[deathwaltz]

Ras
Can I ask what you will now do with the extra black ?
I'm not being a dick but just wondering ? You've paid a pretty penny for the two copies of the same record so I was wondering what you guys do with the extra?

[chandler75]

Spence, the thing was that with shipping from the US, the total price for 1 record would be USD 50, and 2 records would be UDS 75, so I figured I'd take a chance and maybe get a variant now that I had to pay USD 25 shipping no matter what.

Now that I got two black copies, I'll probably stick one in the closet for awhile with my other duplicates (it's not that many) and trade or sell it down the line. I'm pretty sure I can get the cover price (USD 25) for it if I try to sell it here in Denmark, since no stores carry these releases.

[deathwaltz]

Oh cool
I seem to get more upset every day to see people buying multiple copies of records to get certain colourways ... I was just wondering .

[NathanLurker]

Yeah in some cases you reduce your price per unit by ordering multiple copies, which maximize your chance at a variant. That's only good if you expect to trade, resell or give as gift your extras. or maybe for having an extra copy as security in case you scratch your first.

it's a bit of speculation. Like, I ordered Ulver's perdition city, and with shipping cost included, it was 60$ for a copy, but by ordering 4 of them, it ends up being 50$ per copy, which was expensive but that's my favorite album ever. I ended up selling those extra 3 copies because this album is easily resold, people search for copies of this. I save 10$ on the price I'd have paid for one copy only.

Personnaly I only buy multiple copies on very important albums or albums I know are gonna be resold easily.

[chandler75]

Sometimes it reminds me of the comic book boom in the 90s, where people (including myself) would buy multiple copies of things like Spider-Man # 1 and Spawn # 1, thinking they would be worth a fortune one day. What they didn't realize was that everyone else were also buying multiple copies, so suddenly 5 million copies of Spider-Man # 1 existed...

[deathwaltz]

Yeah that is my worry
that practice killed the comic industry and it never really fully recovered , I can kind of already see it happening to this scene...

[RyanPlugs]

This does worry me about the resurgence in vinyl sales. The majority of new release lists seem to be filled with some new ltd colour of some record you can buy anywhere (Nirvana's - Bleach being the most recent I can think of).

I'll never understand people who buy multiples of the same record when that money could have been spent on another record containing different music, but each to their own.

[renpen21]

With the comic book pricing decline eBay plays a huge part, back when I was younger I wanted a Uncanny X-Men #266 Gambit 1st appearance. We had 1 comic shop in town who had to pick it up at fairs so had to wait and price was £30. Go on eBay now and you can have it next day for less, there's no longer the need to find stuff majority is available on eBay. Some times a good thing sometimes a bad if your in it for the money which I never have been.

[Garmonbozia]

I'm with you, RyanPlugs. I'm always kind of astounded at how many people purchase the same album two at a time. Totally different pressings with different covers, etc, I get.

[repulsion]

I don't buy multiple copies often, but sometimes I do so, because it is great to have a backup of a great release (you never know...ruined a vinyl once when I was drunk...Don't drink and spin!!). I don't intend to sell them.
My latest multiple orders (same color):
Day of the Dead Waxworks
Carcass - Swansong Reissue
Uncle Acid - Mind Control
Assault on Precinct 13 Death Waltz

[Re-animated Cat]

I think Spencer's right to be worried, things are getting really stupid with all the variants/exclusives and the resale market. It's a problem for vinyl in general, but it's far worse with soundtracks in particular. The market is already totally over-saturated.

None of these soundtrack re-issues will be worth anything in a couple of years time. There are simply too many versions of each release being pressed (I mean Waxwork did five recently, five!!) and too many people are buying multiples, whether to flip, sell later or store away. The vast majority will be selling for less than the retail price in no time.

It's stupid to view these records as 'investment' pieces. It's simply not gonna happen. The moral of the story, of course, is to just buy records for enjoyment, to spin to death and admire.

[deathwaltz]

I really think the multiple variants thing is out of control.
We offer a sub colour then a standard cloured vinyl through our store and clear version to record stores.
I look at the sub versions as something that is never for sale to the genral public so we have two versions for sale , store versions are usually cheaper so folks can decide.
Releasing 5 or 6 versions of a record in various colours does not help grow a scene it just cannibalises it or worse shrinks it . I think within the year the whole soundtrack market will collapse as it cant sustain the amount of variants it is producing (Unless labels are getting new folks into the scene - which I don't think is happening ) I am not bashing anyone but I know that that just calling your variant colour by a funky name doesn't make it any more special & kids are buying 4 or 5 copies of the same record in a single day ... I have 4 versions of Tenebre but that's over a period of 20 years and this is a truly classic soundtrack , each one has wildly different art I feel justified in this as i do this with only 3 or 4 scores.
You'll be seeing a really radical restructure of DW in the next 4 weeks . I am in this for the long haul and it's about giving people a clear choice of super deluxe or standard not rising the amount of colurways you can throw out there. You'll see us doing more events worldwide such as Beyond Fest and more shows along the lines on Fabio Frizzi this is the key to sustain the current fad of soundtracks and soundtrack labels in my opinion. Sorry for derailing this thread just reply to a few comments on here. Like I said not bashing anyone but when you have 5 labels dropping 18 + variants per month it makes me a bit sad.

