Vinyl Me Please Anthology

dhodo said:
I'm sorry, please don't take that comment as saying the only people who would buy this are people with mansions. That was just me joking about how I wish I didn't have to worry about money, because it is a big stressor in my life at the moment. I really am not trying to judge or shame anyone.

I also totally respect that you don't feel the same as me as how I described my musical taste. I was just relecting on how we differ. Sorry that it probably came off as critical to those who don't agree with me. I really would hate it if everyone was like me and cynical about stuff like this. The positivity is a good thing as well.
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No need for any apologies. I got what you were saying. And I realize I may be in the vast minority on the blind release and why I'm good with it. I figured there was enough that I was going to like to go with it. The Blue Notes all hit a nice spot that I don't skip over any of them when I listen to the set again. I knew the titles but did not go listen to them before the sets came in.

And honestly, I am probably way too loose on spending money on vinyl for my own good. I definitely didn't mean to sound flippant on the price. It's a lot of money regardless. I wouldn't be getting it without the discount from purchasing the previous set. And yeah, probably a high degree of FOMO on my part.

I should probably amend my statement. I wouldn't scour Ebay or Discogs to build the set on my own was my point.
 
dhodo said:
I think it would have been really cool if there was an AAA Motown singles box or something. The hard part is, they would probably have to be 45s (I doubt they would let them splice the tapes), which would probably be enough of a hassle that I wouldn't play them as much.
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I doubt they would have to slice the tapes. They would just have to record each single onto a comp master, which would make them one generation from the original tape. A difference I think almost no one would hear and care about only in some imagined reality in their head.

Edit: Also if they were singles there is the possibility they were on their own tape reel. Most of the stuff was made without making an album being the goal. Were they even using 24 track 2in tape. That wasn't the standard at the time.
 
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Dtknuckles said:
I doubt they would have to slice the tapes. They would just have to record each single onto a comp master, which would make them one generation form the original tape. A difference I think almost no one would hear and care about only in some imagined reality in their head.
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Makes sense! I would have been more excited about that.
 
mdmost said:
I don't own many Motown records and probably would not go out of my way to buy them. I've never dived into Motown. So I'm fine with spending $265 to give it a shot. I did it with Blue Note and loved what they curated for me which has led me to get a lot more Blue Note records. I liked the box set aside from the few snafus. No different than flying blind with the Classics that have spurred me to get more albums from those artists.

I don't own a mansion, for the record. This is a splurge for me but I had a good experience on the last one.
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This sums it up for me. I don't own Motown and wouldn't do it on my own normally. The BN anthology got me deeper into jazz and I really liked that. Not assuming this will do the same thing but I think it'll help me appreciate the genre more.
 
Dtknuckles said:
I doubt they would have to slice the tapes. They would just have to record each single onto a comp master, which would make them one generation form the original tape. A difference I think almost no one would hear and care about only in some imagined reality in their head.
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The Beatles red and blue album reissues did this, and people loved those. But I think so many quality comps these days are just done in the digital domain, as it's lot easier to equalize the tracks and normalize levels etc, and retain maximum fidelity. I'd love a modern comp even if if had just good digital sourcing as long as it had a quality lacquer cut, like the one Kevin Gray cut for the mono Aretha singles set. Problem is the digital copies of these are a bit all over the place too, and the comps are largely crap issues or on MOV.
 
I don't think VMP is wrong with their tweet. They have always been built on curation, and that is certainly not the traditional way to build a record collection. For many years I laughed at VMP as a sort of "basic" solution for those who didn't know how to built their own collections. This is just my taste and style though, and I joined up when they offered more flexibility and choice behind the picks. This boxset is like getting a year's subscription before there were swaps — you're just along for the ride. Certainly not the pricepoint I want to take a ride for, but I'm sure many will like it if they have the cash. Hell if I did I would probably be taking the ride too, not that I was really unaware of any of the picks for the box, but I don't own many of them and would be interested in the insights the liner notes give. Just a very small niche of customers that have the cash and want to be curated to it seems.

I think another reason this is not selling out as others have pointed out is the market overlap with audiophile is slim, as is the overlap with the core soul crowed. Lots of hardcore soul fans will blow $$$ on records but they favor the OGs for whatever (IMO flawed) reasoning. So they really may have hit a too small of a niche.
 
Thinking about price and the whole blind element...

If it was a box set of indie bands and musicians releasing new music as part of a uniform themed project, sort of like the Sounds Delicious series, I'd more willing to give $300 for a set of blind releases knowing some of it is going to musicians keeping it real out there in a shitty economic climate for artists.

If it was an indie label that supports bands and gives back to their community, like (no pun intended) Community Records or Topshelf or Lauren Records, I'd be more willing to give $300 for a set of blind releases to help them finance a year or two's worth of new releases.

