I found this article at, of all places at digitalmusicnews.com, and they bring up an interesting problem for the makers of vinyl records.
There haven't been any new pressing plants built in many years, which means that if the small increase in vinyl sales continues to increase, they could start reaching full capacity, (which isn't a bad thing!). However, it will get harder and harder to get something pressed on vinyl, and may even drive the prices up, meaning vinyl sales will probably drop at that point. (makes sense) The old machines do not have 'replacement' parts, so they have to be manufactured on site, just to keep some of these relics operating. read on..... (any vinyl manufacturers have a comment?)
Are The Vinyl Pressing Plants Worried The Vinyl Resurgence Is Just A Fad?
The simple version is that growing demand for vinyl will result in more capacity to handle that demand. Certainly makes sense over the long-term, though right now, it's just not that simple.
For starters, there are a lot of sticky production and expansion issues surrounding the recent surge in vinyl, including a deep suspicion among pressing plants that this is just a fad. And when it comes to capacity, there's a ceiling to consider. "What a lot of people don't understand is vinyl sales are going to get a lot slower before they get a lot faster," said Nick Mango of Limited Pressing, specifically part of a recent discussion surrounding Lyor Cohen's expressed adulation with wax. "There's only a certain amount of pressing plants on the planet. No one is making new pressing machines. Very soon plants will reach full capacity and vinyl will become increasingly hard to get pressed."
Please read at the rest at
digitalmusicnews.com
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norm the eBay Vinyl Czar from Vinyl Record Talk has put together another eBay Top Five:
Top 5 eBay Vinyl Record Sales - Week Ending 07/30/2011
A Bach classical set tops the list but at $4k less than its selling price in February of 2010. Two Northerns show up on this week's list; the Larry Clinton 45 sold last week as well, and the Al Scott shows up for the first time since 2007.
1. LP - Annlies Schmidt "Bach: 6 Suites for Cello Alone" Ducretet-Thomson 300 C 043/4/5 - $7,120.00
2. LP - The Beatles "Please Please Me" Parlophone UK Gold Black Stereo - $5,274.14
3. 45 - Al Scott "What Happened To Yesterday" / "You're Too Good" Genuine 150 - $4,200.00
4. LP - Mozart a Paris Oubradous Pathe 7 LP Box Set - $4,139.98
5. 45 - Larry Clinton "She's Wanted" / "If I Knew" Dynamo 300 - $3,728.99
More on this week's Top 5 on Vinyl Record Talk , Tuesday 8:00PM Eastern / 5:00PM Pacific on Radio Dentata.
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U2 End 360 Tour
The iconic U2 360 world tour is officially over with the band playing their 110th show last night in Moncton, Canada. The band have been on the road around the world on the 360 tour since June 30, 2009; which took them to Turkey and Russia for the first time ever. The biggest audience was 108,800 fans at Stadium Azteca in Mexico City on May 14, 2011.
Here is the U2 360 tour by numbers:
7,100,000 Fans
10 million People watched a live stream of U2 360 at the Rose Bowl on YouTube
320,000 Fans saw 360 in Mexico City
92,270 Meals fed to working staff and guests
29,000 Tee shirts given to local stagehands
9,760 Guitar strings utilized
7,100 Miles - approximate distance travelled by space station while talking with U2
5,200 Years - collective touring experience of U2 tour personnel
400 Tons - weight of the fully loaded claw
134 Crew members
126 Truck drivers
110 Concerts
53 Gigs attended by a single fan
33 Flemish speaking crew members
30 Countries
12 Bus drivers
11 Babies born to crew
7 Astronauts attended
4 Appreciative Irishmen
2 fairytale crew weddings
1 Singer in surgery
1 World leader released from house arrest during tour
and a partridge in a pear tree........
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DREAM THEATER Announce Collector’s Edition Box Set
Progressive metal giants DREAM THEATER are scheduled to release their new album, 'A Dramatic Turn Of Events,' on September 13 on Roadrunner Records. The CD, which marks the recorded debut of new drummer Mike Mangini, will be made available in the standard version; a special edition CD/DVD set will include "The Spirit Carries On" — a 60-minute movie documenting DREAM THEATER’s much-discussed drummer auditions; a double LP set in gatefold jacket; and a limited deluxe collector's edition box set.
The "A Dramatic Turn Of Events" deluxe collector’s edition box set includes the "A Dramatic Turn Of Events" album; instrumentals of the entire album; the DVD of "The Spirit Carries On"; a
double-LP set of "A Dramatic Turn Of Events" (
180-gram vinyl in gatefold jacket); DREAM THEATER-branded custom turntable slipmat; and a litho print of album. Also, 50 lucky winners will find a DREAM THEATER "Ticket For Life," which is randomly inserted into packaging. All the content will be housed in a custom box and those who purchase will receive a digital download of the album the day prior to release.
