Thanks for posting. Here's a bigger artwork:
GS-003 & 004 will be announced this month. Finalizing a few things now.
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Game soundtracks on vinyl | Analogue Gen 33fps
- Thread starter Noisepurge
- Start date
Thanks for posting. Here's a bigger artwork:
GS-003 & 004 will be announced this month. Finalizing a few things now.
sixteen-bit
Member
when will SK be up for preorder?
PixyJunket
Member
YES! YES!! YES!!!
afternoon delight
Member
- No refund after 14 days OR they've emailed you a digital code... So, instantaneous no-return clause?
- No media mail shipping, only double digits bullshit.
- 2 month delay is generous I think. Much closer to 3 and 4.
- Fuck their Fucking Rez Price those Fucking Cunts for one of the best soundtracks ever
It took me three weeks and four emails to cancel a pre-order item and that was BEFORE the no refund policy. None of which is encouraging or a company worthy of giving money to, but they snatch up nice licenses so people buy in. And since they're aiming for a market that intends to frame their product instead of ever listening to it, I'm sure the "collectors abuse" will only continue because people will keep purchasing from them.
PixyJunket
Member
They do offer media mail, but only after they were guilted into offering it.
However, there are lots of reports that their website will often "glitch" and not offer it.
Oh, and if there's a problem with the shipment, their response will be "too bad you choose media mail."
sixteen-bit
Member
Yeah I remember seeing the gallery on an old 1up show episiode from a decade ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3ShJb6fZ7E
afternoon delight
Member
Blech.
Anyways, brighter topics- that Shovel Knight artwork is so very nice. I love the soundtrack so much but I'm not sure about how much I listen to it outside of the game, I sat in front of the two minstrel characters for quite some time while playing. FOR SHOVELRY!
Hero_of_the_Day
Member
I need that Shovel Knight so bad. The whole "stock will be limited" thing still bugs me. I feel like that is advertising to flippers every time I see it. Hopefully I manage to get one.
We do kinda have to say that, because first (and even second pressings) can go really really quickly. We just want to make sure that people who want the vinyl right away will get one. But we've promised in the past to repress as long as there's demand - see the new, third pressing of the SFII vinyl.
We have no intention of ever doing arbitrary limited/collector's editions for anything. Our pressing numbers are limited by budget, pressing plant capacity and license holder agreements only.
metsallica
Member
Who made the cover? It's awesome.
Spacelab9 have put up their remaining copies of the NYCC Skull Man variant of their Mega Man compilation: http://spacelab9.com/products/skull...an-best-of-mega-man-1-10-lp-mega-pack-edition
Sleeping Lesson
Member
Thanks! Grabbed one.
KneehighPark
Member
Really tempted to pick one up. Wish that it had some MM3 music...
PixyJunket
Member
I wish they would release the full soundtracks.
PixyJunket
Member
Wishing, hoping, praying, begging and whatever else that Shovel Knight is priced reasonably.
I don't know if I'll have the willpower to skip it unless it's Rez high.
Remember that it has a booklet and new art by an established illustrator, but the price should be good.
One thing to keep in mind is that we moved our whole operation to Europe for various reasons, so shipping to the US will be expensive. Looking at our page now, and shipping to the US (Priority Mail with Tracking, ships from Paris) is €16 (~$17.5). We're trying to work with our distributor on providing a cheaper alternative, but we lost a LOT of Street Fighter II sets through cheaper forms of shipping, like the equivalent of Media Mail.
We're also working with Mondo to sell the vinyl on their store and they ship from the US.
KneehighPark
Member
Awesome, can't wait to see the artwork and booklet.
Shipping via Mondo would be great, it saved me a nice chunk of change when it came to the SF2 reprint!
metsallica
Member
$35-40 would be my guess (for regular edition). It's 2 discs, SF was $75.
Hero_of_the_Day
Member
Damn, that sucks about the US shipping issues.
Bummer about the previous US shipping situation. That sucks for all involved. Do you know if Mondo going to have it day-and-date with your main site?
