Shady scams and other silly business ideas to take advantage of earnest new vinyl collectors

Has anyone heard of http://vnyl.org/?

I think it was mentioned in a "terrible ideas" thread but it turns out that it is actually a great idea if you want to find a way to trick people into buying $1.50 worth of records for $25.00 (which I believe is the subscription cost).

http://www.stereogum.com/1801049/vnyl-sliding-why-the-netflix-for-vinyl-service-is-such-a-mess/franchises/essay/

Apparently no matter who you indicate as your favorite artists, they'll just send you a random three common 70s thrift shop records and then play dumb if that upsets you.
They don't accept returns.

― Evan, Thursday, 14 May 2015 14:33 (two years ago) Permalink

http://www.recordstoreday.com/

― example (crüt), Thursday, 14 May 2015 14:35 (two years ago) Permalink

https://twitter.com/themattbates/status/594284588257579008/photo/1

― skip, Thursday, 14 May 2015 14:40 (two years ago) Permalink

good lord

― Mr. Murphy in the wine bar. (Sufjan Grafton), Thursday, 14 May 2015 14:43 (two years ago) Permalink

http://www.shugarecords.com/

― sleeve, Thursday, 14 May 2015 14:45 (two years ago) Permalink

http://www.better-records.com/dept.asp?dept_id=14-015-034

― sleeve, Thursday, 14 May 2015 14:45 (two years ago) Permalink

http://www.artvinyl.com/

― anthony braxton diamond geezer (anagram), Thursday, 14 May 2015 14:56 (two years ago) Permalink

the second hand rack in the one Urban Outfitters store I've browsed was 98% dogshit and sold everything for £6 but I was happy enough with the Heavy Metal Kids LP I got for that price

― pull blart, maul cops (DJ Mencap), Thursday, 14 May 2015 14:57 (two years ago) Permalink

http://www.artvinyl.com/

― anthony braxton diamond geezer (anagram), Thursday, May 14, 2015 2:56 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

the branch of (UK odds'n'ends austerity store) Home Bargains near my house sells 12" frames for £1.99 if anyone fancies displaying some LPs on their wall but isn't a profligate moron who thinks that £39 is good value for such a thing

― pull blart, maul cops (DJ Mencap), Thursday, 14 May 2015 15:02 (two years ago) Permalink

Seriously, how is this a thing?

― austinato (Austin), Thursday, 14 May 2015 15:12 (two years ago) Permalink

Which one?

― Evan, Thursday, 14 May 2015 15:20 (two years ago) Permalink

On my twittefeed I keep getting a "Get xx number of indie singles from new acts each month, pre-chosen for youx" subscription service.

I mean, why would I?

(I'd post the link, but it's not there at the mo)

I dare-say a bunch of you music writers would pay a monthly fee to not receive etc, but.

― Mark G, Thursday, 14 May 2015 15:30 (two years ago) Permalink

the second hand rack in the one Urban Outfitters store I've browsed was 98% dogshit and sold everything for £6 but I was happy enough with the Heavy Metal Kids LP I got for that price

― pull blart, maul cops (DJ Mencap), Thursday, May 14, 2015 2:57 PM (32 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

If that's the one at Marble Arch, all the second-hand stuff has gone, leaving only the 180g represses..

― Mark G, Thursday, 14 May 2015 15:32 (two years ago) Permalink

nah it was in Cardiff and yeah it's just moderately overpriced new stuff now so presumably such is the case with all their stores

― pull blart, maul cops (DJ Mencap), Thursday, 14 May 2015 15:34 (two years ago) Permalink

This is more silly than scam, I guess, but ...

http://vinylmeplease.com/how-it-works/

"Custom cocktail pairing recipes"

― andrew m., Thursday, 14 May 2015 15:37 (two years ago) Permalink

It's...pretty exclusive. Request your invite today.

― andrew m., Thursday, 14 May 2015 15:39 (two years ago) Permalink

Wow. This is so depressing.

― MikoMcha, Thursday, 14 May 2015 15:53 (two years ago) Permalink

need that custom youth lagoon record for $27

― Mr. Murphy in the wine bar. (Sufjan Grafton), Thursday, 14 May 2015 16:06 (two years ago) Permalink

lol these are all pretty great

― k3vin k., Thursday, 14 May 2015 16:11 (two years ago) Permalink

the VNYL scam is amazing, the robotic 500 days of summer tone of their con artistry is brilliant

― ceres, Thursday, 14 May 2015 16:18 (two years ago) Permalink

http://www.homebargains.co.uk/products/10407-rock-it-records-12-album-sleeve-frame-case-of-12.aspx

"Our price: £23.88"

(for 12!)

we have those expensive frames in the office, filled with U2 and Bob Marley sleeves.

