people bitching about the price of records

[tokimedo]

yet you can not bring yourself to go outside

When Im on here its usually while Im at work.

yeah, this guys just too ignorant to realize that this is a part of your career.....

[garrygumguru]

I will say that Matador is starting to release more economically based records and pressing 120g instead of 180g, and lowering the price 4 or 5 bucks... but they could more than likely offer them for less than that and still be just fine. I know I'd probably pick up more of their records if they did, and maybe even check out one of their newer bands. But as it is, I'll stick with what I already like.

[jimmythescumbag]

I also love that people are like, "Dude... get a job you dirt punx! Records are only released to make money! Up the corporatists!" Should people not be annoyed that oil companies are gouging people? Why wouldn't someone be mad that Matador is doing the same thing? You can make money off reasonable prices. Ian MacKaye is a millionaire.

What a fuckin' sellout!

This doesn't come down to having a good job and being able to afford it. I make a decent living, but I'm having a harder time justifying paying an average of $20 for a new LP. I owned a record store for a decade and I still want to support labels despite selling my store off a few years ago but there comes a point where I say, "Fuck it, I'll just download it for free and listen to it in my car on my iPod." The fact is, I don't have a chance to listen to records all that often and I'm in my car all the time. A grooved piece of plastic is a luxury item of a dying industry and we're in a recession.

Labels need to realize that they need to cultivate the market rather than plunder every bit they can from it and leave it barren.

+1

[runforcover]

Regarding labels that have low prices and ones that have high prices, I think what it comes down to is:

When people realize they have something that a lot of people want, some people think "I can charge whatever I want for this because a majority of those people will buy it anyway."

And some people (no idea, magicbullet) think "I will price this as low as possible because I know I am going to sell a bunch of them, and I want to sell as many as I can."

There is a reason punk and hardcore labels don't sell $18 LPs, because selling your music for as much as you can get away with so clearly steps outside the boundaries of 'punk rock'. What surprises me and bums me out is labels who are mere steps away from being a punk or hardcore label, charging $23 for LPs because they can. Why does Hydrahead HAVE to do that if a seemingly comparable label, Magic Bullet, doesn't? They obviously don't have to, and as a fan of the music Hydrahead releases, they turn me away as a buyer because of it.

[thewmatic]

I love that most of the people defending high prices (like Alison) simply don't buy may records. I probably buy more records in a year than she owns. Sorry to single you out, but you're being retarded.

I also love that people are like, "Dude... get a job you dirt punx! Records are only released to make money! Up the corporatists!" Should people not be annoyed that oil companies are gouging people? Why wouldn't someone be mad that Matador is doing the same thing? You can make money off reasonable prices. Ian MacKaye is a millionaire.

This doesn't come down to having a good job and being able to afford it. I make a decent living, but I'm having a harder time justifying paying an average of $20 for a new LP. I owned a record store for a decade and I still want to support labels despite selling my store off a few years ago but there comes a point where I say, "Fuck it, I'll just download it for free and listen to it in my car on my iPod." The fact is, I don't have a chance to listen to records all that often and I'm in my car all the time. A grooved piece of plastic is a luxury item of a dying industry and we're in a recession.

Labels need to realize that they need to cultivate the market rather than plunder every bit they can from it and leave it barren.

As a n00b I can still get behind this. There is no doubt that record labels can sell these lps for 20 bucks just because people love their music, but in reality there is absolutely no need for such price gouging. I bet large run lps put out by even the major labels would sell at least several hundred more copies if they priced shit accordingly and not try and gain 3x profit on one LP. Since I just started out I shelled out a ton of money for either small run variants that had no business being only out of 100 or 200, or 20 bucks for an LP in my local record store...Of course I learned after a few months that you are wasting money and to choose your deals, but all of this wouldnt happen if the labels weren't butt raping the prices.

[finchbadass]

Regarding labels that have low prices and ones that have high prices, I think what it comes down to is:

When people realize they have something that a lot of people want, some people think "I can charge whatever I want for this because a majority of those people will buy it anyway."