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new info in rolling stone about the saga of styx, full reunion or not?
Dennis DeYoung Open to Styx Reunion
'I gave that band my life'
Earlier this month, Rolling Stone interviewed Styx guitarist Tommy Shaw – and he told us that there was virtually no scenario in which he'd allow former frontman Dennis DeYoung to rejoin the band.
Read the rest and see what Tommy Shaw had to say at
rollingstone.com
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they are playing in my neck of the woods (Twin Lakes, WI), maybe i can get to see them!
Five Finger Death Punch Announces "Share The Welt" Tour With Hatebreed
Five Finger Death Punch have recently announced it will headlining the "Share the Welt" tour this fall. The tour is in support of the band's upcoming third album, 'American Capitalist, which is slated to hit the stores on October 11th, 2011.
Supporting the band on the tour are All That Remains, Hatebreed, and Rev Theory. More dates are set to be announced in September, so stay tuned for updates. See below for all current tour dates.
Summer festivals:
8/13 Twin Lakes, WI @ Shadow Hill Ranch
8/16 Honolulu, HI @ Blaisdell Arena
8/19 Saratoga Springs, NY @ Saratoga Performing Arts Center – (WQBK’S A BIGGER DAY OUT)
8/20 Winnipeg, MB @ MTS Centre – (ROCK ON THE RANGE CANADA)
8/26 Post Falls, ID @ Greyhound Park Ampitheater – (KHTQ ROCK HARD AT THE PARK)
8/27 Auburn, WA @ White River Amphitheatre – (KISW PAIN IN THE GRASS)
8/28 Hillsboro, OR @ Washington County Fair – (PDX ROCKFEST)
9/10 Chandler, AZ @ Firebird Raceway – (UFEST)
9/18 Dayton, OH @ Montgomery County Fairgrounds – (WXEG X FEST)
9/24 Irvine, CA @ Irvine Meadows/Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre – (EPICENTER)
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REIGN IN ART
I
recently received an email from the webmaster at ReignInArt.com, applauding my posting of heavy metal and hard rock album cover art. (thank you!)
Well, he takes it a step futher and has put together one of the most immpresive album cover art sites that i have seen launched in quite some time.
Every week they will post over a dozen of the best hard rock and heavy metal, cd/album releases of the week. Visitors can then Vote for Album of the Week, Vote for Album of the Month, Vote in RIA’s Weekly Category. The site also posts Weekly Winners, Monthly Winners, Interviews and Top 5 and more (a forum is coming soon!)
I have picked a few of my favorites
Iwrestledabearonce - Ruining It For Everybody
BAYONET - Bayonet
June 14, 2011 winner
Alestorm - Back Through Time
so take a trip into heavy metal album cover art and see The Best in Heavy Metal and Hard Rock Album Art at ReignInArt.com
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lots of interesting events happened in music on August 1st, let's explore the past:
Francis Scott Key was born in 1779. He was an American composer, attorney, poet, and social worker. He was the composer of the "Star-Spangled Banner."
The late Jerry Garcia (Grateful Dead) was born in 1942.
Also in 1942, the American Federation of Musicians went on strike. Union president James C. Petrillo told musicians that phonograph records were 'a threat to members' jobs.' As a result, musicians refused to perform in recording sessions over the next several months, although live, musical radio broadcasts did continue.
In 1954, the "Moondog Jubilee of Stars Under the Stars" took place at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn. Acts on the bill included Fats Domino, Muddy Waters, the Clovers, the Orioles, and Little Walter.
Alt-folker, the late Robert Buck (10,000 Maniacs) was born in 1958.
Also in 1958, Era Records released "To Know Him Is To Love Him" by The Teddy Bears on their Dore label and sends 500 copies to radio stations across the US. The song was written by group member Phil Spector, who was inspired by the words on his father's tombstone. Spector's father had committed suicide when Phil was 12.
In 1960, Elvis Presley was named Public Enemy #1 by the East German newspaper, "Young World."
Also in 1960 Billboard reported the findings of a Seventeen Magazine survey...the average teenage girl listens to the radio two hours and thirteen minutes a day and plays records two hours and twelve minutes a day.
In 1960, Chubby Checker's "The Twist" was released in the US, where it will become the number one song by mid-September. Record industry history was made when Checker's original hit recording re-entered the charts in the Fall of 1961 and by January of 1962, was back in the number one position. It was the first record ever to hit number one on two separate occasions.
Also in 1960, an 18 year-old Aretha Franklin made her first recordings for Columbia Records in New York. Her initial chart appearance would come over a year later when her version of Al Jolson's 1918 hit, "Rock-A-Bye Your Baby With A Dixie Melody" would reach #37 during a two week stay on the Hot 100.
