April 19, 2010
Record Store Day, the Vinyl Revival and the Evolution of Expectations

Saturday I visited a number of Seattle’s finer independent record stores to sample the wares and see what was hidden among the stacks. Following a tasty brunch at Bimbos with Douglas, who despite showing up before opening to stand in line didn’t find the one release he was looking for, we headed down to the new Sonic Boom Capitol Hill. The place was packed for a Minus the Bear in-store and among the largely picked-over stock we still found a Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings 7″ and a Fanfarlo 7″, specially released for the annual Record Store Day celebration. A walk just around the corner to a far less crowed Wall of Sound found Douglas’ sought after Male Bonding/Dum Dum Girls 7″ was hidden among the displays on the wall, so I picked it up for him, as well as my sought after Beach House 12″ via Sub Pop.
As expected, when I got home to examine my pull, Sub Pop’s offerings came with digital drop card included, so I could download the record’s tracks and add them to my digital library as well if I wished. Kill Rock Stars who put out a Cribs/Thermals split, also fully equipped their release for the new digital economy. The Fanfarlo 7″ on the other hand, released via Atlantic Records (one of the “big three”), left me with nothing to download. The Built To Spill 7″ via Warner Bros. (also one of the “big three”), also left me disappointed. This surprised me considering new records I’ve bought in the last few months via the Beggars Group and Secretly Canadian have used the inclusion of a download as a selling point. When I had a problem with my download code on my BIG ECHO vinyl, I emailed the Beggars Group tech support (on a Saturday) and had a new code in my inbox within minutes.
I’m no vinyl junkie. The vinyl that I’m buying I know that I’ll value and play. It follows that these are probably some of my favorite records (they are) and that I would want to have my favorite records also available for my digital collection (I do).
The Beggars Group obviously understands that obtaining this digital copy is an important part of the what people now expect when they are buying *new* vinyl, not simply a convenience. The year is 2010 and people largely listen to music on digital devices and via iTunes so it makes sense that this would be part and parcel of the market’s demands. Yet those with the biggest market share and the most resources to be able to meet those demands still drag their feet and deliver a sub-standard product. In an apples to apples comparison, Warner and Atlantic just don’t make the cut.
And we wonder why people are forecasting the demise of the “record industry.”
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