Vinyl Me Please (store, exclusives, swaps, etc)

bdm105 said:
Why the gate keeping? Marketing is marketing and people new to the hobby buy more than people who've been in it for years
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Don't see it as gatekeeping, just calling out a notable pivot for a company that tried to position themselves as an audiophile club. They have clearly lost customers and are trying to bring some new folks in. It's yet another in a long line of red flags in my opinion.
 
bdm105 said:
Maybe I missed the memo that it's an audiophile club now
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I think the term is "cryptophile club" i.e. you pay for something expecting something in return, but it turns out to be imaginary and never arrives, leaving you holding the (empty virtual) bag while someone else builds something with your cash. However, due to marketing, it's positioned as "fun" and "trendy".
 
bdm105 said:
Why the gate keeping? Marketing is marketing and people new to the hobby buy more than people who've been in it for years
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It’s not “gatekeeping”. Marketing is marketing but what kind record club is VMP? Rolex isn’t doing cross promotion with Walmart and it wouldn’t be gatekeeping to question their choice if they did.
 
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bdm105 said:
Maybe I missed the memo that it's an audiophile club now
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My understanding is they were attempting to be an audiophile company but their results were a bit spotty especially from a QC standpoint.

If that wasn’t their intent and they are just selling curated colored vinyl with fancy sleeves then I don’t understand the appeal at the $50+ per price point.
 
hatfieldpdx said:
They may not have said that overtly, but they certainly focus on producing audiophile pressings whenever possible - and the pricing is well out of line with other entry level, non-audiophile clubs. They have now lost the audiophiles, along with many others, so on to Plan Z.
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They said it expressly, not overtly, on one of their podcasts. They were going to press the best possible copy of their ROTMs.
 
bdm105 said:
Why the gate keeping? Marketing is marketing and people new to the hobby buy more than people who've been in it for years
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i'm with you on this one...there are lots of people with entry level TTs who wanna listen to records and don't know much about the quality and price points of record players. i have a lot of friends who wanted to listen to records and got the cheap audio technica tables to see if they liked it enough to continue in the hobby.

marshall said:
They said it expressly, not overtly, on one of their podcasts. They were going to press the best possible copy of their ROTMs.
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i'd argue that they succeeded in this in a bunch of cases. it's not like Interscope Record Club saying this and then just cutting them in-house somewhere or reusing plates. they have at least attempted to do things like AAA cut by RKS for many releases. lots of the hip hop releases are definitive cuts.

price alone doesn't make a company audiophile IMO. and they at least went through some of the steps to try to make the best sounding albums. they got fucked by bad management and Cam trying to fund a pressing plant that nobody wanted.
 
MikeH said:
i'm with you on this one...there are lots of people with entry level TTs who wanna listen to records and don't know much about the quality and price points of record players. i have a lot of friends who wanted to listen to records and got the cheap audio technica tables to see if they liked it enough to continue in the hobby.


i'd argue that they succeeded in this in a bunch of cases. it's not like Interscope Record Club saying this and then just cutting them in-house somewhere or reusing plates. they have at least attempted to do things like AAA cut by RKS for many releases. lots of the hip hop releases are definitive cuts.

price alone doesn't make a company audiophile IMO. and they at least went through some of the steps to try to make the best sounding albums. they got fucked by bad management and Cam trying to fund a pressing plant that nobody wanted.
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And pressing records at GZ.

I have no problem with folks getting whatever to get into the hobby, I just don’t think VMP is a get into the hobby club anymore. They only kind of ever were.
 
bdm105 said:
There most successful years they definitely were IMO. They were re-issuing the big albums that are staples for a lot of people
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When I joined back in 2016, what they excelled at was discovery type curation. They released some tent pole stuff to get you in the door but it was the stuff that should have been big that got me to stay. I never thought essentials made sense for the majority of that track - there are certainly times it was dead on. That discovery curation waned as they got bigger as was probably inevitable. I know they got shit for Lapsley and Mesfin but that was what they did best.
 
Nee Lewman said:
And pressing records at GZ.