If not day-and-date then just a few days after, but we're working things together now. We'll update you on how it goes.
Worth mentioning to you guys: the recent SFII repress took a bit long because we changed the manufacturing plant and kinda toured Europe in search of better places, plus it's an expensive set to manufacture (4 discs with a custom box). Now that we found our footing again and established a good relationship with new partners, we plan to get things out faster. So restocking Shovel Knight will be fast, and we hope to always work with Mondo to make it easier to buy new stuff too. So if you miss on the first pressing, rest assured that a new one will be releasing soon after.
Do you guys listen to your VGM vinyls or do you just frame them/display them in some way? I'm totally ignorant of vinyl maintenance but I keep finding vinyl releases for beloved games of mine and I'd like to pick up a player in order to listen to them. But I'm clueless on players and I also don't know if I'd be damaging the vinyls by using them.
Sleeping Lesson
Member
I listen to all my vinyl. The art and packaging of records is all secondary; I buy them for the music.
KneehighPark
Member
I listen to mine; I also collect non VGM vinyl.
As long as you aren't using a super low-end turntable (some of which can damage the actual records themselves), you should be fine. Vinyl care and maintenance isn't super complicated, and I'm sure everyone here will help you with purchase recommendations and questions
Thank you both! I'm interested in vinyl releases for LISA, FTL, Undertale, Crypt of the Necrodancer, and Thumper. Besides iam8bit and ghostramp, are there other companies that do VGM vinyls? Can you recommend a good player for <$200? I have no idea how much a good player costs, is that enough?
Music recordings are for listening. Not listening to the albums and just having them on display is weird to me. You won't damage the album if you're using a decent player and handle the records with care (no need to be neurotic about it, though) – they're made to be used. Look at it this way:
Forever unplayed: You can look at it, you can touch it. You're afraid you'll ruin it when touching it so you avoid doing so.
Listening to it: You hear the music, the primary content of a vinyl record, and even when the grooves are finally ruined after decades of playing the album constantly, you can still look at it and touch it.
And here's another good example of why keeping your records sealed is pointless.
Hmm, maybe Noisepurge could update the OP with a list of the companies releasing VGM vinyl. Here's a list from /r/VGMvinyl:
Black Screen Records
Brave Wave
Data Discs
Ghost Ramp
iam8bit
Invada
Ship to Shore PhonoCo.
Spacelab9
When it comes to a record player, $200 is a pretty tight budget. It depends what your sound setup is and if your receiver has a phono input. I'd say if you don't have a budget for a preamp, Audio-Technica AT-LP120 with an integrated preamp is a pretty safe bet. It's closer to $300, but it's a good starter turntable. Otherwise you should check vintage second-hand stuff, but unless you know what you should look at when buying a used record player, I'd suggest reading recommendations online (this thread or /r/vinyl) and getting a new turntable based on those.
At least don't get an AT-LP60 or a Crosley.
PixyJunket
Member
EXTREME VALUE!!!!!!
No offense, but I really despise when companies try to use this as an excuse to overly inflate the cost of their records (and I'm not saying that's what you are doing, but the statement almost reads like a warning). Almost every album has new art (and nobody cares about whatever Tumblr artist you got to do it if it means you're charging us extra for the "privilege"), and many of them include supplemental material. I completely understand that every little piece has a cost to it, but it seems almost exclusive to video game vinyl that these things can be used to charge ridiculous amounts over what any other vinyl album would cost.
If the price really is good, then that's great, but when you preface it with "it has art and a book," it sounds like you're talking down to people and assuming that they don't know much about buying records. This is the exact same thing that iam8bit was doing when people were (rightfully) freaking out over them charging $75/$85 for a 2xLP album.
Again, no offense, and don't take this to be directed at you/Brave Wave exactly, it's more of a mini-rant in general; people are starting to get frustrated (just look at iam8bit's reputation in this thread).
This is very good, thank you. Mondo has handled Data Disc's release extremely well.
