Definitive Audiophile pressings

That would be really sad. One of my favorite labels. I did see an interview with the owner not too long ago and he was lamenting the price of getting copy tapes and not even being able to get tapes from certain labels. He had pretty much stopped trying to get tapes from Sony and was only really able to go with tapes from Warner.
I hope not. But looking at the SC website it has been almost a year and a half since he issued a new record.
 
Interesting times...

I think the middle man is getting squeezed out.
The recent pivots by Craft and Rhino are examples of the likely future of these big labels. Wouldn't be surprised if Sony jumps in the game next, especially if Rhino has a lot of success with sales. Of course, they dive bombed customer service but that can be remedied fairly easily with some focus. Their recipe on the Cars ST is a major success product for the majority.
 
Ah yea. I meant more that even copy tapes are hard for labels to get so the MoFi route is probably going to happen soon for any label trying to reissue stuff they don’t own the license to (or just cutting from existing DSD transfer).

I doubt it will even be as good as the MoFi route. Whatever you think about them using digital they do use high rate DSD with proprietary gear designed by someone with a pretty stellar CV. They lug everything to the studio and make the transfer themselves under supervision at the label.

I’d guess most reissue labels without their clout and relationships will be getting a high res PCM transfer done by the label themselves in house. That’s a whole different ball game.
 
Interesting times...

I think the middle man is getting squeezed out.
The recent pivots by Craft and Rhino are examples of the likely future of these big labels. Wouldn't be surprised if Sony jumps in the game next, especially if Rhino has a lot of success with sales. Of course, they dive bombed customer service but that can be remedied fairly easily with some focus. Their recipe on the Cars ST is a major success product for the majority.
the middleman doing AAA releases is likely to get squeezed out, or be forced to charge $60 for a single LP.

I think Craft is second-guessing the D2C thing though. They have started dumping many of their "exclusives" to Target and other stores. I don't doubt they will keep the one steps and maybe higher end stuff as D2C but would be surprised if any/all of these companies stop licensing. They simply make too much money for hardly any work. I remember seeing a staggering number for how much Concord makes each year just in licensing.
 
the middleman doing AAA releases is likely to get squeezed out, or be forced to charge $60 for a single LP.

I think Craft is second-guessing the D2C thing though. They have started dumping many of their "exclusives" to Target and other stores. I don't doubt they will keep the one steps and maybe higher end stuff as D2C but would be surprised if any/all of these companies stop licensing. They simply make too much money for hardly any work. I remember seeing a staggering number for how much Concord makes each year just in licensing.
Seems Craft has a better global retail distribution for the mainstream stuff.
Rhino appears to be missing the boat here.
Agree they are all counting the profit with these tapes, which should generate even more AAA releases.
Appears the labels have the AAA message and they prefer to own more of the production cycle.

I wonder if Craft is finishing some contract obligations with Chad before dumping his licenses.
It's really a shift in the winds.
 
PSA if you’re looking for Rhino-Cars — Warner Canada still has copies: The Cars (Rhino High Fidelity)
This code should still work for 25% off: 6R2F0N5743X6
You have to pay much heftier shipping, but it’s smoky-ass Canadian money, so the $CAD prices are discounted if you’re in the US.
I don’t think this was posted here already. If it was, sorry!

Only 32 left!
 
Looks like Speakers Corner shutting down isn’t true per a post from their distributor on SHF:

Dear Everybody,
my name is Jan Sieveking and I am the owner of Sieveking Sound in Germany.
I believe I can bring some light into the mist of speculation and hearsay.

[IMG]


In April 2022 Speakers Corner transferred all finished products to Sieveking Sound in Bremen, Germany and stopped acting as a distributor for third party labels. At that point in time the pandemic had hit, pressings were nearly impossible to come by and waiting listst for a pressing slot was several month long. The reason for this transfer to Sieveking Sound was quite simply that Kai and Chrstiane wanted more time on their sailboat and remove themselves from the daily chores of shipping and taking dealer orders and answering daily e-mails from all over the world why the product was unavailable. The clear intend of this transition was and is to keep Speakers Corner going.

The record pressing situation has improved vastly in Germany as most companies have added more pressings and some of the mayors have found that not everything does sell simply because it is vinyl. As of today some 122 different Speakers Corner LPs are in stock at Sieveking Sound and ready for wholesale. We are getting pallets every month and expect the catalogue to be even larger in the coming month. They have had PALLAS re-manufacture more in the last calendar year than in the previous years. All titles that have reached you in the last year are most likely from our warehouse.

As to new titles the situation remains difficult. The mayors have put a "No Thank You" onto pretty much any request or give you minimum order quantities for less well known titles that are unlikely to put Speakers Corner into the positon of ever making any money on such an release. Also getting good quality analog tape as a source has become more and more difficult as many majors simply won't give access. Thus I can tell you that there are plans to do new titles but it has been a slow and frustrating process and if they succeed it is quite likely the relatively modest pricing is not going be possible for new productions. Just to get you an idea: Here in Germany the cost of doing the cardboard jackets has doubled since the beginning of the pandemic and the pressing plants are looking for people wanting the simple job of putting LPs into jackets left and right and pay more than they used to. All this drives up production prices and is not much different in Germany than the US.