[StrangeVices]

I'm with you 100% Spencer. This is also another reason (amongst many) why I love Andy and Finders Keepers so much. Simple sleeve, black vinyl, no gimmick. So the music and title is your thing, or it isn't.

[seb]

I can only agree with what Spencer has to say.

At the moment we have black vinyl that is going to stores and two variants on color vinyl. It's fun because we can express ourselves in whipping up some cool color vinyl and the fans have some cool effects to gaze at.

That being said, is it really necessary? I think in the future we'll size down to black for stores and one color variant only online.
Our current static club subscription offers the choice of two variants, we will fulfill this promise with the releases included in in this package.
After that we are going to re-think the whole aspect.

Every day our releases sell more and faster to flippers and ebayers attracted by these gimmicks. This is NOT why I started OWS, and not the market I wanted to service. It is the people that are on this forum, the fans and myself I release records for. At first I was like 'sure I'll take the hipster's cash...at least I can invest their money in new and good releases' Now it disgusts me and we want to fully distance ourselves from that.

It's unfair to financialy drain your base of loyal customers and If said above obligations are finished we are stopping this craze.
A craze we sadly are also responsible for since we co- started this movement. Some took it to a ridiculous new level and we are not going to part take in it anymore. This horror-soundtrack-on vinyl-variant whatever hype is going to fade away and I can't wait for it. True labels and true fans are the ones who will be left standing, it's gonna be less crowded but it will be a dedicated scene where music and passion has the upper-hand.

Back to basics, good music on quality vinyl with high grade packaging without the lunacy that is going around these days.
It's my movement, it's your scene... Taking it back.

Seb

[StrangeVices]

Damn that was so well said! Thanks to you both.

[DISCOSUCKS...]

I have to say, the phrase "a craze we are sadly also responsible for.." sorta does speak to me, guys.

I would never use this forum to take a knock at the labels who set it up, so take this comment in the correct spirit please! I'm most definitely a fan, and understand/share Seb and Spencer's distaste at what's going down

But I don't think DW and OWS can so quickly put themselves on "higher-horses" than other labels who are playing the "limited/exclusive/special clubhouse/multi-variant/superspecialcalifragilisticexpialidocious" market-hype game: I recall not long ago Seb's comment about the poor sound quality of their Glow variant for THHE ost, along the lines of "okay we know, so it sounds pretty bad, but that version is for art-purposes (ie looking at!) and you can always get a black copy IF YOU ACTUALLY WANT TO LISTEN TO IT (!). I'm paraphrasing, and I have to say that in reality OWS did seem to be offering solutions to unhappy buyers in a very cool/co-operative way, but it's the PRINCIPAL of that thought which I'm personally flabbergasted by.....

While in some mad way I kinda understand the logic (hey, I'm a crazy-magpie collector of shiny things too!) it does speak of the general madness that has enveloped the world of niche/genre soundtracks. And very quickly.
For those of us who've been serious lovers/collectors of the form for a good while, it can't help but look like CRAZINESS YO!

I think I blarted on about this before, but it all has a very familiar feel to it - the comics market in the 90s went through a very similar thing (although perhaps not quite as "overground" as this new soundtrack fad...) with fanboys snapping up multiple copies of limited edition first issue comics with "holographic/foil/jewel encrusted" covers.....it could well still be like that for all I know, but I suspect it musta bottomed out at some point. Genuine lovers of the art form just sat back shaking our heads disbelievingly.....

To finish with a brighter perspective, what I never lose sight of through all this variant baloney is that these small boutique labels are doing something that I really love and appreciate - putting out old deleted soundtracks that are often impossible/very expensive to find, and KEEPING GREAT SCORES ON WAX ALIVE for collectors/new fans. If I have to wade through a bit of hype/BS to get them, it's not a big deal. I understand the need to stand out in the market place. I just wish sometimes that more people had faith that the quality of the music/legacy of the films was enough to do that.

Peace out!

[seb]

You are totally right discosucks. That's why I said 'the blame is partially on us too'
And in the beginning we were still looking to find our way in all this. Experimenting with everything on hand..

