R.I.P. VMP Forum

MikeH said:
I know Crosleys get a lot of hate from people, but for some people, it's the easiest way to get into vinyl collecting. And since it's an expensive hobby, some people want to have a cheap and affordable entry point to see if they actually want to pursue it or not long-term. The idea of it seems cool, but I know a lot of people that just end up not listening to records all the time. I started off with a shitty cheap record player and when I found myself using it all the time, I saved money and upgraded. Not everybody starting out can afford to drop $300-$400 on a starter turntable. Everybody has to start somewhere.
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Yes, especially for teenagers and college age folks with limited space and very small budget. It’s an entry point and photos of people using all in ones make it seem less scary. I am all for that.

But as I said earlier in the thread, a variety of setups in their ads would be good. It shows what’s possible and what’s achievable down the line if it’s a hobby they want to stick with.
 
Ed Selley said:
That's an interesting list. I would never have bought Spaces, Long Way Home, Boxer, Betty Davis or Silver Bullets and I really love those records- Spaces in particular is my absolute favourite AOTM bar none. I tend to give the curation a fair amount of credit because there are a number of albums like that that have featured that see a lot of use with me. Admittedly, there are quite a few on that list that don't see heavy rotation too.
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Spaces was a big hit with me too !
Ive stopped spinning ti - gonna get back on that.
 
A very (very) long time ago some thought was given to using my two armed TT for some of the shots but ignoring the practicality aspects (little ones, like me being in a different country for example), there were some more practical considerations;

- Where's the boundary between aspirational and elitist? Are you alienating more people than you bring in by suddenly featuring a $5k+ TT?
- Is the company getting the free publicity by having their equipment feature going to do anything beneficial with it?
- Does it shoot well in a social media context? (And a lot of high end gear really doesn't)
- Does it take focus away from the record?

Ultimately, it fell by the wayside. I think even the GT modded Rega doesn't feature any more.
 
Ethos99 said:
I agree. I think they want to appeal to everyone and if the image of you easily playing records on your bedroom tree stump table gets you to subscribe they will take it.

One of the biggest things I hear from people who want to get into collecting/listening to vinyl is "I don't know how" or I don't want to buy a bunch of equipment, etc.

It can be a way over the threshold for some people to get crosleys and start collecting and I say more power to them.
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I won a Crosley at a holiday party in 2016. Now I have a legit vinyl habit a (slightly) better setup and am passing down the Crosley to my kids so they can join in the fun with some dollar bin records they can pick out. Everyone has gotta start somewhere...

I remember getting a VMP membership as a gift that year and finding the old place soon thereafter. Not sure I would have hung around if casual scorn of people like me was as prevalent as I’ve seen around here the last couple weeks. Sure, maybe VMP is focused more on a certain demographic that isn’t so sensitive to price/quality issues. Maybe we can make that point without being so derisive about those people?
 
MikeH said:
Instead they tossed a rainbow on their logo, put it on a hat and said proceeds will go to charity. Let's be real...how many people are inspired to buy that hat?

It really is a shame that companies take advantage of things like this for corporate profit instead of true, honest intentions and then like you said, disappear once that PR visibility disappears.
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They sold out of the hat and shirt. People love opportunities to support a cause via minimum effort and risk. It's not like the VMP logo is even using an identifiable pride rainbow.
 
LG&M said:
I won a Crosley at a holiday party in 2016. Now I have a legit vinyl habit a (slightly) better setup and am passing down the Crosley to my kids so they can join in the fun with some dollar bin records they can pick out. Everyone has gotta start somewhere...

I remember getting a VMP membership as a gift that year and finding the old place soon thereafter. Not sure I would have hung around if casual scorn of people like me was as prevalent as I’ve seen around here the last couple weeks. Sure, maybe VMP is focused more on a certain demographic that isn’t so sensitive to price/quality issues. Maybe we can make that point without being so derisive about those people?
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There's a huge difference between being constructive and helpful when talking about somebody else's setup and just being an asshat haha. I have learned tons from people being kind enough to give recommendations on setups, specs, upgrades, etc. I'm still learning an insane amount and doubt I'll even begin to scratch the surface on what there is to know about audiophile equipment. Getting a turntable (even an entry level one when I first started out) got me way more into music and helped me get into Jazz and other genres I wasn't particularly into at the time. It's a different music experience for me than opening up iTunes or Spotify.

I think it's awesome when people get their first turntable, no matter what it is. I have fond memories of "blasting" my parents' Beach Boys albums on my fisher price turntable when I was a kid. My 1st grade teacher used to have "Motown Mondays" where she would bring in Motown records and play them during breaks in our class. I thought it was the coolest thing ever and she was using some all-in-one beat up record player.

Are Crosleys the best turntable out there? Not really. Would I spin a rare record or an expensive pressing on one? Probably not...but most people who are relatively new to vinyl aren't buying those records at first. And if you're enjoying the music then so what? If you're still regularly playing records after a year or so, then there are lots of upgrades that will make the experience more enjoyable and still affordable. I personally think it's a bit silly to drop a ton of money on your first setup because a lot of people don't end up sticking with the hobby long-term.

I love that you are handing the Crosley down to your kids. Aside from it being rad, it's a cool experience to go record hunting with your kids if they are into it and having family time sitting down and listening and dancing to music.
 
mcherry said:
Boo. Was hoping I could snag a mislabeled one, haha. Oh well.
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Last I heard, it seems like Storfer wasn't entirely sure yet and they were mulling it over. The sleeve is fine and I'm assuming that the pressing plant isn't charging much if anything to repress since they made the mistake. Will keep y'all posted. My duplicate is spoken for, but I'm sure many would be okay with either PIFing their duplicate or selling it at a reasonable price.
 
jaycee said:
I've been assuming the following:
They are positioning themselves to be the not quite audiophile company for Fadsters. In other words, people that have enough money to buy records of decent quality but don't want to consider themselves stuffy old white guy nerds who talk about rock music from the 70's. Their market is late 20's to 40 year olds with decent jobs and disposable income. They want to be the audiophile Newbury.
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Hey- old white guy nerd? Rock music from the '70s? Oh well- at least I'm not stuffy. :cool:
 
Indymisanthrope said:
wtf is this, it's terrific.
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Breathe Owl Breathe. A truly sweet and wonderful band of people from the woods of Michigan. They occasionally perform in homemade capes that were made by one of the band members' mom. I asked them once about the capes and they said that they always travel with them, but not every day is a cape day.

They have 3 albums I think, and haven't released one in a hot minute, but they still tour. They also have a book/record of lullabies/bed time stories.

When I got married we used the spoken part at the beginning of this song for the reading.
 
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