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

Clay being an art guy leaving isn’t too surprising imo, I didn’t they’d be doing a new anthology again any time soon (if at all). If Storf says he’s gone then that definitely means VMP is fucked.
It’s more a big picture thing - radio silence on the discord, radio silence from CS, no new releases in 20 days. Not to mention that their last couple of sales events have really revolved selling off stuff from some random storage unit they had.
 
Who was this?
If you take a look online, there are VMP employees with term dates between end of last year and this year, probably quarterly downsizing. Those who remain have received promotions over the last 6 months (Manager to Sr Manager, Director to VP), while probably doing the same roles but with less staff. That's a common tactic for a.) Senior staff retention and to make up for a lack of salary increases; and b.) To help their future job prospects. The reductions seem to be in marketing, label/artist relationships, art direction/graphic artist roles. Those that remain are focused on supply chain/ops, CS, or magazine articles/comminications/PR.

They also utilized a consultant in late 2024 to help them with demand planning and inventory forecasting.

Unrelated to the above, if the $50 newly found pile of Sun Ra and Archie Shepp albums are any reflection of the future, it's gonna only get tougher for them to move units. That same 180 gr Verve By Request Ra album is $29 from Turntable Lab, Amazon or Acoustic Sounds.
 
If you take a look online, there are VMP employees with term dates between end of last year and this year, probably quarterly downsizing. Those who remain have received promotions over the last 6 months (Manager to Sr Manager, Director to VP), while probably doing the same roles but with less staff. That's a common tactic for a.) Senior staff retention and to make up for a lack of salary increases; and b.) To help their future job prospects. The reductions seem to be in marketing, label/artist relationships, art direction/graphic artist roles. Those that remain are focused on supply chain/ops, CS, or magazine articles/comminications/PR.
Yep, I work in healthcare and consolidation and do more with less is the name of the game. Most are also currently working with AI companies to get as much as possible to be automated.
 
Unrelated to the above, if the $50 newly found pile of Sun Ra and Archie Shepp albums are any reflection of the future, it's gonna only get tougher for them to move units. That same 180 gr Verve By Request Ra album is $29 from Turntable Lab, Amazon or Acoustic Sounds

The VMP one sounds infinitely better than any of the 3 other copies I've owned.
Never had an OG, but it's better than the VBR and Jackpot pressings by miles.

By no means am I a VMP cheerleader or defender, but credit where credit's due --- they nailed that one
 
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