The Blue Note Thread

Curious how much of the price increases at Acoustic Sounds and MM are tied to the Blue Note VMP Box? Not being a long time jazz collector, I know I am definitely part of that bandwagon of buying quite a few jazz titles in the past year. Guessing, I think 75% of my purchases since the anthology have been jazz titles. I think it is a lot of things coming together at the same time like the high quality of the BN80 and Tone Poet reissues. But if i did not start with the VMP box I probably would not have picked up as many jazz titles this year almost blindly.
 
imajindat said:
Looks like Acoustic Sounds is continuing to mark up the prices on the limited quantity stuff. Blue Train is now $100 (was already marked up to $75 a couple months ago)

John Coltrane-Blue Train-45 RPM Vinyl Record|Acoustic Sounds

Acoustic Sounds Audiophile Vinyl Records
store.acousticsounds.com
Click to expand...

I noticed this too when I was looking up a few titles for this weekend's 15%-off sale. Makes me feel a little better about my Blue Train SRX purchase from MMJ but it's still a troubling trend. I don't fault them for mirroring MMJ's pricing philosophy since they've proved out that the Blue Note marketplace accepts it. Will be interesting to see if a tipping point is ever reached and what that is.
 
jamieanderson1968 said:
Curious how much of the price increases at Acoustic Sounds and MM are tied to the Blue Note VMP Box? Not being a long time jazz collector, I know I am definitely part of that bandwagon of buying quite a few jazz titles in the past year. Guessing, I think 75% of my purchases since the anthology have been jazz titles. I think it is a lot of things coming together at the same time like the high quality of the BN80 and Tone Poet reissues. But if i did not start with the VMP box I probably would not have picked up as many jazz titles this year almost blindly.
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I don't think there's a connection there. I think it's entirely related to the mindset of niche Blue Note collectors who are willing and accustomed to paying huge sums for vintage and audiophile pressings of that label's recordings.
 
dropsonde said:
I noticed this too when I was looking up a few titles for this weekend's 15%-off sale. Makes me feel a little better about my Blue Train SRX purchase from MMJ but it's still a troubling trend. I don't fault them for mirroring MMJ's pricing philosophy since they've proved out that the Blue Note marketplace accepts it. Will be interesting to see if a tipping point is ever reached and what that is.
Click to expand...

Yea I agree, it really sucks for us as customers. But the one blog I saw someone post here sums it up perfectly - they know their market, and its old white guys with a ton of money, so basically they can charge whatever they want for these sought after titles and they will still sell. I think the other thing too is that good copies of originals go for alot more, so even at $100 the AP and MM versions seem like a bargain in comparison for those who really want a legit pressing
 
imajindat said:
Yea I agree, it really sucks for us as customers. But the one blog I saw someone post here sums it up perfectly - they know their market, and its old white guys with a ton of money, so basically they can charge whatever they want for these sought after titles and they will still sell. I think the other thing too is that good copies of originals go for alot more, so even at $100 the AP and MM versions seem like a bargain in comparison for those who really want a legit pressing
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The other day on eBay, I saw a G/VG (sleeve) pressing of an OG Blue Note album being bid up past $200 with 20+ bids. It makes absolutely no sense to me. Why would you ever pay $200 for an album that you can't even play?
 
btf1980 said:
Music Matters is Ron Rombach's company. Joe Harley is his partner in the operation, but it's very much Ron's operation.

My thoughts? Blue Note will eventually reissue all the major Blue Note war horse titles. Their 80th anniversary was a test run with the Tone Poets and 80th series. If I were to guess, then I'd say they'll do the major titles for the 85th anniversary in 4 years. Expect one offs here and there, but they won't start a major reissue campaign randomly. It will be built around and centered on an occasion. I think the 85th anniversary fits the bill the best.

The Tone Poets will continue indefinitely as titles that are off the beaten path, underrated/unsung/unreleased, forgotten titles, and jazz records on other labels under the Universal Music Group umbrella (Pacific, United Artists, Solid State, Transition etc). The depth of the catalog with these other labels included means that the Tone Poets could go on for many years with a release schedule of two titles a month. That's a winning formula.

Reissuing the big titles like Blue Train, Moanin' etc as Tone Poets defeats the purpose of the series and is mixed messaging. The big titles will be reissued. It's just a matter of time. I've been collecting jazz records for a while, and I know how the reissue market is. If there's one thing you can take to the bank, it's that the war horse jazz titles will be reissued every few years. The next time around, we know we'll they'll be all analog reissues. They'll just do all analog pressings with tip-on glossy jackets. No gatefold with photos will be necessary.
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Totally agree with everything being said here, but I do have to add that I personally love the Tone Poets editions and vinyls - been picking a few up over the past months :)
 
imajindat said:
Yea I agree, it really sucks for us as customers. But the one blog I saw someone post here sums it up perfectly - they know their market, and its old white guys with a ton of money, so basically they can charge whatever they want for these sought after titles and they will still sell. I think the other thing too is that good copies of originals go for alot more, so even at $100 the AP and MM versions seem like a bargain in comparison for those who really want a legit pressing
Click to expand...

I think it's dangerous for BN. It's the perfect kind of what I call a "short-term business". People whill stop buying these records eventyally and turn their attention to other labels or musics. Jazz is supposed to be a popular music, not elitist.
 
imajindat said:
Looks like Acoustic Sounds is continuing to mark up the prices on the limited quantity stuff. Blue Train is now $100 (was already marked up to $75 a couple months ago)

John Coltrane-Blue Train-45 RPM Vinyl Record|Acoustic Sounds

Acoustic Sounds Audiophile Vinyl Records
store.acousticsounds.com
Click to expand...
Well there’s 15% off now all in stock music right now at AS including AP pressings. I ended up grabbing Somethin Else and Midnight Blue. Code is 15PERCENT
 
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