MikeH
Well-Known Member
They are definitely trying to right the ship in a number of ways (not just financially). We’ll see if they actually make some big changes in curation and how the company is run and how members benefit.
Vinyl Me Please (store, exclusives, swaps, etc)
- Thread starter Captainfog
- Start date
TrainFan73
Frothy
FYI: no new information in this video. In short: it’s hard to press records.
jamieanderson1968
Well-Known Member
VMP has a long list of things that they have found to be hard to do.
Proof reading
Setting up an online store
Quality control
Communication
Shipping
hatfieldpdx
Well-Known Member
Add to the list: using more time effectively
keylime_5
Well-Known Member
Most of the time companies fail because of poor management decisions not because of how well sales and business is going. So it's a hard thing to judge but I don't think sales and business are hurting based on the 20,000 subscribers and the fact that all of their latest blunders have been blunders in an attempt to vastly expand their business. Adding more tracks and more anthologies were hits but trying to have their own plant and add the soundtrack feature were misses.
hatfieldpdx
Well-Known Member
This could be true, but the real question is how much have those numbers - and sales - been propped up by the ridiculous offers that they rolled out continually, throughout 2023. And more importantly, how many folks will actually choose to renew, given recent curation and the extortionate pricing? My prediction is that another round of promos is coming. In either case, I would imagine that trouble is brewing.
tvham
Well-Known Member
Running a forum
MikeH
Well-Known Member
Yes— I imagine that they need something to entice those who joined with the 8 free records promo to remain as members. I’m in that boat and without a good promo to cut the cost down, I probably won’t rejoin for a year long sub and more likely will dip in and out
Could you pick 8 free records? I couldn't in December and they've only got worse in the curation since then...
MikeH
Well-Known Member
I picked 8 freebies and sold half of the ones I didn’t want to recoup more money back. With the freebies, a US subscription came out to something like $18 per album. Even less once I sold 4 of them
TrainFan73
Frothy
I can save you $80:
Join the Club
Vinyl Me, Please is a record of the month club. The best damn record club, in fact. Our goal is to be the greatest music company ever, and to make your life even more awesome than it already is. We do this by not only sending you great music, but by also offering an amazing experience every month.
www.vinylmeplease.com
MikeH
Well-Known Member
pass.I can save you $80:
Join the Club
Vinyl Me, Please is a record of the month club. The best damn record club, in fact. Our goal is to be the greatest music company ever, and to make your life even more awesome than it already is. We do this by not only sending you great music, but by also offering an amazing experience every month.
I’m so glad I missed the Columbia House-esque promo. I mean, I haven’t been a subscriber since we opened this forum, but still. That sort of promo, to me, is indicative of some very ugly lagging indicators within their business.
MikeH
Well-Known Member
I actually kinda like halfway between you and Mike on that one. I get where you’re coming from but a company celebrating a round birthday with a giveaway that could clear some dead stock doesn’t immediately blow all the alarm bells. The number of 40% off sales the last 6 months and the pressing plant stuff maybe more so.
For me it was just a stark realisation of just how badly curation can go when you let one questionable guy run it all. I’m a big music fan and it took them 15 months to release 4 albums that I’d want to buy, actually make that two because two of them were replacing older worn copies of an album I already had. That’s from 5 records a month. 4, and 2 fresh from 75 records over the period.
MikeH
Well-Known Member
I just think that vinyl subscription services simply aren't for everyone. You don't like jazz, which rules out a lot of the classics track, and I don't think you like hiphop or country much. So at least half the offerings are already automatic no's for you without even going into the curation of them.
VMP's price hike has made it much harder to take chances on things I may have 5-6 years ago. And also I'm much pickier now than I used to be when it comes to records because I have a lot and limited space left. I have a feeling a lot of other people are in that boat too. So there are a ton of factors of why VMP has seemingly gone down hill--curation, price, it being harder most likely to license hard-to-find big titles, etc.
Storf isn't the only curator by the way...even though people assume he is since he's the "face" of the picks.
Jeff Lerner
Well-Known Member
This is how I feel every quarter when they announce. 5 tracks per month for 3 months, I'm like, "ok there have to be 3 titles I'll want (one per month) out of the 15 they are going to announce." And then they announce and I'm like, "nope, swapping for credit again I guess"
hatfieldpdx
Well-Known Member
I feel the same in regard to recent curation. I have dipped in and out for years, and did a 3 month membership to grab a few titles last year. That stint ended 5 months ago and I have not seen anything that has even remotely tempted me since then. Are there titles that I could talk myself into? Sure. Have there been any titles that I am going to want in my collection in 5 years? Not even close.
But equally classics is supposedly 3 genres and I like good bits of the other two genres. In practice it’s not. And the essentials track is just bizarre, even if you just call it main or AoTM, the picks are often just odd. Pussy Cats really is the perfect highlight of everything that’s wrong.
So I take it we aren't getting the Goonies soundtrack that was promised last summer. Did they fire the mondo dudes?