That glow in the dark thing is going to haunt me forever though
But the thing is that we did not deliberately put out a bad sounding records for the sake of being cool. It was a good looking thing but failed on sound quality. Afterwards we rectified and I think that everybody on here who had a problem with the sound got their problem fixed by us.

Things got out of hand quickly though and at this rate I only see it getting more extravagant.
Maybe it's high horsy like you said but then again ... I think I'm free to speak up for things I'm involved in.

I also want to stress that this is a personal opinion and not an attack on other labels, everybody has the right to run their label the way they feel like it. I'm not telling anybody what to do, just taking a stand.

Like you said Disco> Peace

[repulsion]

@ StrangeVices

[deathwaltz]

@discosucks
I do not consider myself higher than anyone - I'm only 5 foot 5
When I started DW it was a personal project and I just did a colour for subbers and a colour for the web store. I had no idea that it would would take hold and kickstart a huge resurgence in soundtracks.
My goal was always to produce these scores in the best packages possible.
I want to carry on doing that but I also want an affordable option for folks too. I have been record collecting for 30 years and rarely buy doubles of stuff , this seems a very new phenomenon and one that I fear people will be regretting a year down the line, I may be wrong and who knows maybe DW will fall by the wayside but I am not going to get into producing ten different colourways of the same record.
We have some represses on the way of our early titles but the whole package will be revamped and updated. If this goes the same way as the comics scene in the 90's then well that would be really sad as that scene never fully recovered.
I might move all these comments to a fresh thread as I dont want to derail the Mondo thread and I do find this a fascinating subject.
When we unveil the new look DW with City Of The Living Dead it will be a very clear path. 2 editions , a bells and whistles edition and a standard top quality bare bones edition. It's all I have been thinking about over the last two months. I'm going to let the fans vote with their wallets.

That said getting back on track that Coraline packaging does look pretty amazing I have to say. I didn't see Paranorman so can't really comment on the score. I like that Mondo are releasing this stuff though as it sets them apart and certainly feels like it fits within their remit, also these are scores I wouldn't go after so I'm glad to give them a listen and discover something new that i (hopefully) like.

[Pitch]

@deathwaltz

Good to hear that you and OW are pulling back from the variant brink! Always the music first; cover, inserts, info second; vinyl variants last for me. I'm interested in your plans for the deluxe v bare bones (that's the name of the edition right there!) versions, and how the sub version fits into the new hierarchy? Will the sub version be the deluxe version + print, coming in a vinyl variant? Will Bare Bones be the black vinyl version?

I'm making up my mind on whether to keep going with the sub... or whether I'll just strip back to the music on black vinyl.

As for the discussion on duplicates: I have a few dupes - mostly accidents - but have now made a conscious effort not to play that game. I do have occasional original and reissue dupes, though even that seems a bit daft if they are identical. As for people who say they buy 2 copies 'in case they accidently damage one'..... I'm not sure I believe them!!!

[DISCOSUCKS...]

5' 5" is the new 7' !!

[hncreature]

LOLOLOL!!!!

[Re-animated Cat]

These comments should be moved to their own thread, it's interesting.

Btw, I've never seen the word 'variant' used to describe vinyl editions until I started using this forum.

[slik]

This question of pressings, variants, cost, ooh, even the ethos of labels...it is becoming so lame. Another thread for this topic would only encourage more and more weirdness! This issue is not specific to soundtrack releases, jeez........I remember buying stupid amounts of "Can Your Pussy Do The Dog?" on 7", various covers, various colours! I confess, I do buy the different variants of a release, if it's something that means something to me.I "collected" SUB POP late '80s, and believe me, the fun was definitely tracking down their random colours of releases, sometimes at a stupid cost. I have 10 different colours, covers for the first SSS LP. Why? The band became a massive part of my life, and subsequently my son, who now has his own label.It's no lie to say my, no, our records serve as a diary to life. Choice is the key here, and blaming labels, pressings, costs...well, you know what I'm saying.
The hardcore scene has, for as long as I can remember, always done pre-orders...limited colour,artwork etc. This is usually so the music gets released at all. Then there's the record release gig version. Then there's the re-press when there's an avalanche of demand.Then there's always the "we found these records, put a photocopied sleeve on",hurled 'em into the audience at a show! That is record distribution.........Closure

7", Double 7",7" Picture Disc, 12",12" Picture Disc,Shaped Picture Disc, Cassette EP....and on and on...'twas ever thus people!

Support your local record store!

[Re-animated Cat]

Yeah, I'm not really seeing the connection to the hardcore scene, where different editions were released gradually and out of necessity. Not the same thing, in my view. If you don't find the topic interesting (like others might) then perhaps just don't read it? Just a suggestion.