Discogs

Hello!

I just wanted to share the link to my Discogs collection. For the uninitiated, Discogs is an incredible service that allows record collectors to log their record collection down to the exact pressing of a record. For example, I just added a reissue pressing of Pink Floyd's Meddle that was specifically manufactured in the US for Capitol Records in 1983 (catalog number SMAS-832) to my collection this afternoon! Once you add records to your collection, you can sort them to your liking and grade the quality of the media and the sleeve. You can also keep track of which records you want on the service. 

Another amazing part of Discogs is the Marketplace. In the Marketplace, you can sell records from your collection or buy records from all over the world (I nearly bought a record from Belgium one time!) . Discogs charges you a small fee to sell your records on their website, but if you are a buyer, you can trust that you will be buying records from someone who actually knows what they're doing. 

In addition to this, Discogs is the world's largest online discography and it is all maintained by record connoisseurs like you and me. If you stumble across a record that is not in the Discogs database, you can help other collectors by adding information about it. Best of all, the website is free to use (except if you choose to buy a record), so I would highly recommend it to any collector!

That being said, here is the link to my Discogs collection. I have not yet logged every record I own into the service, so what you will see is only a partial representation of my actual collection.

Happy Listening,

Alex

Record Stores still the Victor in the Digital Age

With radio and streaming services like Pandora, Spotify, and Apple Music dominating today’s music industry, people everywhere have immediate access to all the world’s music at  a low price right at their fingertips. One might think that the record stores of yesteryear are all but abandoned. However, as in the case of Pat’s Endangered Species Records in Delaware, OH, people still crave the unique feeling of searching through crates and shelves of vinyl for their favorite albums.

One of the many record displays inside of Pat's Endangered Species Records (courtesy of Pat's Facebook page)

Bailey has been in the record retail business for over 35 years. He opened his store at age 23 in 1980, at a time when personal computers had not yet become widely used and CDs and downloads were yet to come along. Now he has to compete in a time when many people, in the opinion of some music purists, have chosen convenience over quality. Fortunately, streaming has not hurt Endangered Species as much as expected.

“People like to like to collect, they like to own what they get,” said Bailey. “If you find something on Spotify or Pandora that you really like, you want to explore it and say that it’s yours. That’s what drives them to the stores.”

Not surprising to vinyl fans, many other record stores around the country have encountered newfound success in recent years. According to The Badger Herald, Ryan Henke, owner of Strictly Discs in Madison, WI has seen increased sales due to the many college students living nearby, among other things.  

“If people care about convenience and a lack of a footprint, they will favor digital or free music. However, there are some people that will go the other way and get back to tangible music,” Henke said.

Strictly Discs in Madison, WI (courtesy of Yelp)

The vinyl boom has brought back records in ways that neither Bailey or Henke expected. During last year’s fourth quarter of record sales, it was revealed that even middle schoolers were interested in vinyl and were receiving record players for Christmas. Record companies are racing frantically to print records by Selena Gomez and Ariana Grande, among other artists, to satisfy the growing “tween” market.

“Teenage stuff like Twenty One Pilots, we can get,” said Bailey. “Panic at the Disco--all of that stuff is available because that market is being addressed. The younger kid market hasn’t been addressed, but they are now.”

Another change that Bailey has seen in the music industry is an unfavorable one: the reduced marketing and promotion of artists. In the past, records were heavily promoted with tours, posters and single releases--all before the record hit store shelves. Now, according to Bailey, people discover music accidently and by sheer luck.

“One act might be on Colbert doing one song--that was it--and you never see them again unless they are on the Today Show the next day. That’s it. They’re not on the radio and the radio hardly exists for most people anymore anyway. It’s just the strangest thing.”

Another one of Bailey’s grievances against the modern music industry is how little it pays its artists. According to The Guardian, Spotify pays musicians about $0.006 and $0.0084 per stream on average. An artist or band that is signed to a record label would have to have their song streamed about 1,117,021 times--in other words, have it be heard by 2% of Spotify’s user base--in order to receive the monthly American minimum wage of $1,260. Other services like Deezer and Rhapsody are slightly more generous, while YouTube pays musicians even less than Spotify does.

“[The label executives] sold 5 million Beyonce's but they they don’t care about the other 100 acts that came out that month on their own label. But as long as Beyonce sold 10 million copies, that’s okay,” said Bailey.

This infographic details how difficult is is for fledgling musicians to get paid for their work in today's music industry (courtesy of The Guardian)

That being said, the experience of going to a record store and buying a physical record definitely benefits the artist who would otherwise be receiving pennies from digital sales. But Bailey thinks that there are many several other benefits to records and the record store experience. He and many other vinyl connoisseurs agree that the sound quality of digital files is abysmal compared to vinyl. He also believes that  the credits and liner notes in records allow you to discover new musicians and their music in a unique way.

As for his record store, he strives to foster a safe, cafe-esque environment where musicians and music fans can share their own ideas. He has also made his store a place where people can buy their favorite albums at fair prices.

“We don’t rip people off. We try to be fair on every level, and these are fair prices. And we hardly have sales because we don’t mark [the price] up to where we need a sale.”

Bailey sees Endangered Species staying open for a few more years.

“We’ve had 35 years and I’d like to have 15 more. We’ll have a 50th Anniversary, just like The Rolling Stones!”
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Happy Listening,

Alex