R.I.P Hydrahead Records

[youspinmeround]

---

Hydra Head Records has never been a smooth-running operation. We've spent the majority of our existence excitedly scrambling from one thing to the next, taking on more than we could ever possibly hope to achieve, and never quite finding solid footing in the midst of our self-induced whirlwind of chaos. Though not every second of doing this label has been enjoyable, it has been a very rewarding and meaningful project for me, and I hope for many of the other lives to which it has been directly connected. The fact that it has lasted close to two decades at this point is astonishing, and much has changed during that time - the lives of those directly involved with running the label, the bands and artists we've worked with, and the nature of the music industry itself. Though many of these changes have been positive, or at least illuminating, the impact of our history and current industry circumstances are culminating into a slow and somewhat painful death for the label. It certainly isn't an entirely unforeseen event, but we didn't think it would come quite so abruptly, or (perhaps naively) ever.

The decision to pull the plug has not been an easy one, and in some ways is a not a choice at all. The simple fact of the matter is we've been running on empty for a while now and cannot afford to keep our doors open for much longer. Years of imbalance between creative ideals and financial realities, personal problems amongst the label operators, an unwillingness to compromise our aesthetic standards, a tendency towards releasing challenging (i.e. unmarketable) artists, and the steady decline of the music industry in general, are amongst the chief reasons for our inability to continue. It is a harsh but undeniable reality, and one which we are attempting to confront with as much integrity and grace as is afforded by the circumstances.

For the short term we will continue to operate as we have been, effecting our first step into shutdown this December, at which point we are cutting off new releases from the label. Thereafter, we will be remain operational only in the interest of maintaining our back catalog, with the ultimate aim of repaying our rather sizable debts. Grim though this prospect is, in the midst of it all I still feel an extreme gratitude for everything that has happened and for all the wonderful people with which we've been involved over the years. We've been lucky enough to work with some of the most unique and provocative artists of the last two decades, many of which have made indelible impressions in the underground, and by extension the larger world of music in general. We've also been fortunate to have had the support of a small but loyal following, who've constituted the very essence of our life force. We would like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude and love to each and every person who contributed to making this label what it is - all the artists who entrusted us as the custodians of their work, all the people that bought or listened to our releases, and all the people who performed the various label duties at various offices (and houses) across the continent.

...and this brings us to the present moment, where in all honesty we are in need of financial assistance from anyone and everyone who's willing to throw us a rope. Though it is highly unlikely we'll be able to resuscitate the label, we do wish to follow through on the final round of releases to which we're committed and pay off our debts to our artists and manufacturers. In order to do this we are initiating a massive sell-off of everything we can dig up and produce for the next 6-12 months. This will include discounted bundles of CDs/LPs/posters/etc, represses of certain titles for which we still have parts, test pressings, and whatever worthwhile items we can pull together. For anyone that is able and willing to fund our funereal arrangements please visit our direct mailorder or webstore and pick up whatever you can. Any and all support is greatly appreciated by our remaining team, and will be put to the best use possible.

There is no way to sum up nearly 20 years of incredibly important music, experiences, and evolution other than to say a big heart felt "thank you", and that we hope this closing will provide an opening into other even more positive and rewarding experiences for all of us and all of you who have been a part of our shared experience. For now we bid you all a very fond farewell....

-Aaron Turner

09/10/12

[mattycakes]

RIP Hydra Head. You will be missed.

[gmoney]

This sucks, but so does charging $20 for a single LP.

[runforcover]

that...sucks.

[youspinmeround]

This sucks, but so does charging $20 for a single LP.

Here we go. 20 bucks is almost the norm of a single lp these days

[andi]

WHAT?????????????????? THE FUCK!!!!!!

[jared]

This really did come out of nowhere. At least to me. Bummer

[gmoney]

Here we go. 20 bucks is almost the norm of a single lp these days

Not on labels that are doing it right.

[kk-downing]

Meh. They were a big deal for my formative years, but now I hardly ever buy anything. So thanks for the memories.

[icecream]

Man as many of you i always protested the high prices until i could no longer give in but perhaps that had to do with helping them get out of debt ?

regardless I appreciate the well written farewell and though i've only been collecting for 6-7 years now i can't thank hydra enough for the caliber and diversity of bands they supported and exposed us to.

[smithkd24]

Total bummer. Been buying HydraHead releases religiously (although less lately) since 1998 or 1999, going full catalog for a few solid years since good old Isis and Cave In performances at MichiganFest 2000.

You will be missed. My wallet might not miss you, but keep re-pressing the back catalog please...

[icecream]

Not on labels that are doing it right.

we need more labels like p+p & mts right ?

[jerseydave77]

RIP - I have a few Hydra Head records that have been in rotation for 15 years now.

[mattisr1984]

Here we go. 20 bucks is almost the norm of a single lp these days

not really. but to be fair, the releases were excellent quality so there is a trade-off. most of the releases on the label were great, and in most ways i respect their uncompromising approach in regards to how they released physical product, but the reality is that hydrahead releases are more expensive than most other releases. not all, but most. the economy has not been great for quite awhile now and id say in consideration of that, there's been a surprisingly low amount of notable label closures that i can recall. clearly, charging $8 - $10 more per LP does not necessarily keep you any more afloat than any other label.

[gmoney]

we need more labels like p+p & mts right ?