And some people (no idea, magicbullet) think "I will price this as low as possible because I know I am going to sell a bunch of them, and I want to sell as many as I can."

There is a reason punk and hardcore labels don't sell $18 LPs, because selling your music for as much as you can get away with so clearly steps outside the boundaries of 'punk rock'. What surprises me and bums me out is labels who are mere steps away from being a punk or hardcore label, charging $23 for LPs because they can. Why does Hydrahead HAVE to do that if a seemingly comparable label, Magic Bullet, doesn't? They obviously don't have to, and as a fan of the music Hydrahead releases, they turn me away as a buyer because of it.

you know what turns me off as a buyer. labels that dont ship out peoples orders on a more reliable basis than the times they actually ship out peoples orders. and labels that come up with excuse after excuse and never solving the simple problem of actually mailing out thing that people bought from them. oh hey, that sounds familiar.

[runforcover]

Regarding labels that have low prices and ones that have high prices, I think what it comes down to is:

When people realize they have something that a lot of people want, some people think "I can charge whatever I want for this because a majority of those people will buy it anyway."

And some people (no idea, magicbullet) think "I will price this as low as possible because I know I am going to sell a bunch of them, and I want to sell as many as I can."

There is a reason punk and hardcore labels don't sell $18 LPs, because selling your music for as much as you can get away with so clearly steps outside the boundaries of 'punk rock'. What surprises me and bums me out is labels who are mere steps away from being a punk or hardcore label, charging $23 for LPs because they can. Why does Hydrahead HAVE to do that if a seemingly comparable label, Magic Bullet, doesn't? They obviously don't have to, and as a fan of the music Hydrahead releases, they turn me away as a buyer because of it.

you know what turns me off as a buyer. labels that dont ship out peoples orders on a more reliable basis than the times they actually ship out peoples orders. and labels that come up with excuse after excuse and never solving the simple problem of actually mailing out thing that people bought from them. oh hey, that sounds familiar.

I ship out tons of orders everyday. We maybe have 1-3 problems a month, which although could be improved, I think is pretty good. I actively fix people's orders and if I messed something up for you and didn't fix it, I apologize. If that's the case please shoot me a PM and I will get on it right now.

[vwagens88]

I would buy alot more vinyl if they were in the $10-$15 range. There is so many records I would like to buy right now but I cant justify $25 each on them. I think alot of it has to do with, the super limited made out of pure gold fluorescent pink splattered neon green only 500 available!!!! records. The only reason I buy vinyl is because I like music and I like to have a physical format and vinyl happens to be the best one I think. I already have all of modest mouse on my itunes I can listen to it anytime the only reason I buy the vinyl is because I like that format better. If prices are going to get close to video game prices though I will have to stop buying.

[Guest afsdan]

www.ashfromsweat.com

dude, we'll do you better than your $10-15 range

[xjustinxschwierx]

also people need to realize that 99.9% of record pressings don't vanish in pre-orders.

Not every band is nofx or brand new, most of us little labels have single pressings of records available for a year or five.

[magicbulletrecords]

Man-crushing on Martin's intellect.

Martin - PM me your mailing address. Huge stack of vinyl coming your way.

[oakland]

I would buy alot more vinyl if they were in the $10-$15 range. There is so many records I would like to buy right now but I cant justify $25 each on them. I think alot of it has to do with, the super limited made out of pure gold fluorescent pink splattered neon green only 500 available!!!! records. The only reason I buy vinyl is because I like music and I like to have a physical format and vinyl happens to be the best one I think. I already have all of modest mouse on my itunes I can listen to it anytime the only reason I buy the vinyl is because I like that format better. If prices are going to get close to video game prices though I will have to stop buying.