― koogs, Thursday, 14 May 2015 16:23 (two years ago) Permalink

That girl on the front page of VNYL. So excited! So naive! Such a perfectly sad thing! Ugh

― andrew m., Thursday, 14 May 2015 17:03 (two years ago) Permalink

Not to mention the really poorly executed record-face meme thing with the fka twigs. Just.. no.

― andrew m., Thursday, 14 May 2015 17:05 (two years ago) Permalink

https://twitter.com/ajakober/status/598701455080431616

― Evan, Thursday, 14 May 2015 17:10 (two years ago) Permalink

wasn't there a thread on ILM started by someone looking into setting up something like this a few months ago ?

had a revival a little after, but to little avail.

― mark e, Thursday, 14 May 2015 17:14 (two years ago) Permalink

yes, there was

What are your thoughts on a new project I'm working on: Wax & Stamp - a vinyl subscription club (UK)

― sleeve, Thursday, 14 May 2015 17:19 (two years ago) Permalink

WTF

https://twitter.com/gotvnyl/status/598911277952557057

― Evan, Thursday, 14 May 2015 18:19 (two years ago) Permalink

That is NOT Doug Martsch...

― Evan, Thursday, 14 May 2015 18:22 (two years ago) Permalink

Am I crazy here? Are they trying to trick people into thinking that's Doug Martsch, or did this dude trick them?

― Evan, Thursday, 14 May 2015 18:27 (two years ago) Permalink

maybe that guy's name is also doug martsch

― k3vin k., Thursday, 14 May 2015 18:38 (two years ago) Permalink

Parody account.

― andrew m., Thursday, 14 May 2015 18:51 (two years ago) Permalink

Real one's GETvinyl not got. Still sux.

― andrew m., Thursday, 14 May 2015 18:52 (two years ago) Permalink

any evidence that VNYL is actually a successful rip-off, or just a would-be rip-off?

it seems sort of tone-deaf to me.

― he quipped with heat (amateurist), Thursday, 14 May 2015 19:01 (two years ago) Permalink

Maybe it will inadvertently lead to a lounge/easy listening revival in a couple years.

― ©Oz Quiz© (Adam Bruneau), Thursday, 14 May 2015 19:02 (two years ago) Permalink

Is there any evidence that anyone's gotten something besides thrift store garbage from VYNL?

― SCHLITZ MIXED BAG (Sparkle Motion), Thursday, 14 May 2015 19:36 (two years ago) Permalink

Nope. Even with the happy customers.

― Evan, Thursday, 14 May 2015 19:39 (two years ago) Permalink

Which one?

I was replying quickly on my phone earlier, so my initial response was to the first one, but it truly is disheartening to see so many.

What happened to vinyl fans being diggers? I remember when I first got into vinyl, it was just instinctual to hit second hand stores. Has common sense gone out the window in order to make room for this renewed interest in vinyl?

― austinato (Austin), Thursday, 14 May 2015 19:54 (two years ago) Permalink

lol crut

― markers, Thursday, 14 May 2015 19:55 (two years ago) Permalink

Hey, jefferson airplane is not garbage u dummies

― yeovil knievel (NickB), Thursday, 14 May 2015 19:57 (two years ago) Permalink

What happened to vinyl fans being diggers? I remember when I first got into vinyl, it was just instinctual to hit second hand stores. Has common sense gone out the window in order to make room for this renewed interest in vinyl?

as a new vinyl buyer i will say that i have been to many second-hand shops over the last 5 years and the selections - esp re what i'm looking for - tend to be really really bad. otoh if yr in the market for a jefferson airplane album this is a golden time to be alive.

― Mordy, Thursday, 14 May 2015 19:58 (two years ago) Permalink

most of the good vinyl i've gotten have been donations from relatives, finding stuff on ebay, and -- eek - paying full price for some new reissue

― Mordy, Thursday, 14 May 2015 19:59 (two years ago) Permalink

Airplane may not suck, but it is an easy, 25¢ thrift store find.

And yeah, genuinely *GREAT* stuff is not going to be found in thrift stores. But when everything's a quarter, you have to expect Cat Stevens, not Velvet Underground.

