mediocore]

yeah, ive done some touring. and its all been with dudes who are looking to get new people to hear their jams and make new friends and see new places. dudes who could give a fuck if they get $10 or $100 for a show. dudes that are stoked that their music has taken them outside of their hometown.

Oh, to relive those halcyon days of youth. When things like families and bills didn't matter.

[servo]

thats why punx dont make babies. at least the smart ones

[servo]

ha smart punx, what am i saying?

[mediocore]

How much of the problems that VC have had in 2009 versus 2008 is due to the fact that the Gaslight Anthem released 2 records in 2008. That was crazy sales and exposure for VC. 2009 hasn't seen any bands that vinyl collectors like that much release anything. I mean the rarest colors of GA sold out in minutes. Maybe instead of investing in VC Virgil should get people to front money for studio time for GA.

Genius.

HAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHA

[sgoodcore]

How much of the problems that VC have had in 2009 versus 2008 is due to the fact that the Gaslight Anthem released 2 records in 2008. That was crazy sales and exposure for VC. 2009 hasn't seen any bands that vinyl collectors like that much release anything. I mean the rarest colors of GA sold out in minutes. Maybe instead of investing in VC Virgil should get people to front money for studio time for GA.

Genius.

That's amazing sir, simply amazing.

[hickey]

I'm sure they are stoked. But excitement doesn't put food in their collective gut.

nah, but the sweet diy promoters who understand what bands like this are doing usually had a huge bowl of pasta for us. and the rest of the time we just dumpstered bagels.

it was like a lot of the early billy joel tours, before he sold out

That's cool if promoters do that.

And Billy was happy if he sold enough merch for on fix, just to stop his blood from itching.

[magicbulletrecords]

If bands are REALLY worried about putting food in their stomachs, stay home and get a real job. Nobody is forcing you into "life on the road." It's not for everybody. Or do like a lot a ton of bands and plan ahead/save up before you leave.

Better yet, before you even think about touring, build a local draw, then build an area draw, and have records that people actually like out there before you make this "huge sacrifice." I've played in DIY bands non-stop for 12 years and been on however many months of tours. We've never ever ever lost money and the bands have ALWAYS been able to pay for the individual members' meals, lodging, and usually more. Why? Because we apply practical logic to the methodology, we don't hire extra people to do things we can do ourselves, we never owe anybody money for "exploitation and promotion," and we embrace the realms we're dealing with instead of "trying to take it to the next level."

And I'm sorry, but if you're genuinely looking toward a "career" in the music industry to take care of bills, family, etc., you're a fucking idiot. The odds are so stacked it's not even funny. It's the one of the worst industries to get into if you're looking for significant financial gains as a performer... or most any role at this point.

Basically, everything servo is saying here...

[pjaicomo]

I think Barney Frank said it best.

I'm a gay, left handed, Jew?

Zing!

[Guest Admin]

How much of the problems that VC have had in 2009 versus 2008 is due to the fact that the Gaslight Anthem released 2 records in 2008. That was crazy sales and exposure for VC. 2009 hasn't seen any bands that vinyl collectors like that much release anything. I mean the rarest colors of GA sold out in minutes. Maybe instead of investing in VC Virgil should get people to front money for studio time for GA.

Genius.

sorry everyone else, this is probably the best idea I've heard all day. Funny thing, we are already talking about what to do for their next album.

[servo]

practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic

[casey]

* 1 of every record we currently carry (a Raffle) - Enter to win 1 copy of every single 7", 10", LP, and double LP we carry at Vinyl Collective. This is between 3,000 and 4,000 records valued at between $40,000 to $60,000 depending on the number of records we have in inventory at the time, we select a winner. Instantly have one of the biggest record collections around. We will set up a Kickstarter project as we will need to reach a certain threshold in order to make this work. $3 is the cost of a raffle ticket.

