Out of print vinyl: Not coming to an MP3 store near you any time soon?
Reader Redd writes: “Is there a record pool for out of print or hard to find music in MP3 format? It’s easy enough to find new stuff, but what about older records?”
Digital DJ Tips says: That’s an interesting question, because the is a lot of music that hasn’t been officially digitised and put on sale yet. I personally can think of whole piles of white labels, 12″s and undergrounds bootleg-style tunes from the old skool rave days that I know aren’t available on any MP3 stores.
So what are you to do? Two ideas: You can buy the records or CDs themselves and rip them for your own purposes (there are links to articles on ripping vinyl and CDs at the end of this piece), or you can subscribe to a service like Spotify, because they’re actively scouring the world of music and adding tens of thousands of back catalogue tunes every week, and you can buy most of the stuff you can stream from Spotify.
But in direct answer to your question? No – I don’t know of a record pool or service specifically dedicated to finding old or hard-to-find / out-of-print music. Maybe the readers can help…
So – over to you. Where do you get such stuff from? Do you rip your own? Have you found a service online that’s good for your particular niche? Let us know in the comments.
Now go to:
How To Rip Tunes From Vinyl To MP3 (Without Them Sounding Like Junk)
Beginner DJs’ Guide: How To Rip CDs to iTunes Properly
7 Deadly Sins of Record Collecting (And How to Avoid Making Them)
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Tags: mp3s, music, record pools
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Check out latenightrecordpool.com. they post tons of oldskool vinyl rips along with new music
[ link ]blogspot?
[ link ]There are a few services that do a fantastic job of providing high-quality vinyl rips of old music. Unfortunately, the music industry being idiotic, they’re usually infringing copyright to do so.
[ link ]Its not idiotic, its just the law, made to protect the interests of people who work hard…..
[ link ]There are lots of very talented people already being skanked by the record industry without advocating stealing from them.
someone should start one
[ link ]Normally, I don’t recommend/support piracy but in this case, try wandering some P2P private trackers specialising at music, then buy the physical records.
[ link ]Sadly, until the music-industry sorts its shit out, and gets its back-catalog online, the best place to find that sort of stuff is from friends, in second-hand stores or pirate websites.
None of which the music-industry condones, as it doesn’t make any money from them.
[ link ]I’ve actually been impressed with the offerings on Beatport and Traxsource. Found “Daylite” by Gypsymen the other day on them, and some old hip-house classics as well.
If they don’t have it, and I really want it, I’ll buy the vinyl off GEMM.com or eBay and rip it.
[ link ]I actually spent a good part of the day yesterday ripping some vinyl. I’ve got some white label stuff from friends that have abandoned their collection that I have no idea what it is. That’s a whole other problem though. Traxsource does a pretty good job with older stuff and I’ve been finding quite a bit on Emusic lately as well.
[ link ]Check out htfr.com
[ link ]http://www.discogs.com some times have digital downloads next to vinyl purchase
p.s. cheaper than HTFR
or
[ link ]Oxfam if you live in the UK they have some great tunes in mint condition for a few pounds but its a hit and miss affair.
Unfortunately this is one of the main reasons why people pirate music. I AM NOT advocating doing that. It’s sad that something like 80-90% of all music produced before 1950 will NEVER be digitized for legal download. This effectively erases it.
[ link ]Back when Napster really hit it’s stride and started showing up on the radar of the music execs they made it very clear back then that they wanted control. Rather than give up a little bit of control in exchange for getting paid for the music. What a world this could have been if they could have seen what we all did back then. Within two years users from around the world had amassed the largest collection of recorded music ever. With companies like Spotify, Pandora, and others showing that many consumers are more than willing to paid for access to these large collections. Maybe they’ll realize the error of their ways by the next millennia.
There is no such thing as a “record pool for older music” because record pools exist to promote NEW RELEASES only, not back catalog titles (unless they are compiled onto a newly-released product of some sort). The whole reason record labels support pools (and also radio, for that matter) is to help get product into the hands (literally) of DJ’s who would promote their new product; once people already know about the product/release, the time to promote it is finished and it is time to promote “the next big thing.”
If you are looking for back catalog releases, consider services such as TimeLife, who license older titles to release as compilations for the home (and correspondingly via default, the mobile DJ) market. Used music shops are treasure troves for titles which are older (and many times are cheap purchases), as are “NOW” compilations (and similar, depending on the musical genre in question). If your musical tastes/crowds are more “underground” than these compilations are, I’d think you could locate mixed compilations and similar from which to legally get desired titles; also consider “good old fashioned” befriending some of the producers of said music for decent leads on where to locate their releases.
If you work for a music label and/or are a producer, consider releasing your back catalog titles in formats desired by present-day consumers (such as through iTunes, Beatport, or similar) to add extra revenue to your balance-sheets, as there -is- a market out there for it…
[ link ]