― austinato (Austin), Thursday, 14 May 2015 20:03 (two years ago) Permalink

I guess burning n00bs will never get old.

― austinato (Austin), Thursday, 14 May 2015 20:19 (two years ago) Permalink

dying at the stereogum VNYL story, had not heard of this amazing scam. i'm imagining someone having some kind of account difficulty, they can't turn it off, lost password, and every month three more England Dan & John Ford Coley LPs show up, with "#LazySunday" stickers on the front, because of their interest in Sleater-Kinney, Meat Beat Manifesto and Sun Ra. they run out of places to put them, local stores have them on the blacklist, city sanitation crews rip them out of the trash and hurl them back under their doors. and yet they keep coming. endless England Dan & John Ford Coley. eventually a fire starts and they die of poisonous vinyl fumes. all for only $25 a month --- thanks, kickstarter and #VYNL!

― Doctor Casino, Thursday, 14 May 2015 20:19 (two years ago) Permalink

i've always wanted to buy a dog eared copies of Sesame Street's The Muppet Musicians of Bremen and a Perry Como compilation for 25 bucks

― Hammer Smashed Bagels, Thursday, 14 May 2015 20:19 (two years ago) Permalink

the best part of the kickstarter economy part of the story is that nobody bothered to see if pay-for-records is legal, so it's now technically pay-for-whatever

the fact that they have no actual curation and it's just backstock and secondhand garbage is icing

― ultimate american sock (mh), Thursday, 14 May 2015 20:26 (two years ago) Permalink

Quoting the owner:

“It fucking sucks when we disappoint our members. We honestly feel incredibly sad when a member doesn’t like what we sent. That sucks for them and also for us. It’s like you just spent all this time planning out what you think is an awesome surprise gift idea for someone and then they can’t mask the look of disappointment when they open it up right in front of you. It’s completely deflating. Unfortunately, this comes with the territory of being a human curated service."

I imagine in the back of his mind he's thinking: "Nailed it! Just got to stay in character, then nobody can call us out! It's all subjective, I'll say. As long as enough r/vinyl or Urban Outfitters type kids keep subscribing we should be just fine."

― Evan, Thursday, 14 May 2015 20:27 (two years ago) Permalink

If this was mine I'd just buy the contents of a record store that is going out of business with the kickstarter money and pay someone to put four random records that aren't too beat up in an envelope monthly

that'd be like a half-dozen kids working minimum wage for a couple days per month maximum right?

― ultimate american sock (mh), Thursday, 14 May 2015 20:29 (two years ago) Permalink

https://media.wnyc.org/media/photologue/images/a7/yourfavoritexmas3_firestone722.jpg

My #XmasVibes arrived! Nice clean copy. No flood damage!

― andrew m., Thursday, 14 May 2015 20:31 (two years ago) Permalink

^
Might be U.S.-centric

― andrew m., Thursday, 14 May 2015 20:32 (two years ago) Permalink

I wanted that daft punk tron soundtrack disc but I could probably get that cheap now

― mh 😏, Wednesday, 8 March 2017 04:49 (three months ago) Permalink

http://bridde.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Elbow4.png

http://bridde.com/elbow-cassette-player/

― niels, Monday, 13 March 2017 16:09 (three months ago) Permalink

so the tape is exposed while it's moving?

imo everyone who messed around with the lid mechanism on a tape player as a kid to see what would happen when you fucked with the tape while it's playing has an idea of the problems therein

― mh 😏, Monday, 13 March 2017 16:12 (three months ago) Permalink

The audio cassette is not just a medium – it’s a cultural icon. Therefore we feel it should not be obscured inside a device, but brought to the forefront of user’s attention. By exposing the cassette to the elements, ELBOW offers a fresh user experience, allowing the listener to directly appreciate the mechanical motion, or even forcibly interrupt playback.

― nomar, Monday, 13 March 2017 16:12 (three months ago) Permalink

BRIDDE

Branding Identity Design

― nomar, Monday, 13 March 2017 16:14 (three months ago) Permalink

yeah I don't think I'd carry this around and use it as a normal player like in their pictures

― mh 😏, Monday, 13 March 2017 16:14 (three months ago) Permalink

like

― Not raving but drooling (contenderizer), Monday, 13 March 2017 16:15 (three months ago) Permalink

"Playback is controlled by a single wheel – turning left from the initial position activates the motor and increases volume, turning in the opposite direction fast-forwards the cassette."

so there's no way to rewind, turn down the volume or shut it off?

