Vinyl News: Beware Fake Rarities, Arctic Monkey Unboxing, Maximizing Direct-To-Fan
As vinyl collecting heats up, con artists are being attracted to the scene in growing numbers including bootleg manufacturing. Yet most vinyl news is quite positive with Topspin noting that vinyl outperforms in direct-to-fan campaigns and legit vinyl manufacturers getting plenty of business. Bonus: 7 minute long Arctic Monkey vinyl unboxing video!
Let the Vinyl Buyer Beware
To some degree con artists are simply a part of collecting. But collecting booms in which many new, uneducated collectors show up on the scene attract con artists in larger number. Multiple raids in the UK have seized thousands of allegedly fake vinyl records and authorities have been warning collectors to beware.
Mentioned artists being bootlegged include Led Zeppelin, the Clash, David Bowie, Eminem, Michael Jackson, and Madonna
On a related note, earlier this year concerns were being raised about low quality, poorly manufactured vinyl releases.
Arctic Monkeys AM Deluxe Vinyl Unboxing
I love unboxing videos. This guy turns it into a 7 minute event!
Topspin Reveals Vinyl's Direct-to-Fan Appeal
Topspin recently took a look at top direct-to-fan campaigns that included vinyl. Last year, in the general market, vinyl "accounted for 2.3% of all physical album sales." In contrast, top campaigns on Topspin were averaging over 1 vinyl album for every 2 CDs sold.
One artist achieved top sales with a vinyl/CD combo. While digital downloads are increasingly common companions to vinyl sales, bundling CDs seems to be a real winner and worth further exploration.
Arcade Fire's current "Reflektor" preorder bundles vinyl and CDs for a double album release as shown in the above thumbnail.
Vinyl Manufacturing Booming
'Vinyl is back' articles are starting to give way to 'vinyl biz is booming' articles. One upbeat example is a recent feature on RIP-V, a Quebec-based vinyl manufacturer.
RIP-V was founded by Philippe Dubuc "in 2007 after losing his job in the financial sector. His company now produces about 2,000 records per day."
RIP-V serves a client list that ranges from such labels as Epitaph, Merge and Universal with releases from such artists as Arcade Fire, Tom Waits and She and Him.
[Linkage via @hifidelics and @Buzzsonic.]
More:
- PledgeMusic To Launch Vinyl Vault Featuring Re-issues and Previously Unreleased Music
- Whole Foods Adds Vinyl But It's Not A Bubble Yet!
- Top 10 Vinyl Album Bestsellers for 2013: Amazon.co.uk vs. UK Indie Record Shops
Hypebot Senior Contributor Clyde Smith (@fluxresearch/@crowdfundingm) also blogs at Flux Research and Crowdfunding For Musicians. To suggest topics for Hypebot, contact: clyde(at)fluxresearch(dot)com.