PixyJunket
Member
There's not much for under $200. My advice (despite what others will say) would be to get an Audio Technica LP60. Yes, it has some limitations, but it's $99, so it's a great starter table (and it doesn't have a graphite needle like other cheap tables). This will allow you to get your feet in the door and decide whether you want to commit or not. If after six months or a year, if you're really into it, then upgrade to something awesome.
Records are meant to be listened to. Cars are meant to be driven. Games are meant to be played.
You, as well as everyone you've ever known, will be gone and forgotten one day. Buying shit and never using it is ridiculous.
Despite my earlier comment of "don't buy a ATLP60", this is a good level-headed response and I agree the turntable is worth the price. Still recommend saving the $200 and get at least $100 more.
Collecting vinyl is an expensive hobby, but everyone has their way of enjoying it if you're happy with what ATLP60 has to offer, go for it. Spend $99 dollars on that, enjoy your records and save the other $100 to be used later if you feel like the hobby is for you.
PixyJunket
Member
This is the path I took, which I why I like recommending it (and I'm gearing up to upgrade again to an even crazier level, heh).
Also, if you decide to upgrade later on, the LP60 is a good "second room" table and it's very easy to move around. My wife put my old LP60 in her office and I can easily grab it and put it in the garage when my friends come over to play darts.
Better than what I had. I had this turntable which I had received as a gift many years ago. Sounded like grab even when it was hooked up to my sound system. When I got into collecting records, I decided to get a Rega RP1 as my first "real" turntable. I'm quite happy with it.
If you don't mind buying used, the Technics SL-1200mk2 is what I use, and I'm sure is still widely available. It was produced for about 3 decades, and became very popular with DJs because it was a tank with rock solid performance. But you can easily put an audiophile grade cartridge on it, and make it sounds really quite good for the price (I think I paid around $200 CAD for my used one).
I started with a couple of starter turntables, and was never happy with them: limited options for cartridges/styluses, bad tracking, especially near the inner groove, etc... But when I got my SL-1200, oh man. Watch out, vinyl becomes a rabbit hole.
I started with a couple of starter turntables, and was never happy with them: limited options for cartridges/styluses, bad tracking, especially near the inner groove, etc... But when I got my SL-1200, oh man. Watch out, vinyl becomes a rabbit hole.
OfTheOverflow
Member
Oh wow, didn't realize how expensive the AT-LP120 is here in Australia. Going to be saving for a while to get it if that's how I decide to enter the hobby, that or try my luck at garage sales etc. Probably not the best idea considering I know barely anything about specific models and functions.
I'm with you on this.
Most albums have original art. Many have lots of it, brand new, and not just inspired by previous work.
Lots of albums have booklets.
Lots of albums have artists spending years composing music for this sole purpose, and not just licensing from a different source.
Lots and lots of albums hire dozens of musicians, pay dozens of people, and book hundreds upon hundreds of studio hours. Much, much more than any videogame release, no matter how lovingly remastered it was.
This narrative rings completely hollow. I understand a booklet and paying artists costs money. So does everything else.
Not a fan of the LP60 either. For $200 you could look into the U-Turn Orbit or the Fluance RT80. Your best bet would probably be to check your local Craigslist or thrift stores for vintage equipment.
$200 is generally in the low end if you're looking for a new turntable, but a fine budget for a vintage one. Make sure you find out whether you'll need a preamp for it as well (depends on the rest of your equipment).
KneehighPark
Member
I personally use the Music Hall USB-1, cost me around $200. There are better turntables out there, but for the price, it's a good quality turntable. Paired it with a pair of Audioengine A2+ speakers.
Disclaimer: I am not specifically speaking on behalf of Brave Wave by making this post. This post does not necessarily describe what is exactly being done at any particular label or publisher. Rather, it's an explanation of the myriad of factors that go into pricing pretty much any product, including VGM vinyl, and what may or may not apply for any VGM label.
I don't mean any offense at all, but such viewpoints above threaten the long term viability of VGM vinyl as a business. They appear (and correct me if I'm wrong) to draw on far too many assumptions and make comparisons that don't hold up to scrutiny.
