open letter regarding file sharing from monolake

[Brian Ffar]

i follow with the perlon releases, and indeed, not buying any vinyls is bold,
i only buy wicked sht on vinyl, simply becoz it's a historical track imo
example, the contempt from ricardo or his for disco only 2
but perlon can't escape the dance.
i think as a label, these days, you have to release digital

I disagree...from many of the labels I've spoken to, only about 10% of their revenue is generated from digital sales. That doesn't mean that they do or do not sell MORE "units", but net revenue per unit is much greater from vinyl than it is from digital. This certainly doesn't support that they HAVE to release digital copies to survive as a label. If something is is worth buying, people will buy it on vinyl.

[kans]

I think it gets to the point where many people are too cheap to pay when they can just steal.. I'd love to know an accurate statistic about how many people actually do buy the music once they "download it to see if they like it".

You simply don't have to agree with the following but if you need to steal music instead of going to a record store or online, then you are either really cheap or disgustingly lazy. So many people will deny that to their death, but its true and they won't even admit it to themselves.

Buy music.

[thom]

Woôôôôôô... now... one second.

kans:

Buy music.

Got money? You're denying the broke the right to listen to music, man. Heavy sh!t.

Relax my friend. I'm the least lazy person I know. I spend 10-14 hours per day producing music. I sacrifice everything.

Cheap? After my two rents (appartment and studio) are paid for, I'm left with 150$ to eat and have fun with. Imagine what I had to do to replace my computer... I need a new HD and I wonder how I'll do it...


Man, I could work more for money and become a waiter again... but I get incredibly low and near suicidal.

Anyway... I don't download much (two high selling metal albums since last winter). Friends give me enough stuff to listen to. But if I had the extra money, then I would encourage the people who have the balls to go through the sh!t it takes to put vinyl out.

I'm no religious vinylist, but I sure hope it will stay... it's kinda like the difference between writing a letter on a real piece of paper and a volatile, digital e-mail.

[adam]

I think it gets to the point where many people are too cheap to pay when they can just steal.. I'd love to know an accurate statistic about how many people actually do buy the music once they "download it to see if they like it".

You simply don't have to agree with the following but if you need to steal music instead of going to a record store or online, then you are either really cheap or disgustingly lazy. So many people will deny that to their death, but its true and they won't even admit it to themselves.

Buy music.

it's true.

the lazy factor though:
people are lazy including myself. Nobody should HAVE to go to a record store, especially without knowing if they have what they want or not...

If there's a new album that comes out, electronic/techno or otherwise.. I do not want to call around to record stores and then transport myself over, pick it off the rack, pay for it and come back.. I want to buy it instantly from the comfort of my hotel room, home, wherever.. we live in an age where this kind of convenience is expected. We're only part way there though.

Sorry to crap on record shop owners.. don't get me wrong, there's something fun about shopping at a shop. I often find things I didn't know I wanted until I saw and heard them there.. but when it comes down to it, I prefer convenience.

I don't pirate lots of music. I won't say I haven't but won't admit to it either

The fact is that it's kind of sad that it is easier to steal than to buy. People think the key is to crack down on it and be tough on it. But I'd rather see innovation. There's a chance for it here. If it was easier to buy than to steal... then for the first time ever, piracy wouldn't have an edge on the industry.

[N - Jay]

Sometimes I want to download a classic/old track which is not available any more on vinyl cause it's deleted a long time ago.

You can get it though, through Discogs ofcourse! But for a price of sometimes 50 dollar/euro or more!
Of course there is the magic of getting that record!
You know I've got Daniel Bell - Losing Control for 60 bucks! WICKED!
Not so good condition though...

Yeah I know! I've got it for free @ slsk @ 320 kbps...

[relative q]

I disagree...from many of the labels I've spoken to, only about 10% of their revenue is generated from digital sales. That doesn't mean that they do or do not sell MORE "units", but net revenue per unit is much greater from vinyl than it is from digital. This certainly doesn't support that they HAVE to release digital copies to survive as a label. If something is is worth buying, people will buy it on vinyl.

I'm wondering how much of that revenue per unit is actually profit, though. With a digital release, you may be bringing in less revenue, but there's also a lot less overhead. I've thought about doing vinyl releases before myself, and the thing that has always prevented me from doing so is the investment you have to make at the beginning, and also the potential waste. My roommate runs Kracfive records, and has literally thousands of CDs and 12"s sitting in the basement unsold. Why should I run the risk of doing little more than buying 500 copies of my own record?

I think that selling music digitally, especially in a genre where the shelf-life of tracks is typically very short, is a much better business model in the long run, and potentially much more profitable.

BTW, hi from Pittsburgh, Mr. Ffar.

[Brian Ffar]

I disagree...from many of the labels I've spoken to, only about 10% of their revenue is generated from digital sales. That doesn't mean that they do or do not sell MORE "units", but net revenue per unit is much greater from vinyl than it is from digital. This certainly doesn't support that they HAVE to release digital copies to survive as a label. If something is is worth buying, people will buy it on vinyl.

I'm wondering how much of that revenue per unit is actually profit, though. With a digital release, you may be bringing in less revenue, but there's also a lot less overhead. I've thought about doing vinyl releases before myself, and the thing that has always prevented me from doing so is the investment you have to make at the beginning, and also the potential waste. My roommate runs Kracfive records, and has literally thousands of CDs and 12"s sitting in the basement unsold. Why should I run the risk of doing little more than buying 500 copies of my own record?

I think that selling music digitally, especially in a genre where the shelf-life of tracks is typically very short, is a much better business model in the long run, and potentially much more profitable.

BTW, hi from Pittsburgh, Mr. Ffar.

It basically comes down to the music. If it's great, people will buy it, no matter what the medium. If it isn't, then they won't.

Pittsburgh, huh? Not too far from the Chi I went to school at Penn State