I do not see Speakers Corner closing down and when I had both Kai and Christiane on the phone ealier today they were clearly not worried about their business but planned the next sailing trip in the baltic sea.
As to the "reliable sources" who claim different on YouTube - maybe they should check with Speakers Corner or us before putting out rumours. But maybe verified information does not get you as much attention ...
 
Looks like Speakers Corner shutting down isn’t true per a post from their distributor on SHF:

Dear Everybody,
my name is Jan Sieveking and I am the owner of Sieveking Sound in Germany.
I believe I can bring some light into the mist of speculation and hearsay.

[IMG]


In April 2022 Speakers Corner transferred all finished products to Sieveking Sound in Bremen, Germany and stopped acting as a distributor for third party labels. At that point in time the pandemic had hit, pressings were nearly impossible to come by and waiting listst for a pressing slot was several month long. The reason for this transfer to Sieveking Sound was quite simply that Kai and Chrstiane wanted more time on their sailboat and remove themselves from the daily chores of shipping and taking dealer orders and answering daily e-mails from all over the world why the product was unavailable. The clear intend of this transition was and is to keep Speakers Corner going.

The record pressing situation has improved vastly in Germany as most companies have added more pressings and some of the mayors have found that not everything does sell simply because it is vinyl. As of today some 122 different Speakers Corner LPs are in stock at Sieveking Sound and ready for wholesale. We are getting pallets every month and expect the catalogue to be even larger in the coming month. They have had PALLAS re-manufacture more in the last calendar year than in the previous years. All titles that have reached you in the last year are most likely from our warehouse.

As to new titles the situation remains difficult. The mayors have put a "No Thank You" onto pretty much any request or give you minimum order quantities for less well known titles that are unlikely to put Speakers Corner into the positon of ever making any money on such an release. Also getting good quality analog tape as a source has become more and more difficult as many majors simply won't give access. Thus I can tell you that there are plans to do new titles but it has been a slow and frustrating process and if they succeed it is quite likely the relatively modest pricing is not going be possible for new productions. Just to get you an idea: Here in Germany the cost of doing the cardboard jackets has doubled since the beginning of the pandemic and the pressing plants are looking for people wanting the simple job of putting LPs into jackets left and right and pay more than they used to. All this drives up production prices and is not much different in Germany than the US.

I do not see Speakers Corner closing down and when I had both Kai and Christiane on the phone ealier today they were clearly not worried about their business but planned the next sailing trip in the baltic sea.
As to the "reliable sources" who claim different on YouTube - maybe they should check with Speakers Corner or us before putting out rumours. But maybe verified information does not get you as much attention ...
Yeah. Saw that over on the Hoffman forums. Good news I guess. They are pretty much going to just stick to repressing back catalog. Good luck ever seeing any new releases because of licensing costs going forward.

Big labels are really going to put the squeeze on smaller boutique labels as they see $$$ to be made. Not sure this is good overall because I don't see them putting in as much care or effort into their product.
 
Yeah. Saw that over on the Hoffman forums. Good news I guess. They are pretty much going to just stick to repressing back catalog. Good luck ever seeing any new releases because of licensing costs going forward.

Big labels are really going to put the squeeze on smaller boutique labels as they see $$$ to be made. Not sure this is good overall because I don't see them putting in as much care or effort into their product.
said they will still try to do new releases but i don't see them doing nearly as many as they used to. it sucks because they are one of my favorite reissue labels. i love their curation and quality.

kinda crazy that some labels are insisting on minimum license requirements that will probably never be met for lesser known titles. i too hope that labels don't just try to do everything on their own. For every Rhino and Craft reissue series that is done right, there's a VBR series that's bad quality and cheapens out while still charging premium prices.
 
Chad issued a rebuttal video today (7.5 minutes long at 2x speed) with Jan the guy whose company is running distribution for SC. He reiterates that the rumor about SC shutting down is fake news. Glad they aren't shutting!

Still sad that their business model now seems to have to be just repressing on their current plates with very very few new releases. Still feels like they’re being pushed into an effective shutdown by the labels in some ways. Greed is a poison.
 
Still sad that their business model now seems to have to be just repressing on their current plates with very very few new releases. Still feels like they’re being pushed into an effective shutdown by the labels in some ways. Greed is a poison.
Seems like the main dude who runs the label, Kai, is approaching retirement and probably at a good time for him...he seemed pretty bummed out about how hard it was to get tapes in the last interview I saw with him. And they don't wanna do digital.
 
Seems like the main dude who runs the label, Kai, is approaching retirement and probably at a good time for him...he seemed pretty bummed out about how hard it was to get tapes in the last interview I saw with him. And they don't wanna do digital.

Oh yeah I understand all that. It’s just sad is all that the labels are squeezing out the artisans with mostly mass produced tat.

I suppose it really is par for course at this stage.
 
MoFi Restocks:


Oooh. Now, I need Blood on the Tracks, but from what I remember, that Mofi ain't good. @Joe Mac yes no?
 
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