But doling out $300 to a company that licenses music from large labels, knowing that some of that money is going to go to a marketing firm or business dude whose job it is to figure out ways to make me spend more money without much concern about paying back a significant amount of profits to musicians? I feel like I'd need to know exactly what I'm getting to be able to weigh that decision to pump cash into a product that is that removed from the creators. I paid $300 for that limited Third Eye Blind box set a few years back knowing the money is going mostly to Elektra/Warner and Stephen Jenkins, a noted d-bag, and I made that deal with the devil because I knew I was getting those albums. If Elektra/Warner sold a blind $300 box set, I couldn't take that ride. I know some would and that we all have a different idea of what is exciting and worth the mystery but, hey, these are my disorganized thoughts at this moment as someone who loves music, records, and putting significant money into those hobbies. ☺
 
swamp jazz box set said:
Thinking about price and the whole blind element...

If it was a box set of indie bands and musicians releasing new music as part of a uniform themed project, sort of like the Sounds Delicious series, I'd more willing to give $300 for a set of blind releases knowing some of it is going to musicians keeping it real out there in a shitty economic climate for artists.

If it was an indie label that supports bands and gives back to their community, like (no pun intended) Community Records or Topshelf or Lauren Records, I'd be more willing to give $300 for a set of blind releases to help them finance a year or two's worth of new releases.

But doling out $300 to a company that licenses music from large labels, knowing that some of that money is going to go to a marketing firm or business dude whose job it is to figure out ways to make me spend more money without much concern about paying back a significant amount of profits to musicians? I feel like I'd need to know exactly what I'm getting to be able to weigh that decision to pump cash into a product that is that removed from the creators. I paid $300 for that limited Third Eye Blind box set a few years back knowing the money is going mostly to Elektra/Warner and Stephen Jenkins, a noted d-bag, and I made that deal with the devil because I knew I was getting those albums. If Elektra/Warner sold a blind $300 box set, I couldn't take that ride. I know some would and that we all have a different idea of what is exciting and worth the mystery but, hey, these are my disorganized thoughts at this moment as someone who loves music, records, and putting significant money into those hobbies. ☺
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Yeah this train of thought is how I squared blowing a (for me) unprecedented $70 on a single album by billy woods, directly from him yesterday while having criticized the price of this set. I don't think it is worth that price, per se, but I am willing to give him that much money at this moment, if that makes any sense. I could see someone calling me a hypocrite, but to me it is apples and oranges for the reasons you mention.

Edit: It was even a blind buy in that I haven't heard it yet, which is way outside of my comfort zone, but since the other album he released is probably in my top 3 for the year, I went crazy.

Just want to reiterate that I am critical of VMPs pricing because I think they could have done better, not critical of those who decided it was worth it to them to buy.
 
zombie.modernist said:
I'm sure a good portion do. I think in many ways VMP is really competing with other mail based subscription services more than with other record labels.
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I kind of assume the vast majority of VMP subscribers don't try and figure out what the record will be ahead of time. I'd say 90% of them find out when the email is sent... and I'm sure there are plenty that don't even open the email. There are, what, nearly a thousand registered users on this forum? That's 1/20th of their subscriber base afaik. We're the vocal minority about most of these issues. I think there are a lot of people that stay subbed to VMP and barely pay attention to them until a record shows up... which is exactly what they want. That's kind of what I want, to be totally honest. I'm only subbed to Classics right now because I'm reasonably sure that, even if I forget to check what they're doing for whatever reason, I'll still get something I'll like or is at least good quality.
 
Against my better judgement, I am in for one more round.

What I have told myself is that it is $32 for 7 single LPs, and $41 for the double. That is just my left brain trying to justify what my right brain did.
 
mdmost said:
I just wish they could do it without mishaps
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This is the bottom line, not only with Anthology, but with everything. But for some reason this eludes them the majority of the time. I've said it before, my problems aren't with what they're selling and most of the time it's not a price point issue..........but those other things, QC, Shipping and so on, deal breaker.

As I said before, I hope everything comes out the way it should for the sake of those purchasing the Box Set. ;)
 
zombie.modernist said:
I'm sure a good portion do. I think in many ways VMP is really competing with other mail based subscription services more than with other record labels.
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Agreed - i did for most of 2017 - atthat point i bought nothing else form them, and it was fun. A lot less complicated. But them the fourm grabbed me, and fomo and well the rest is history. When you listen to them spout crap on the forumits easy to lose interest. Ignorance was bliss.
Unfortunately receiving blind albums once a month has a definite shelf life. One that not really profitable for a company.
 
Dtknuckles said:
You could get more records with that $265 by buying single records that you already know you want.
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Oh definitely. Or go after a few whales. This is not my rational brain talking.

That said I recently purchased a couple of whales, spending more money on single records than I ever have in my life and it was oddly unsatisfying.
 
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