In 1963, the first Beatles Monthly Fan Club Magazine was published. It continued until 1969 and at its peak was selling 350,000 copies a month.
In 1964, the title track from The Beatles' movie A Hard Day's Night topped the record charts on both sides of the Atlantic in 1964. The film was originally titled Beatlemania, until producers heard an offhanded comment by Ringo Starr as he flopped into a canvas chair and said "It's been a hard day's night, that was."
In 1964, Billboard Magazine reported that the harmonica is making a comeback in a big way thanks to its use by Stevie Wonder, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles and Bob Dylan.
In 1964, Jan and Dean's "Little Old Lady From Pasadena" peaked at #3 on the Billboard Pop chart. Although they would place five more songs in the US Top 40, this would be their final Top 10 entry.
In 1964, rockabilly singer Johnny Burnette died in a boating accident while fishing at Clear Lake, California. He was 30 years old. Burnette is most often remembered for his two, 1960 million-sellers - "Dreamin" and "You're Sixteen".
In 1966, the Troggs accomplished the rare feat of having a Top Ten hit in both the UK and the US with different songs. In England, "With a Girl Like You" was a major hit, while in the US, "Wild Thing" led the Billboard chart.
In 1969, the three-day Atlantic City Pop Festival opened in New Jersey. It's the first such festival in the Philadelphia-New York area. Over 110,000 customers paid $13 to hear such artists as Iron Butterfly, CCR, Jefferson Airplane, Three Dog Night, Little Richard, Janis Joplin, Santana, Procol Harem and Joe Cocker perform.
In 1970, Chicago's "25 or 6 to 4" entered the Billboard Hot 100 where it will climb to #4. Many fans are confused about the song's meaning until it is explained that the tune was being written at 25 or 6 to four in the morning.
"The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour" was debuted on CBS-TV in 1971.
In 1971, the concert for Bangla Desh was staged to raise money for victims of famine and war in that country. The show featured George Harrison, with some help from his friends Ringo Starr, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Billy Preston, Ravi Shankar and some members of Bad Finger. The three disc live album from the show reached number 1 in the UK and number 2 in the US in 1972, as well as winning a Grammy Award for Album of the Year. The concerts, album and film raised nearly $11 million US for the impoverished people of the newly-independent nation of Bangladesh, formerly East Pakistan.
In 1973, 'American Graffiti' premiered in Los Angeles and became something of a surprise hit. The film, centered on a group of teenagers growing up on the West coast of the US in the 1960s, cost just over $700,000 to make, but has garnered an estimated return of well over $200 million in box office receipts and home video sales. The soundtrack album reached #10 in America and has been certified triple Platinum.
In 1974, the Carpenters' album "The Singles 1969 - 1973" became the first LP to be certified Platinum in the UK.
In 1981, MTV made its debut at 12:01am. The first video to be shown was "Video Killed the Radio Star" by the Buggles.
In 1987, the Grateful Dead's LP 'In The Dark' entered the Billboard album chart. The disc contains the group's only US Top 40 hit, "Touch Of Grey," which would reach #9.
Also in 1987, Los Lobos' rendition of "La Bamba" becomes the first Spanish language recording to top the UK chart. Ritchie Valens' 1959 version reached #49.
In 1988, a Cincinnati radio station, WCVG-AM, began broadcasting Elvis Presley songs and trivia 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The format would last slightly over a year.
In 1996, Bill Buchanan, who originated novelty records known as "break-ins" with his partner Dickie Goodman, died in Los Angeles of cancer. He was 66. Break-in records used snippets of Top 40 hits as part of a comedy routine. Buchanan and Goodman first used the concept on "The Flying Saucer" which went to number three on the Billboard chart in 1956. The following year brought the hits "Flying Saucer the 2nd" and "Santa and the Satellite". Goodman committed suicide in 1989.
In 2008, a half-hour Beatles recording that included the band cracking jokes and breaking into giggles while they rehearsed material in 1964 went up for auction by the Berkshire-based firm, Cameo. The tape sold for $19,600.
Birthdays today (among others) include Michael Penn (1958) and
Adam Duritz of Counting Crows (1964)
Not a lot to choose from this week, although I can recommend a few including a DVD from 70's rockers Heart, Arcade Fire's The Suburbs Deluxe Edition, Fountains of Wayne with Sky Full of Holes, Okkervil River with Your Past Life as a Blast and a two CD set Ronnie James Dio's Ronnie James Dio Story: Mightier Than the Sword.
(reissue) (vinyl)
(vinyl)
(vinyl)
(reissue) (vinyl)
(reissue) (vinyl)
(reissue) (vinyl)
(vinyl)
(2 CDs)