I can tell you now that the most immediate difference between video game vinyl and, say, film or pop music vinyl is the economies of scale. Based on what I've heard around the industry, the numbers aren't high enough for VGM vinyl pricing to work its way down to the levels enjoyed by other media.
And because the pure number of VGM vinyl sales is relatively low, licensers may be apprehensive about making agreements without high advanced payments and royalties. One common justification is that the manpower needed to execute an agreement and the appropriate auditing that follows would exceed any returns that videogame vinyl can bring in. Licensing fees and/or royalties can range anywhere from 10-70% of net sales and advances can reach five-figure sums.
And then only after that, you get into production costs. This is not cheap at all. And then you throw customer service costs on top of everything. Vinyl collectors often demand products with no blemishes, while many shipping couriers in North America, Europe and Australia can and do damage vinyl packaging due to carelessness. This means shipping packaging needs to be highly protective, tracked and insured, which further increases costs that many users are resistant to. All this managed by organizations without vast resources and limited manpower.
I'm not saying that there is no exploitation going on in this industry. I won't comment specifically on other labels. But I can tell you that VGM vinyl is a cutthroat business that needs to be managed carefully on all ends. And for some labels, it results in a higher price. In all likelihood, no one is getting rich from it, although ideally in the future, the userbase will build up to a point where the economies of scale give way to a more mass-market approach.
Sleeping Lesson
Member
You can find the LP120 on sale for $250 semi-regularly.
PixyJunket
Member
Then the business deserves to die in a fire.
This is astounding logic, by the way. $50, $75, etc. for a 2xLP seems to be what these labels want to normalize, double and triple or more of what other albums cost, but it's the viewpoint of wanting to treated fairly as a consumer that will threaten the business.
Just. Wow.
Yet artists on Bandcamp can order print runs of 50 or 100 albums, sell them at a price that reflects the rest of the market and make a nice profit from it (and they even include very rare things like.. art).
Ah yes, the mystical, magical licensing argument. The "catch all" excuse for justifying flagrantly violent pricing of video game vinyl. Yet this doesn't seem to be affecting Data Discs or Ship to Shore from charging sane prices for their albums. Sure, different companies are going to make different deals, but I would really be shocked if say, Virt or Disasterpiece are asking for more than corporate Sega.
Sleeping Lesson
Member
Yeah you can pretty much explain any pricing away with "licensing!", but I'm well past the point of giving iam8bit the benefit of the doubt.
Your entire post is doing more of the same -- cherrypicking specific examples and trying to apply it across the entire business without any regard for the nuance of each particular release even within the same label.
If the lower cost approaches of certain labels suit your preferences, then that is great. I think VGM vinyl is a young, still largely untested market that can experiment with a few different approaches to see what fits, particularly on the artistic side. That's what makes competition great and you'll have more choices in the end.
(I'm NOT justifying overpricing of any product. But I do think it's worth mentioning that like any other industry, the market will price in what it can realistically bear, but no one needs me to elaborate on that)
I really wouldn't have a problem with iam8bit's Rez release if they offered a $30-$40 2xLP only version too. I bet the art book and everything in the $80 edition is well done and worth it, but pricing out people who just wanted to finally have Rez on vinyl at a reasonable cost is a bummer.
Radiohead did an $80+ 2xLP version of their new album, was kind of the same thing. Had an awesome art book in the package itself. No one had a problem with this though because they still offered the a standard 2xLP only version for $30.
Radiohead did an $80+ 2xLP version of their new album, was kind of the same thing. Had an awesome art book in the package itself. No one had a problem with this though because they still offered the a standard 2xLP only version for $30.
PixyJunket
Member
I seem to recall that the Rez book is part of the actual record sleeve, so it doesn't even sound very deluxe (to me, at least).
I would also be in for a standard priced version without the book.
I kind of feel like they knew they had something a lot of people really wanted and decided to see how far they could push it.
Then you better save that $200 for now and get the setup when you've got the cash and listen to mp3s for the time being.
Thanks for the response to that! Really appreciate you guys figuring out a US option, and Mondo has been reliable for me in speed and quality, so that makes me even happier. Much obliged!