The Blue Note Thread

wynn72 said:
They're a crap company and IMO represent some of the worst parts about current vinyl collecting, which is hipicritical of a company called "Music Matters". I got in debate with John dark, who helps manage MMJ about why they've inflated prices so much over the years and based on quantity and this was the cringe-worthy answer he gave me.

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That's nonsense. He has to know that's nonsense, right? It's not like this is a run of incredibly rare records. These are all super available and super popular sessions. You can get an OG copy of some of those for $75 or less. They might argue their records "sound better" but that's not the justification he provides in that comment.
 
botherly said:
I was tempted for a second, but nah. I might get See No Evil and Midnight Blue (have a decent press already but I love that record and want something perfect) but maybe not. I have a fine Blue Train copy (not in love with the session anyway) and a nice early copy of Moanin'. So forget it.
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Yeah the only one I would really want is Speak No Evil, maybe Idle Moments but not at $75. I can find a Van Gelder copy for well under $50 if I’m patient enough.
 
wynn72 said:
They're a crap company and IMO represent some of the worst parts about current vinyl collecting, which is hipicritical of a company called "Music Matters". I got in debate with John dark, who helps manage MMJ about why they've inflated prices so much over the years and based on quantity and this was the cringe-worthy answer he gave me.

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This is the stupidest and worst defense I have ever read. They only went up in value because they let them go out of print.
 
botherly said:
That's nonsense. He has to know that's nonsense, right? It's not like this is a run of incredibly rare records. These are all super available and super popular sessions. You can get an OG copy of some of those for $75 or less. They might argue their records "sound better" but that's not the justification he provides in that comment.
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He definitely believes it. We had a bit of a back and forth where he was defending the costs but after that comment I was done. They're a company called "Music Matters" but operate with a flipper mentality. I can afford to spend alot on Vinyl (and I absolutely do) but I will never give them a penny.
 
stpaulbrowns said:
While I have picked up a handful of early pressings from the Blue Note canon - OK, more than a handful - I have mostly stayed clear of the MMJ titles. It’s hard to justify $60-$100 for a single album - no matter how good it sounds. But I purchased ALL of the 2019 Tone Poets and more than half of the BN80s. And I can tell you that if Blue Note ever reissues the MMJ/SRX titles at the same quality/price point as the Tone Poets, I will buy Every. Single. One. And then I’ll buy a set for my teenage son for when he’s ready to explore some of what he’s been hearing me listen to just about every day of his life.

So, would Don Was rather sell me two complete sets of 25 classic Blue Note titles at $30/each or handful of exclusive SRX titles to a narrow audience of Jazzbos? Perhaps his hands are tied. But there’s no denying that the Tone Poets and BN80s have been two of the most successful reissue series in Blue Note’s storied history.
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Given today's MMJ releases/prices, I feel like it would be appropriate to reply to my own post regarding MMJ's many shortcomings. 👆

C'mon, $75 each?!

And for the N&G member who called me out and said, "just don't buy them then" - I think that was my point. At that price I have not - and will not - buy any of these new releases. And that's a lot less money in the pockets of Don Was/Blue Note/MMJ.
 
The real question is if they were priced at $50 is the demand there to make more profit if they were selling at $75. Honestly I have rarely bought a record that is in that range. $40 yes, but I'm kind of cheap with records. The last records I bought in this range were a Matthew Halsall triple album and the Ironomi import from Singapore. We all know that she sound quality is not much different from the TP series. However they will sell them to the people who see value. the contract with blue note will run it's course and when they happens these titles will have wider release. This will all happen in our lifetime. Meanwhile there is plenty of great music to keep us occupied.
 
wynn72 said:
They're a crap company and IMO represent some of the worst parts about current vinyl collecting, which is hypocritical of a company called "Music Matters". I got in debate with John dark, who helps manage MMJ about why they've inflated prices so much over the years and based on quantity and this was the cringe-worthy answer he gave me.

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I suppose the extra money simply staying in their customers pockets or being used to buy more records from them than they otherwise would have is beyond the scope of MMJs imagination.
 
Yeah MMJ's big name titles are always gonna be 60-75 bucks a pop (plus ten bucks shipping if you spend less than $200!). People buy them so they aren't gonna lower their price. Audiophile jazz is a collector's market and the originals and 2nd hand market for these titles is throug the roof.

Blue Train's SRX was going on Discogs and eBay for $130 at least before they repressed these.
 
keylime_5 said:
Yeah MMJ's big name titles are always gonna be 60-75 bucks a pop (plus ten bucks shipping if you spend less than $200!). People buy them so they aren't gonna lower their price. Audiophile jazz is a collector's market and the originals and 2nd hand market for these titles is throug the roof.

Blue Train's SRX was going on Discogs and eBay for $130 at least before they repressed these.
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And that $130 that they spent will sit on their shelf collecting dust for the majority of their lifetime.
 
In other Blue Note news, the new Mosaic Hank Mobley CD box set is fantastic!

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snowwhat said:
Unless MM licenses for stuff like Moanin are very long and exclusive, Blue Note is gonna be putting out versions of these in maybe 5-10 years, right? It’d be like printing money for them.
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They have already had the license since 2014 I think. I hope you're right that it won't be too much longer.

Edit:It could just be that Blue Note doesnt want to compete on the same title, but if they put it out for Tone Poet quality/price, they would clean up and teach MM a lesson. Hard to say.
 
On the flip side, there really isn't any danger in grabbing these since they will definitely sell out and even if you decide it's unnecessary to own, just as a hypothetical example, three different copies of Moanin' then it would be easy to just sell them later likely without losing any money...
 
Dtknuckles said:
They should to a classics series. Re release all the MM at the TP rates and they would make money no question about it.
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I feel like every decade there has been a new reissue series of the classic Blue Note titles. I have to imagine that audiophile reissues on standard black aren’t too far off. MMJ will continue with their SRX vinyl and we will get regular vinyl. Possibly deluxe gatefolds again, but rather standard BN80 issues to replace the BN75 ones.
 
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