- Tue Sep 23, 2014 1:40 am
#32196
[quote=32193]I think quality CD or digital files on a good setup sound as good or better than vinyl. I greatly prefer the overall experience of vinyl and do most of my listening that way, and I think there is more joy in analog. CDs and FLAC sound great but aren’t much fun.
As for price, I am a Death Waltz subber, and they are also pretty darn expensive (though admittedly some of that is shipping cost…they are ~$47 USD before shipping cost). I think it comes to around $60 a pop for the DW subber copies in the US– same as Looper w/o the 7″. Pricey? Sure. And totally worth it. And Spencer already did the basic subscription thing and is obviously open to the idea.
Most of Mondo’s stuff is $20-25 with occasional releases going up to $30. Looper and Iron Giant B are the first two to go (quite a bit) above that. I agree, those two are expensive, and hopefully that price point is the rare exception since we’ll all go broke (to be fair, Iron Giant ‘A’ is $30 not $100 like ‘B’).
I am going to make an effort to be more positive on the board. Seems to have taken a bit of a negative turn of late. Let’s all try to vent our frustrations privately and keep this place a positive zone to share our love of the niche.
[/quote]
I don't think this discussion is negative - we are all able to express our view points on how these various labels treat us as listeners/buyers/rabid fans. If you have the money to throw at these crazy price releases, go for it.
I don't think the DW subber is a fair comparison at all - you're paying nearly $60 per album because of the international exchange rate and shipping. You did not encounter either of those factors when purchasing DIRECT from Mondo in person this past weekend. If anything, records should have been the cheapest they've ever been if Mondo actually cared about their customers because they didn't have to charge all the exchange rates, shipping, packaging for shipping, etc in order to get the record to you. Instead, they charged more than ever. Pretty crazy, really.
I think it's honestly impossible to convince those of us that find this to be insulting that it's okay to hoard the music this way, and for those that paid the price - you guys are just obviously more into the collecting aspect of buying vinyl than I or anyone else that might agree with me. That doesn't mean I like music more than you, or that your decisions are poor in comparison to mine...I have no problem with how you or anyone else purchases their music. My complaint still stands solely against Mondo for releasing music with more focus on the package than the actual music. They just do not get the music-listening community at all. All they understand is the collector community. Which I understand...the owner has written about his love for conventions, he posts pictures of STUFF all the time...he loves buying and collecting stuff...nostalgic stuff, and that's fine...that just expresses to me that the person that has been in charge of the Mondo record label doesn't really get into the vinyl album releases for anything other than putting out collectible items.
I wish there was a way to not support them...as I honestly would stop buying Mondo albums...but like I've said, the music is what is important to me...and so if Mondo has exclusive rights to an album on vinyl...I have to buy from them one way or another if I want to listen to the music I enjoy. Very sad that it has turned to this. I bought Maniac when it first came out from Mondo - it was so exciting to be in Texas, and actually moving to Austin when that came out...I was able to buy a really great soundtrack on vinyl from someone local...and then that turned into all this nonsense. Here's to hoping Spencer can turn them around!
As for price, I am a Death Waltz subber, and they are also pretty darn expensive (though admittedly some of that is shipping cost…they are ~$47 USD before shipping cost). I think it comes to around $60 a pop for the DW subber copies in the US– same as Looper w/o the 7″. Pricey? Sure. And totally worth it. And Spencer already did the basic subscription thing and is obviously open to the idea.
Most of Mondo’s stuff is $20-25 with occasional releases going up to $30. Looper and Iron Giant B are the first two to go (quite a bit) above that. I agree, those two are expensive, and hopefully that price point is the rare exception since we’ll all go broke (to be fair, Iron Giant ‘A’ is $30 not $100 like ‘B’).
I am going to make an effort to be more positive on the board. Seems to have taken a bit of a negative turn of late. Let’s all try to vent our frustrations privately and keep this place a positive zone to share our love of the niche.
[/quote]
I don't think this discussion is negative - we are all able to express our view points on how these various labels treat us as listeners/buyers/rabid fans. If you have the money to throw at these crazy price releases, go for it.
I don't think the DW subber is a fair comparison at all - you're paying nearly $60 per album because of the international exchange rate and shipping. You did not encounter either of those factors when purchasing DIRECT from Mondo in person this past weekend. If anything, records should have been the cheapest they've ever been if Mondo actually cared about their customers because they didn't have to charge all the exchange rates, shipping, packaging for shipping, etc in order to get the record to you. Instead, they charged more than ever. Pretty crazy, really.
I think it's honestly impossible to convince those of us that find this to be insulting that it's okay to hoard the music this way, and for those that paid the price - you guys are just obviously more into the collecting aspect of buying vinyl than I or anyone else that might agree with me. That doesn't mean I like music more than you, or that your decisions are poor in comparison to mine...I have no problem with how you or anyone else purchases their music. My complaint still stands solely against Mondo for releasing music with more focus on the package than the actual music. They just do not get the music-listening community at all. All they understand is the collector community. Which I understand...the owner has written about his love for conventions, he posts pictures of STUFF all the time...he loves buying and collecting stuff...nostalgic stuff, and that's fine...that just expresses to me that the person that has been in charge of the Mondo record label doesn't really get into the vinyl album releases for anything other than putting out collectible items.
I wish there was a way to not support them...as I honestly would stop buying Mondo albums...but like I've said, the music is what is important to me...and so if Mondo has exclusive rights to an album on vinyl...I have to buy from them one way or another if I want to listen to the music I enjoy. Very sad that it has turned to this. I bought Maniac when it first came out from Mondo - it was so exciting to be in Texas, and actually moving to Austin when that came out...I was able to buy a really great soundtrack on vinyl from someone local...and then that turned into all this nonsense. Here's to hoping Spencer can turn them around!
ryanharrismusic.bandcamp.com
