Sorry, I was responding to @botherly, yes your link would be easier as it's in Canada. Likely still about $30 shipping but no exchange.
Vinyl Me Please Anthology
- Thread starter mdmost
- Start date
Ah, gotcha. Well that sucks then. Trying to find a Canadian seller might be your best bet, or that box @zdkaiser linked to before (or whoever that was).
BjorgenFjorgen
Well-Known Member
There's also a good chance that you're not going to want all 8 titles that VMP chose, either. Some of us were talking in someone's status update I think the day before it was even leaked that the Dead would be the next anthology, and we mostly agreed that WD and AB are the only two essential studio albums. So that's $78 per record which is about equal to the currently inflated Mofi prices here, but that's also $78 for probably a couple records at least that you'll never spin.
The Dead's business doesn't really say no to money but they also seem to have a lot of core stuff in print. I would pick up a couple core pieces now and then, when Bellman-cut and RTI-pressed Europe '72 and Reckoning show up in my local shop, probably pick those up.
They also put out...a decent number of box sets, often in too large numbers. I got my Cornell '77 box for about $80 CAD at Sonic. I saw that 2017 RSD 5-album box on sale at Rotate shortly before the lockdown, too. Good deals to be had for great pressings that aren't remotely $80 a pop.
The Dead's business doesn't really say no to money but they also seem to have a lot of core stuff in print. I would pick up a couple core pieces now and then, when Bellman-cut and RTI-pressed Europe '72 and Reckoning show up in my local shop, probably pick those up.
They also put out...a decent number of box sets, often in too large numbers. I got my Cornell '77 box for about $80 CAD at Sonic. I saw that 2017 RSD 5-album box on sale at Rotate shortly before the lockdown, too. Good deals to be had for great pressings that aren't remotely $80 a pop.
zdkaiser
Well-Known Member
One last comment from me. Just because they are AAA mastering and pressings from QRP doesn't me they're worth $50 each. Every Jimi Hendrix reissue I own was pressed at QRP from the original tapes and each has been purchased for $12 to $25. Mostly in the sub $20 range.
If you buy the $250 box set from VMP, they'll just release a $350 box next month, then it'll $450 the following month. They just keep raising the prices. At some point the consumer has to draw a line in the sand.
I love the Grateful Dead. But I hope sales fall flat and they cannot unload 7500 of these.
If you buy the $250 box set from VMP, they'll just release a $350 box next month, then it'll $450 the following month. They just keep raising the prices. At some point the consumer has to draw a line in the sand.
I love the Grateful Dead. But I hope sales fall flat and they cannot unload 7500 of these.
wmeugene
Well-Known Member
The recommended box set would be an interesting start, those are really good studio albums as far as GD studio albums go.
Workingman's is getting a 50th re-release on vinyl, as is American Beauty. I would think they would make it to Canada.
Also, there are some recent releases live that are nice (Fillmore West, Giants Stadium, etc) that are reasonably priced for what they are.
Used GD records are everywhere once you can go look and as long as they aren't scuffed or scratched to hell, they will sound pretty good.
wmeugene
Well-Known Member
I'd also say Dead stuff seems to go in and out of stock in random fashion and I would imagine that everyone is looking right now, so hold tight and you'll find what you're looking for...
Once in a while, you get shown the light
In the strangest of places if you look at it right
Once in a while, you get shown the light
In the strangest of places if you look at it right
MattS
Well-Known Member
Also, if I had to choose some studio albums, Blues for Allah and In the Dark are worth getting. No need to limit it to the albums they chose. Seems like the people picking the records for the box set aren’t that into this band
spilledleche
Well-Known Member
the WD-Blues for Allah run is essential, Shakedown and Go to Heaven both have merits, In the Dark is near perfect 80s Dead, Built to Last has material that's way better live
MattS
Well-Known Member
And that’s about as well as I could say it
MikeH
Well-Known Member
I mean...you say people pay outrageous amounts for Music Matters albums, but the price of the Dead albums in this box are even more than most in-print MM pressings...and MM is a pillar of fantastic sounding vinyl.
I'm sure this box set will be nice but I truly question whether it will be better than the Rhino pressings which are way cheaper and seemingly the same mastering. I'm glad you bought it though and I'm sure you'll dig it. I personally would rather build my own box for that price or spend it on a few Dead albums recommended by people here and use the rest of the money on other records I have been wanting. $400 is a LOT of money haha. But I believe it as you who said you're in a fortunate place financially so go for it. If I was luckier in that department, I'd probably consider the box too. There is a convenience factor for lots of VMP customers that VMP just scratches.
As for how many pressed and how many they need to sell to break even, that depends mostly on how much VMP has to pay the Dead for this. Part of me thinks the reason it's $450 is that the Dead took a big payday to license the music. The other part of me thinks they just jacked up the price because its 14 LPs and they are sticking to their $30-$40 per LP price tag on Anthologies. They have to have known that 7500 will not sell out so they likely have other partners in place to sell it like Acoustic Sounds after the initial sale period. I bet thats why they struck up their deal with AS...use AS's warehouse space to house a lot of the Anthology pressings that are taking up tons of space in the VMP warehouse and aren't being moved.
MikeH
Well-Known Member
Is there a way to check inventory on this? Really curious to see how many they have sold so far...
This. The Dead members don't give this stuff away.
wmeugene
Well-Known Member
Yeah, they probably had to pay an arm and a leg for licensing and I'd bet the Dead org demanded all of the money upfront from VMP.
wynn72
Well-Known Member
MM is amazing quality but I wouldnt say so much better than the tone poets where it justifies the price. And when I talk about their prices, its more the new SRXs that start at $74.95 a pop. But hey, if people want them enough them enough then do it. To each their own. I'm approaching this set in the same way.
I think you're definitely right all around here. A huge cost for this box (and for VMP in general) is licensing. I just wonder, if all the costs involved makes it necessary to charge such a high price, is it really still worth it to make it? I'm hoping they're approaching this and came up with these numbers from a business perspective and not a fan-boy one or they could be out a huge chunk of money here.
Yeah, I was trying to figure this out but it looks like only way to increase quantity in cart is to add them one by one. And I'm definitely not curious enough to do that over 7000 times.
MikeH
Well-Known Member
Oh yea...I think the $75 SRX are real pricey and I personally don't love any of those albums enough to warrant dropping that much on one album. I'm sure they sound awesome though. And the originals on those albums can go for hundreds, if not thousands of dollars. I actually got the Yes - Fragile One Step in the amazon buy 2 get 1 free sale but haven't had the nerve to open it yet. I think I might try to trade it for one of the other One Steps or just sell it at some point...
Would be really curious to see what the inventory is. My guess is they have sold well under 1,000 so far.
MattS
Well-Known Member
So some of artists who are writing the liner notes for the various albums have posted sneak peeks on Twitter. Man, some of these songwriters can’t write prose to save their life. I absolutely love Jim James, but that may be the worst music writing I have ever read. For some reason it won’t let me attach the image, but it’s worth reading for the laugh
Enaz Fox
Well-Known Member
wynn72
Well-Known Member
Enaz Fox
Well-Known Member
super heady bro
dhodo
Well-Known Member
That's gotta be dictation. I mean, he says he wrote it, but that reads to me like straight up unedited transcription from a casual interview or something. Oof.