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

NathanRicaud said:
Mmmmmm it is pretty lazy for VMP to repeat within such a short timeframe. But for VMP, they know they’ll sell out and make a lot of 💰 as Aretha Franklin and The Roots’ have an amazing discography and are very well-known and are highly respected musicians.
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Very well-known and highly respected is kind of the opposite of helping people discover music. Selling out and making money adds up. That's kind of my point, though.

If VMP is hoping to push back on the idea that they are just another Newbury, they aren't doing a great job of it.

I never got any of the polls they've sent -- possibly, because I would have just quoted Wesley Willis beastiality phrases in all the comment sections -- but, if they were honestly paying attention, the main reason that a lot of members have stayed with them throughout all of the bullshit is for curation.

Last month was one of the most unenthusiastically received ever and this month is 2 quickly repeated artists and an album that, more than likely, has little to no exclusivity window. Even the rising has another pressing. They aren't making much of a case for themselves in the way of membership value. Most of the changes they make are steps backward. The prices go up, the swaps are restricted, and there's a 3 month subscription minimum.

It's like when you have a job and everyone is happy and being productive. Then some CEO shows up or new management and they start trying to motivate people by fear. It's the wrong approach. If you don't buy now, the price will go up. If you pause your account, you'll lose your one month membership. If you don't pick something quick, the swaps will vanish, but be careful, because you only have one shot and you're stuck with it. Order immediately, or it might oversell -- even worse is that you might not get it anyway. Order before it opens to the public, because it will almost immediately, if it hasn't already. Maybe you still don't quit, because you need this job, but morale is fucked and everyone is still mumbling and talking shit to each other while they work. Every order comes with a sprinkle of anxiety rather than excitement.

The R&HH curation was already lazy. They just release one Southern rap album after another, while jumping to NYC and then sprinkling in a woman artist to look varied. They've done multiple Prince Paul releases. Two Juvenile albums. Did something fuck up? Why wasn't one of the Arethas released as an exclusive alongside the ROTM? Why wasn't Phrenology an exclusive? Was there ever an intention of that, but they just made them each a ROTM instead?

I love EL-P and this album. I think Phrenology is a good move. But, they better not have another Phrenology pressing available elsewhere soon, or this month is still kind of a bust, despite looking like 3 solid titles on the surface.
 
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Dead C said:
Very well-known and highly respected is kind of the opposite of helping people discover music. Selling out and making money adds up. That's kind of my point, though.

If VMP is hoping to push back on the idea that they are just another Newbury, they aren't doing a great job of it.

I never got any of the polls they've sent -- possibly, because I would have just quoted Weskey Willis beastiality phrases in all the comment sections -- but, if they were honestly paying attention, the main reason that a lot of members have stayed with them throughout all of the bullshit is for curation.

Last month was one of the most unenthusiastically received ever and this month is 2 quickly repeated artists and an album that, more than likely, has little to no exclusivity window. Even the rising has another pressing. They aren't making much of a case for themselves in the way of membership value. Most of the changes they make are steps backward. The prices go up, the swaps are restricted, and there's a 3 month subscription minimum.

It's like when you have a job and everyone is happy and being productive. Then some CEO shows up or new management and they start trying to motivate people by fear. It's the wrong approach. If you don't buy now, the price will go up. If you pause your account, you'll lose your one month membership. If you don't pick something quick, the swaps will vanish, but be careful, because you only have on shot and you're stuck with it. Order immediately, or it might oversell -- even worse is that you might not get it anyway. Order before it opens to the public, because it will almost immediately, if it hasn't already. Maybe you still don't quit, because you need this job, but morale is fucked and everyone is still mumbling and talking shit to each other while they work. Every order comes with a sprinkle of anxiety rather than excitement.

The R&HH curation was already lazy. They just release one Southern rap album after another, while jumping to NYC and then sprinkling in a woman artist to look varied. They've done multiple Prince Paul releases. Two Juvenile albums. Did something fuck up? Why wasn't one of the Arethas released as an exclusive alongside the ROTM? Why wasn't Phrenology an exclusive? Was there ever an intention of that, but they just made them each a ROTM instead?

I love EL-P and this album. I think Phrenology is a good move. But, they better not have another Phrenology pressing available elsewhere soon, or this month is still kind of a bust, despite looking like 3 solid titles on the surface.
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There was only 1 Juvenile RHH ROTM - 400 Degreez
 
Dead C said:
Oh. Was Hot Boyz just an exclusive? There was the Lil Wayne, though, so even then, there's 2 Hot Boyz, right there.
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I mean, sure? They did say in advance we would be getting 2 Cash Money records so it wasn't a surprise. And at that, C3 and 400 Degreez both needed full presses and we'll regarded albums so they weren't exactly bad choices imo
 
frodo-pkt said:
I mean, sure? They did say in advance we would be getting 2 Cash Money records so it wasn't a surprise. And at that, C3 and 400 Degreez both needed full presses and we'll regarded albums so they weren't exactly bad choices imo
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My point is the same and I really don't see how that changes anything if they announced they were doing it in advance or not. Their R&HH curation has always been pretty weak, because they have no reference or understanding about the breadth of the genre. My issue is obviously that they keep pulling from pretty much the same well. Some people might be happy if Essentials was nothing but early two-thousands NYC indie rock, too, but it would still show a severe lack of knowledge and be a one note subscription service. Were Lil Wayne, TI, and Juvenile in back to back to back months? That's lazy to me. If that's not your scene, you're stuck with it. Goodie Mobb was good. Outkast was a good choice, but... same shit. They are so limited in their scope and obsessed with the south that they even put out Da Brat. A few women. A few Chicago titles. The West Coast barely exists. Do a Hiero or Vince Staples album. Fuck, if you're going to do the south, put out an 8-Ball and MJG album, not just ATL trap, Dungeon Family, and Cash Money.

I love Aphex Twin, but if they had an electronic sub and that's all I got, I'd say it was lazy. Release some Delia Derbyshire, Matmos, Raymond Scott, or Kraftwerk. Just because YOU like something doesn't negate the fact that VMP has consistently pulled from the same limited pools and, not far into the R&HH sub, they were already releasing things that were, at best, hip hop adjacent. VMP has released the first three De La albums and Handsome Boy, which are all Prince Paul releases. I love Prince Paul, but the idea that they ran out of ideas or couldn't have done anything else within that time frame seems like lazy moves. Or, maybe lazy is the wrong word for it, but they definitely don't seem to have anyone on staff that really knows about the culture.

I'm coming from the perspective of remembering them announcing the sub and the discussions about what they'd wind up releasing and how thorough it might be. So many of us were excited about the possibilities; skeptical, but hopeful. There were questions about if they could really pull something with depth off and, from my perspective, they haven't. Now they are just repeating artists again, while jumping in on doing variants for other releases across all subs. Where does their expertise or value come into play, at this point? Are they out of ideas, or just not aware of how diverse the genre actually is, because they are novices that, pretty much, just like one type of rap?
 
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