Hey guys! Sorry for being slow to get in here. If I'm being entirely honest, I did kinda forget about this forum for a minute but new releases have a way of snapping be back to my senses.
I've kinda skimmed over the thread to date and wanted to address the praise, criticisms, and questions I've seen.
I'll first say: Thanks for all the kind words friends! It honestly and truly energizes us. It's even rad to see folks rate their favorite releases. I'd be lying if I pretended I love them all equally but I also can't publicly play favorites cause it wouldn't be very cool to the artists who have been kind enough to work with us - but I still love seeing other people's lists. I'll give you a little insight into the general direction I'd like the series to take moving forward. First, while I leave the final decision of which album to cover up to each participating artist, recently I have been encouraging artists to select well known records but to also be creative with their selections. I also let each artist know that I prefer albums in which the artist reimagines the album they are covering in their own image and that I think note-for-note covers are boring.
As for Jenn Champion's cover of Weezer, it's my feeling that if you liked the Yumi Zouma release you'll really like this latest one. They're different creatures for sure but I feel like there are a number of similarities. I kinda love this album from front to back but a few standouts include her take on Undone (The Sweater Song), which she's been playing live recently and she says gets the crowd going bananas; Buddy Holly (her version is a kinda plaintive piano ballad); Surf Wax America; and In The Garage. That said, I think the album is solid enough that everyone will have different favorites. For example, I've always loved "In The Garage" because it has Kitty Pride and Nightcrawler references in it and I'm a complete and total nerd and that's part of the reason I love this version as well. Also, as an FYI, it's my understanding that Jenn will be playing stuff from this at her shows on her tour.
In terms of the criticism some folks have brought up of SOUNDS DELICIOUS as a whole, I'd agree that they are all legitimate. I know that our two biggest failings to date have been 1) not keeping to a reliable release schedule and 2) not getting the vinyl case into production. I consider both to be officially "not okay."
In terms of the release schedule, all I can say is that we're trying and working really hard to address it. It's trickier than it probably seems from the outside. I could write a lengthy essay on the issues that confront us on this but at risk of over-simplifying it I'll just say that we're a small business and we can only pay so many advances at a time and recording delays have been depressingly common and far far longer than I ever anticipated. We've had more than one delayed by roughly two years already. Because we can only pay so many advances at a time - those delays really affect us on multiple levels because we have to pay their advance up front. Obviously we try to address this in our agreements but, let's be honest, we're not going to sue a band we love unless things get insanely out of hand and we also don't really want to apply too much pressure to them about schedules because we don't think that would lend itself to getting the best possible albums.
Meanwhile, the record delays have caused the delay on the vinyl case. Someone else summarized it pretty well here. We were working on it back around SD008. Then the designer/illustrator we were working with basically said she was too busy with a few big projects she picked up and we had to put it on the back burner while we looked for a new illustrator. Our second illustrator had it on her schedule but we later told her to put it on the back burner so that we could divert the funds to paying another couple of advances in order to try to address the delays.
For what it's worth, it's always near top of mind and I'm as eager as anyone to not just get that done but also to have one myself. When I envisioned the series I always envisioned a case every 12 releases to contain that part of the series. So, not only do I want to get this one done, but I eventually would like to get a second one produced to collect releases 13-24; then one for 25-36; etc.
It's not something we've talked about much but we did shut down the recurring subscription option several months back so that no one new can sign up for a recurring subscription. We've also been emailing existing recurring subscribers once they get far enough ahead and suggest that we cancel the subscription and convert the balance into a prepaid subscription without further recurring charges until we catch up. If you're a recurring subscriber and are worried about how far ahead you've gotten - just shoot me an email. We'll get you straightened out.
Also, when I've mentioned in updates that people can apply a balance towards past releases or other subs - that isn't meant to suggest they can't request a refund instead. That's definitely always an option. I guess I just presume people know that option is always out there. But anytime we let people know they can apply their balance towards past releases or other subs (particularly the coffee & vinyl series which is more expensive) we have people happily take us up on it. We're trying to be responsible about how we run the club and always do right by our members. I can only ask you to take my word for it but my integrity is everything to me.
Finally, I saw that there was some confusion about the color options, so I wanted to clarify. We have three variants:
1) Black vinyl - for anyone who buys just one record and is done
2) Single color vinyl - If you sign up for a recurring sub (when they were available) or a 6-month or 12-month pre-paid subscription
3) Deluxe multi-color vinyl - Anyone who has received the last 12 consecutive releases whether via Kickstarter, a renewed gift subscription, or a recurring subscription. Once you hit your 13th release, you're eligible so long as you continue to stay in.
Anyways, thanks again guys! I'll try to make sure I don't wait so long to stop in next time.