4 LYFE

[gmoney]

To be a little more posi - the last Cave-In record was great. THNX GUYS.

(And poor Juan. Or happy Juan? Richer Juan?)

[Guest]

Here we go. 20 bucks is almost the norm of a single lp these days

Italians do it Better sells single LPs for $10, 2xLP gatefold for $13.

It can be done.

[youspinmeround]

To the

Not on labels that are doing it right.

When hot topic, a retail chain who makes money off a selling other goods and can absorb cost sells you Thursday or Thrice repress for 20 bucks of a record that has been out for years you are ok with it.

When a label whose only income is from their artists sells you a new Nihill 2xlp for 25 bucks that you cant get anywhere else and is new music and is not going to sell many copies, its a rip off

[jhulud]

To be a little more posi - the last Cave-In record was great. THNX GUYS.

(And poor Juan. Or happy Juan? Richer Juan?)

Y'all have no idea how beyond saddened I am to hear this...it's a heartbreaker. Last time I was this devastated that a label folded was back when Initial Records shut down.

My wallet will be happier...and a happy, richer Juan...but still will be a sad Juan.

RIP HH

[forgeagain]

When hot topic, a retail chain who makes money off a selling other goods and can absorb cost sells you Thursday or Thrice repress for 20 bucks of a record that has been out for years you are ok with it.

When a label whose only income is from their artists sells you a new Nihill 2xlp for 25 bucks that you cant get anywhere else and is new music and is not going to sell many copies, its a rip off

Yep, what he said. Personally, I think their stuff was too expensive, but to each his own. The idea of an album, in any form, costing more than $20 kind of sucks to me. I just don't get the price points we're moving towards. Used to be $10-15 was the most you'd have to pay for a "punk" record. The idea of dropping $20 on a single LP would have been absolutely fucking ABSURD even 5 or 6 years ago. $20+ is the kind of money you had to spend A) on out of print older shit; or on imports. Now it's routine for every record to be $15, $18, $20. At what point are we just paying for a bunch of crap we don't need? $10, $12.....I'm happy to buy records at these prices. Hell, with shipping, I'll go up to $18-20 for a single LP. But this $20 retail shit has to go. The prices we're seeing now are as much a symptom of capitalization on increased popularity of vinyl as they are increased costs of production. That said, if it's a record you really want, spend what you want. Hell, if it's a store you like to support or a label or band or distro you want to buy from directly, even better. Certainly beats buying stuff for $2 less from Amazon or some other faceless big box retailer.

[One Hundred Fifty-Two]

Here we go. 20 bucks is almost the norm of a single lp these days

Four best labels according to me. Not even close to $20.

http://www.fatwreck.com/record/detail/787

http://deathwishinc.com/estore/product/DW137v.html

http://www.b9store.com/product/2802

http://www.noidearecords.com/bands/chuckragan.php

Vs. Hydra Head

http://www.bluecollardistro.com/hydrahead/product_info.php?products_id=7109&cPath=4_137&store=

[beatnik11]

Here we go. 20 bucks is almost the norm of a single lp these days

I dont know where you live, but 20 bucks is far from the norm for a single LP, I usually see single LPs go from 10-16 bucks and a bit more for 2xLP. I love some of the bands on HH, but every time I look at one interested I always see the price and sadly decide to pass and the only ones I have bought in my collection have been because of store discounts. All that aside, it will be sad to see them go because they do have quite a library of great music that they have released and I will be looking out for those discount deals so I can put some more money in their pocket so they can hopefully get their finances somewhat in order

[philviral]

So sad to see these guys go. Easily one of my fav labels along with DW.

[mattisr1984]

Yep, what he said. Personally, I think their stuff was too expensive, but to each his own. The idea of an album, in any form, costing more than $20 kind of sucks to me. I just don't get the price points we're moving towards. Used to be $10-15 was the most you'd have to pay for a "punk" record. The idea of dropping $20 on a single LP would have been absolutely fucking ABSURD even 5 or 6 years ago. $20+ is the kind of money you had to spend A) on out of print older shit; or on imports. Now it's routine for every record to be $15, $18, $20. At what point are we just paying for a bunch of crap we don't need? $10, $12.....I'm happy to buy records at these prices. Hell, with shipping, I'll go up to $18-20 for a single LP. But this $20 retail shit has to go. The prices we're seeing now are as much a symptom of capitalization on increased popularity of vinyl as they are increased costs of production. That said, if it's a record you really want, spend what you want. Hell, if it's a store you like to support or a label or band or distro you want to buy from directly, even better. Certainly beats buying stuff for $2 less from Amazon or some other faceless big box retailer.

you know better than i that there's plenty more that goes into the cost of a record but the pelican - australasia 2xlp represses are $33 - $38 in every local store here. thats not exactly helping the local stores carrying this release either. it was a record store day release and copies are still sitting in most stores around here. as much as i really like most of HH's releases, i feel some sort of vindication in that these high prices are a bunch of bullshit.

[kk-downing]

Italians do it Better sells single LPs for $10, 2xLP gatefold for $13.

It can be done.

This. Plus, I never bought direct from Hydrahead because of how shitty Blue Collar Distro is. Maybe they wouldn't be in debt if they actually re-pressed all of the records people actually give a shit about (ie: Botch, Cave In) instead of claiming you only did it because you "found" covers.