I have no problem with folks getting whatever to get into the hobby, I just don’t think VMP is a get into the hobby club anymore. They only kind of ever were.
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sure. GZ is a result of bad management/decisions and wanting higher margins.

i don't entirely understand it, but there are lots of people out there who regularly buy $50 on records and spin them on a $150 turntable instead of saving up to get a nicer table.
Nee Lewman said:
When I joined back in 2016, what they excelled at was discovery type curation. They released some tent pole stuff to get you in the door but it was the stuff that should have been big that got me to stay. I never thought essentials made sense for the majority of that track - there are certainly times it was dead on. That discovery curation waned as they got bigger as was probably inevitable. I know they got shit for Lapsley and Mesfin but that was what they did best.
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Those two still being in stock 10 years later means it was unsustainable and not what everyone thought they did best.

I did enjoy that period the most too but I was also pretty early in my record buying so cheap stuff I had never heard of was a fun journey. It’s also where I met many of you chucklefucks.

The idea of a third party label licensing titles now and pressing great quality titles for $25 seems like a dream. Jackpot may be the only third party reissue label I can think of that’s putting out AAA reissues for under the $40 price point
 
Nee Lewman said:
When I joined back in 2016, what they excelled at was discovery type curation. They released some tent pole stuff to get you in the door but it was the stuff that should have been big that got me to stay. I never thought essentials made sense for the majority of that track - there are certainly times it was dead on. That discovery curation waned as they got bigger as was probably inevitable. I know they got shit for Lapsley and Mesfin but that was what they did best.
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I mostly agree. It's a balancing act of course that apparently isn't sustainable but who knows. I'd never have heard of Gang of Youths or Moses Sumney if it wasn't for them
 
NewsFedora said:
discord.gg

Join the wax supreme Discord Server!

community-driven space for vinyl enthusiasts, music lovers, and all the extended branches your brain journeys in between | 97 members
discord.gg discord.gg
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I believe this was just switched to invite, but I was just asked by djgribbs to pass along a message:

"hey please communicate to N&G folks that they are welcome to come. just gonna keep it to invites as we are still pretty fresh and don’t wanna grow too fast
well if it should ever come up
we would be glad to add"

So I just tried the link above and it looks broken, but if anyone wants to check it out, ping me or other folks on the discord and we can get folks sorted out.

The VMP server has like.....5000 users on it, but all the content and interaction came from a steady roster composed of like 80 to 100 folks? something like that. And much like N&G there's roughly a broad well meant understanding of 'we like each other and we're not jerks for no reason' and all that.
 
bdm105 said:
Why the gate keeping? Marketing is marketing and people new to the hobby buy more than people who've been in it for years
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Sorry, I have only just seen the messages that came after after I commented on it.

As others said, it's more the way they've positioned themselves as selling high-end/audiophile quality records whilst also having a prize of a cheap mass-produced player. Similar to the time when Storf was commenting on how fantastic one of the records they released sounded whilst playing it through an old doobie record that had been fashioned into a speaker. It's not that having the equipment is an issue, it's that they are suggesting their quality records be played on the lowest-quality systems.

Still, a freebie is a freebie right :ROFLMAO:
 
Second day isn’t even Vinyl related?
www.vinylmeplease.com

7 Days of Giveaways: Homesick

Vinyl Me, Please is a record of the month club. The best damn record club, in fact. Our goal is to be the greatest music company ever, and to make your life even more awesome than it already is. We do this by not only sending you great music, but by also offering an amazing experience every month.
www.vinylmeplease.com www.vinylmeplease.com
 
Nee Lewman said:
Second day isn’t even Vinyl related?
www.vinylmeplease.com

7 Days of Giveaways: Homesick

Vinyl Me, Please is a record of the month club. The best damn record club, in fact. Our goal is to be the greatest music company ever, and to make your life even more awesome than it already is. We do this by not only sending you great music, but by also offering an amazing experience every month.
www.vinylmeplease.com www.vinylmeplease.com
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Is that desperation I smell or your new candle?
 
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