The funny thing about vinyl is I originally bought records back in the day because they were the cheapest option. Tapes were like $10, CDs when they came out were like $15 or $20, but records were consistently about $8. Of course the sound quality played a part, but price really drove the decision. Now I'm a collector as much as a listener, and I'm stuck with the higher prices. I personally will take black every time when it's offered, but don't mind people making or buying colored stuff. Whatever floats your boat. I just like to have records to listen to, not trade, sell, admire or whatever. Again though, do as you wish.

[tre]

First of all, I'm not saying that record prices should be high. I'm just explaining how you can set a lower retail price by putting out more records. I don't understand why I even have to explain this. It seems way too simple to necessitate an explanation!

Say you put out 1 record per year at 500 copies. This costs $2500.

-$5 per record cost to you.

-$10 retail price.

You profit $2500. Of course this doesn't include selling to distros, giving copies to the band, etc etc so it's not quite realistic, but simpler for explaining.

Say you put out 5 records a year.

$12,500 profit.

In the simplest terms, that's how you make more money off of more releases (if they're good releases). But if you put out 5 shitty releases a year, you won't make money (which isn't the point of the current discussion).

Say you do the same as 1), but retail price is $15.

You profit $5000 instead of $2,500.

so really, your business model only exists in a perfect world where every release is dirt cheap to press and every release sells out?

In the industry, we refer to this as, "Imaginary Math"

It's the most surefire way to get bummed out when the number in your bank account doesn't match up with the number in your notebook.

[jimmythescumbag]

Like imaginary as in you use the square root of negative one?

[hickey]

In the industry, we refer to this as, "Imaginary Math"

It's the most surefire way to get bummed out when the number in your bank account doesn't match up with the number in your notebook.

5+1= Unicorn!

[lonesomexloveus]

[dinkle82]

I think I'm following........

√-1= label profits

[gmoney]

[flood]

the wonderful thing about about capitalism? you can choose not to buy something. I really want to own certain records they've recently reissued... but i won't pay $20-$25 for a new LP i already own on CD, especially for a mass pressed item.. unless its something i consider absolutely essential.

Now if its a small label putting their ass on the line to reissue some little known record by a band i love.. i don't mind dropping $20 because odds are they are going to lose their ass on the release.. and i appreciate the sacrifice they made to make it happen.

[porchlight]

so really, your business model only exists in a perfect world where every release is dirt cheap to press and every release sells out?

In the industry, we refer to this as, "Imaginary Math"

It's the most surefire way to get bummed out when the number in your bank account doesn't match up with the number in your notebook.

Did you miss the part where I specifically said the numbers themselves weren't realistic?

[lonesomexloveus]

In the industry, we refer to this as, "Imaginary Math"

It's the most surefire way to get bummed out when the number in your bank account doesn't match up with the number in your notebook.

Did you miss the part where I specifically said the numbers themselves weren't realistic?

so....you used a self proclaimed unrealistic model to prove your point?

you should probably just start posting pictures of unicorns.

[jailhouse]

Masturbating releases built up tension

[porchlight]

Did you miss the part where I specifically said the numbers themselves weren't realistic?

so....you used a self proclaimed unrealistic model to prove your point?

you should probably just start posting pictures of unicorns.

I won't cave to unicorn culture!

Also, it was a model made to show general differences in cost/profit between a single release and multiple releases. Not specific collar amounts. What do you do all day that gives you so much time to be an idiot and argue things that have already been addressed?

[vinyljunkie]

the wonderful thing about about capitalism? you can choose not to buy something..

another option is to ditch the "i NEED this record today" attitude that so many people have adopted nowadays. So some fancy reissue is 25 bucks brand new. If you wait 6 months or a year and enjoy the other music you have, you will probably be able to find a copy cheaply in someones 5$ sale, or in a used bin at a record store, or even some cheap 0.99 ebay sale. or maybe you can get it in a trade with an internet buddy for something you no longer listen to.

patience has saved me hundreds if not thousands of dollars over the years.

[jimmythescumbag]

^ Troof.

Masturbating releases built up tension

That too haha.