This is easily the awesomest of the bunch. I would definitely throw down on some raffle tickets. One question: How in Christ are you going to ship 3-4,000 LPs?

[jimmythescumbag]

practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic practical logic

[rtw88]

My only comment to all of this is that for heralding SH/VC as an immersive, independent community, these business plans seem nothing but selfish and totally not for the good of the 'independent community'. Sure, if the plan were to succeed it would be somewhat of a triumph, but god forbid SH go under, 10 people would be fucked out of $1000 each as well as the countless others who would lose who put in for the other packages. The only person who would be benefiting at all from that would be SH since they would have eliminated their debt. These ideas to me just come off as desperate corporate schemes. Not to mention buying into the $1000 deal assumes that the buyer and SH homes music tastes will not change, and the buyer will still give a shit about vinyl in 10 or 15 years when the package would potentially pay itself off. Ultimately, it is your business to do whatever you like with and that's totally your right, but I don't really believe a single bit that asking people to front you money for what could result in just a small amount of the promised return so you can take your company to the next level is in the DIY/Indie/Punk spirit.

Like other people said, maybe you should just try working on things that are currently already broken instead of starting new projects. How long are you in the Ferret deal for? They really fucked you with that one. Maybe you should talk them into letting you get a feel for what releases might sell better as opposed to them just telling you to press whatever shitty new band they've signed like 36 crazyfists.

Also, you should try to liquidate your cds, even if you lose on them because honestly they are probably never going to sell. I was talking the owner of a local store the other day and he said he won't even take them for free anymore because he only sells one a week.

Just my thoughts and suggestions. Good luck.

[jesse]

The biggest thing SH/VC has going for it is that Virgil is fucking great at customer service and the internet. If this was anyone else, including all the people with suggestions, who were taking a beating for their ideas they would snap and start telling people off left and right. The restraint shown by Virgil is remarkable. Even when one of his employees finally snaps under all the internet bullshit, Virgil quickly steps in and puts out the fire.

The fact that this thread wasn't locked and erased last night in a fit of rage is a testament to Virgil as a good guy and a businessman. I would have started taking names, and completely destroyed my business.

[bouncingsoles123]

The biggest thing SH/VC has going for it is that Virgil is fucking great at customer service and the internet. If this was anyone else, including all the people with suggestions, who were taking a beating for their ideas they would snap and start telling people off left and right. The restraint shown by Virgil is remarkable. Even when one of his employees finally snaps under all the internet bullshit, Virgil quickly steps in and puts out the fire.

The fact that this thread wasn't locked and erased last night in a fit of rage is a testament to Virgil as a good guy and a businessman. I would have started taking names, and completely destroyed my business.

I don't think carelessly taking money from people is "good customer service".

If he cared about the customer he'd stop putting up preorders when the band announces they are recording, blech.

[sgoodcore]

ryan - Virgil isn't a schemer. You're being totally judgmental and ridiculous. Its your right but its my right to tell you you're 100% wrong.

I don't think carelessly taking money from people is "good customer service".

If he cared about the customer he'd stop putting up preorders when the band announces they are recording, blech.

Seriously dude, if this is the worst thing he does, which isn't worse than anyone else does, its a fucking saint. He tries to capture sales by putting up the pre-orders when he gets the okay. Delays lately have become the norm because of the huge uptick in popularity of vinyl.

Educate yourself before you go pontificating about your business acumen.

[rtw88]

I'm not saying Virgil's a schemer like he's going to fly to the bahamas with a big sac of money. I'm just saying that these proposals seem like schemes than business plans.

To clear up what I mean, a business plan is something like, we're going to stop making cds, offer $5 downloads, and stop pressing so many limited variants to help out people who distro us. On the other hand, it is more of a scheme to say give me $1000 now and it might be worth it to you in ten years if we haven't closed up shop yet.

[servo]

virgil, if i were in your position right now i would fleece some kids right quick and fly to the bahamas with a big sack of money.

sayin'