― silverfish, Wednesday, 15 March 2017 18:28 (three months ago) Permalink

ahahaha. design minimalism hits a wall.

― tales of a scorched-earth nothing (Doctor Casino), Wednesday, 15 March 2017 18:32 (three months ago) Permalink

xp hey ffwd is just rewind backwards!

― sleeve, Wednesday, 15 March 2017 19:31 (three months ago) Permalink

It was common in the old days to have only a ffwd and no rewind. On cheap walkmen.

― everything, Wednesday, 15 March 2017 20:31 (three months ago) Permalink

http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1434855617l/872034.jpg

― tales of a scorched-earth nothing (Doctor Casino), Wednesday, 15 March 2017 20:33 (three months ago) Permalink

thinking about for 2 seconds now and it's obvious that that thing can't rewind. Still, would be nice to be able to turn down the volume or shut it off.

― silverfish, Wednesday, 15 March 2017 20:33 (three months ago) Permalink

you can flip the tape over and ffwd, then flip it back. then you have rewind!

― mh 😏, Wednesday, 15 March 2017 20:39 (three months ago) Permalink

and if you increase your distance from the unit, the volume goes down!

― Not raving but drooling (contenderizer), Wednesday, 15 March 2017 20:40 (three months ago) Permalink

i still like it

― Not raving but drooling (contenderizer), Wednesday, 15 March 2017 20:40 (three months ago) Permalink

fwiw it's a concept design that claims to be in "prototype" phase, which is usually code for "this is my project for my design class/a spec design and not something that anyone will make"

behance and similar sites have hundreds of these sorts of projects. not sure i'd take it as a proposal that is going anywhere. nice pictures, though

― mh 😏, Wednesday, 15 March 2017 20:44 (three months ago) Permalink

http://www.factmag.com/2017/02/27/wheel-record-player-vinyl/

In the last few years there’s been an explosion in novelty turntables vying for your affections. We’ve had floating, platterless, vertical and even smartphone-controlled rotating record players, each of which has sought funding on Kickstarter to slake a design demand you didn’t know you had.

Such is the current state of affairs that the introduction of a new turntable that plays records from the bottom up on a rotating wheel hardly raises an eyebrow. But that’s exactly what The Wheel is promising.

Rather than using an external stylus and tonearm, this deck contains all its mechanics within the platter to give the impression of a minimal, spinning record without visual interference. Instead of having buttons on the deck itself, the Wheel is controlled by tweaking the center spindle, and it connects wirelessly to your audio system.

Placed upside down inside the platter, the tonearm and non-replaceable Audio Technica AT95E cartridge tracks the record from beneath, supposedly protecting it from wear, dust and damage. The design also ensures you can use it both horizontally and vertically.

― nomar, Wednesday, 15 March 2017 20:57 (three months ago) Permalink

^^^ that's totally awesome! Totally, superfluously, awesome.

― You're going to see a lot of love. Okay? Thank you. (Dan Peterson), Wednesday, 15 March 2017 21:06 (three months ago) Permalink

non-replaceable Audio Technica AT95E cartridge

on the other hand at least they are using a semi-okay cartridge but still

the whole vertical thing seems like you're really just asking for pitch issues

― blonde redheads have more fun (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, 15 March 2017 21:09 (three months ago) Permalink

lol, was about to bold "non-replaceable"

― Not raving but drooling (contenderizer), Wednesday, 15 March 2017 21:16 (three months ago) Permalink

my right speaker sends the left channel of my turntable output to my left speaker via wifi, so my living room is now a shady scam

― Sufjan Grafton, Wednesday, 15 March 2017 21:40 (three months ago) Permalink

Story of the year:

http://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2017/03/23/521216130/the-most-expensive-record-never-sold

― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 23 March 2017 14:50 (three months ago) Permalink

wow

I see some similarities to another artist we know with very high priced work:

"Asked what the record sounded like and how, given Yeager's mercurial anonymity, they had arrived at these prices, Sharpton responded with over 600 words about Yeager's life."

― sleeve, Thursday, 23 March 2017 14:56 (three months ago) Permalink

To me it's surprising the most expensive record ever sold was only $15,000. Many comic books and ballball cards have sold for well over $100,000, with the record for each around $2.5 million.

