Rikki Newton / Brisbane
I still continue to buy vinyl but to nowhere near the extent I did 12-18 months ago. I'd say my vinyl to download buying ratio now would be 10%-90%. Obviously because of a financial point of view but also because of the wait for purchases to arrive in Australia is between 10-14 days. The positive about downloading is that when new releases are available on beatport etc, you can download them straight away and have them in your wallet immediately if you're playing that weekend rather than having to wait up to 14 days for vinyl to arrive in the post. I still prefer playing with vinyl and the sound is much warmer than off cd. I also think there is more of an art to mixing with vinyl than using cdj's, although there is obvioudly more you can do with cdj's than a turntable. My vinyl purchases are made online at phonica and juno's website's and downloading mainly from beatport but also label website's as their releases tend to be available a few weeks before they are on beatport.
Michael Oberling
Vinyl all the way!!!! Sure I've got back problems from carrying it all, but it's still the best. I suppose if I had the cash to have a laptop and such, I'd download, but vinyl is what I started with and I'm sure it'll be what I end with. Keep pressin' it for me!!!
Nico Moss
I quit buying them for about 1 year now. Only download - my house is full of records.
James Chase / California
Seems like the last year was THE transition to digital formats, I find myself burning an awful lot of .wav files onto Cds now (to compile). BUT I would totally buy Crosstown Rebels records *IF* you could actually find them in the shops (the distributor meltdown was a real disaster...as you know). On the upside - backstock vinyl prices have corrected to reflect .wav prices. For instance: just bought several Diynamic, Kickboxer and BPitch Control records for 3 usd each. and there was a lonely copy of 032BUZZ that i picked up WITHOUT QUESTION for those quite lovely Bar-BQ/Kimouts tracks ... (that was 10 usd of course). I suppose vinyl pressing will be Limited to 1000 copies, and then it's all Digital delivery. I don't miss hauling records thru terminals, but they indeed look impressive displayed on a shelf at home ... and they totally have 120kbbs. files beat as far as dynamic range/bass response goes. [pardon my tech-talk].
Mauricio Samayoa / Miami
Surprised to hear that sales for 12 inch format are going down at such a rate. I would of thought that sales in vinyl format we at least holding steady. Website distributors of vinyl like Juno have improved their search tools a lot and in general, I hear more people say they're venturing into vinyl territory ... hmmm, guess NOT huh! So, anyway, to answer your question - I for one am buying more vinyl than ever! mp3s too. I'm spending more on music than ever before actually ...
David Hyde
I've been tempted to go digital but there is something beautiful and timeless about records that just cannot be replaced. I will keep buying records until they stop making them. Don't stop the Buzzin' Fly 12"!!!!
Tom Bexton
I'm a vinyl man myself, and will probably remain that way I think! I download a little bit of music and buy cd's as well, so a bit of everything really. I think downloading will eventually overtake everything else, don't think cd's will last too many more years myself as it's far more convenient to download. I sincerely hope that vinyl lasts the distance, the thought of DJ's all playing off laptops, ableton live and cdj's fills me with terror! The personal skill and human touch and feeling can only come from vinyl I think (though I may need to lighten up a bit on this opinion!)
Jason Kap
Unfortunately, unless something isn't released in a high-quality
digital format, I always purchase downloads - 320kps. Lately, I find
myself purchasing more and more files in the wav format as sound
quality has become more important for me. Pure convenience and cost can account for the switch from vinyl to mp3. But i certainly do miss the tangibility of vinyl. And deep
down, I don't want vinyl to become obsolete
Simon Hunter
I used to DJ all over from from 1991-2007 playing in some fantastic clubs, from MoS to Fabric, The Cross, Thompsons in Belfast, The White Rooms and Luxor in Leicester to name but a few.. I've always bought vinyl and have over 30,000 records, most now in storage at work. I guess vinyl to me is the pinnacle of music collecting. I know its not the cleanest quality, its not the best long term storage option, its not even the best to transport around but what other format smells so damn good?? There's nothing like getting that obscure white label with some nonsense scrawled on the sleeve by the artist who's got bored after writing 500 of them.. or that next 12" with some fantastic sleeve / label artwork that you'd gladly frame, (buzzin fly being a good example!) I've got 4 racks, floor to ceiling behind me at work with some of my records in them and I can see the huge swath of all Glasgow Undergrounds releases, Pagans next to them, then Paper.. I can go on but the point i'm making is, if you ask me a song, I'll tell u the colour of the sleeve, the inner label, if it has a paper sleeve.. This is what I love about vinyl.. Its the memory triggers.. Can you do this with downloads? does the fact that you've got it saved in "My Music" really conjour up excitement? Now, with cash being diverted to other living costs, I can't spend anything on vinyl other than certain labels.. being a completist I buy all on Buzzin Fly & Vega Records. I used to, until recently, buy all on Poker Flat, Compost and a couple more labels but I just can't justify the outlay now, so I'm down to the last 2 mentioned.. I download stuff that I want now purely for cost reasons.. Dancetracks Digital, Traxsource, Juno Downloads and to a lesser extent Beatport (just don't like the interface) are my ports of call now, as opposed to saturdays in BPM in Leicester.. and the worlds not as much fun because of it.. I'm sure with endless pockets or being in London you can still get that feeling of walking into your favourite record shop where your mate behind the counters saved you 1st dibs on the choicest of cuts but out in the sticks you just can't do it anymore.. from the shops, to the distribution, to the fact that they're competing with downloading of tracks that haven't even been put on vinyl yet, the whole she-bangs just not there anymore.. I'm no technology hater, I mix on CDJ's and I own Final Scratch, I even gigged out with it (only v1.5) but I found it just took all the soul, the bounce, and the feeling out of gigging.. There's nothing like flicking through the records in your box, watching the crowd, having 6 or 7 possible outs of the current track depending on how its going down, and the whole crate thing on the laptops.. just doesn't work.. you just don't bounce while u look at a screen.. you can't nod your head, you're just glued to the screen.. the performances turn into a technical achievement as opposed to a connection between the crowd and the DJ.. God I'm sounding like an old romantic about the "glory days" and I've gone way off piste as to the subject of this email so I apologise, (after all it is a 1st day in work and only one coffee so far!) and i'll get back to the point.. which is.. If money was no object, there's no way I'd do anything but buy vinyl. Yes it has its faults, but that first removal from the packaging (even better if its shrink wrapped and you've got to crack it on your jeans first) holding the record, putting it on your 1210, that click of the start up button.. and then the 1st crackle before you get to that first waveform of pure joy... there's no way a download & a double click on a mouse can compete with that.. even if it is a 5th of the price.. Many things may happen in my life might change, work, friends or money may come and go.. but one things for sure.. My record collection and my 1210's are staying ... Viva la 12"
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