― Evan R, Thursday, 23 March 2017 15:14 (three months ago) Permalink

most expensive ever sold _on discogs_

― mh 😏, Thursday, 23 March 2017 15:22 (three months ago) Permalink

that makes much more sense

This is fascinating, btw:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_valuable_records

― Evan R, Thursday, 23 March 2017 15:54 (three months ago) Permalink

Excellent addition to the Florida Man canon.

― andrew m., Thursday, 23 March 2017 15:55 (three months ago) Permalink

the picture of him in blackface pretending to be hendrix's son is... something

― mh 😏, Thursday, 23 March 2017 16:10 (three months ago) Permalink

Because vinyl collecting is for hipsters:

http://www.newsstand.co.uk/i2520396/Zoom/LONG-LIVE-VINYL_NO-1.jpg

― heaven parker (anagram), Thursday, 23 March 2017 16:32 (three months ago) Permalink

So this Yeager guy paid the Discogs fee for the sale (to himself) of that record? That shows a rare, almost admirable level of devotion to this hoax if so

― Wimmels, Thursday, 23 March 2017 16:35 (three months ago) Permalink

next move: fatally overdose on drugs and arrange for a posthumous release

― nomar, Thursday, 23 March 2017 16:36 (three months ago) Permalink

I imagine the fee was defaulted on, and that’s once reason why Discogs removed it.

― Chewshabadoo, Thursday, 23 March 2017 18:18 (three months ago) Permalink

finally, a guide to collecting Bowie. cos i want to "collect" Bowie but in reality i only want to get the essential 2 or 3 records.

― AdamVania (Adam Bruneau), Thursday, 23 March 2017 21:39 (three months ago) Permalink

tell me more about this revolver album

― musically, Friday, 31 March 2017 18:29 (two months ago) Permalink

This targeted ad I'm getting bombarded with is pissing me off so much. I can't think of a more vapid, boring idea. Some PDX based brand trying to sell "album cover influenced" plaid shirts holy shit please kill yourselves, fucking idiots.
http://i.imgur.com/Xwr1ZzI.png
http://i.imgur.com/bwwYRBo.jpg

― kurt schwitterz, Tuesday, 23 May 2017 20:19 (one month ago) Permalink

lol those plaid casettes

― AdamVania (Adam Bruneau), Tuesday, 23 May 2017 20:25 (one month ago) Permalink

lol $125

― adam, Tuesday, 23 May 2017 20:31 (one month ago) Permalink

Brooklyn Slim Fit

― to fly across the city and find Aerosmith's car (C. Grisso/McCain), Tuesday, 23 May 2017 20:41 (one month ago) Permalink

That is so utterly shameless that it's kind of impressive

― JRN, Tuesday, 23 May 2017 20:48 (one month ago) Permalink

That's gotta be some algorithm, right? If it's a person rather than a computer making these connections they should charge thousands per shirt and call it art

― brimstead, Wednesday, 24 May 2017 00:01 (four weeks ago) Permalink

I like the 69 Love Songs shirt (while agreeing that it looks nothing like the cover to 69 Love Songs, obv)

― soref, Wednesday, 24 May 2017 00:14 (four weeks ago) Permalink

an app where you take a picture of your shits before flushing and it sends you a $50 closest cover match record with inset of the shit you sent us

― Sufjan Grafton, Wednesday, 24 May 2017 00:20 (four weeks ago) Permalink

you will own so many copies of Further Down The Spiral

― Sufjan Grafton, Wednesday, 24 May 2017 00:21 (four weeks ago) Permalink

there was a time, the used cd stores could have really used that app

― mh, Wednesday, 24 May 2017 00:23 (four weeks ago) Permalink

That is so utterly shameless that it's kind of impressive

Indeed.

― Austin, Wednesday, 24 May 2017 01:44 (four weeks ago) Permalink

I have a shirt I bought at Ross a few years ago because the pattern resembled the cover of "No New York" :/

― sarahell, Friday, 26 May 2017 13:12 (four weeks ago) Permalink

In the 80s I had a blue and white plaid flannel that I adored because the squares were so large it looked like something Jaime Hernandez would draw for a Love & Rockets character.

https://frivolousnow.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/img1951.jpg

― pavane to the darryl of strawberry (bendy), Friday, 26 May 2017 18:45 (four weeks ago) Permalink

^Maggie Minus Garfield

― JRN, Friday, 26 May 2017 19:33 (four weeks ago) Permalink

haha

― heck i've even been an 'oyster pirate' (bizarro gazzara), Friday, 26 May 2017 19:39 (four weeks ago) Permalink