A few labels now offering a Vinyl and MP3 hybrid

posted by soulxtc in music // 566 days 3 hours 47 minutes ago

Unlike other music labels, First World Records and Saddle Creek are trying to actually offer their customers value when making a purchase of physical music media.

DJs need a combination of new and old media when it comes to churning out new beats and tunes to thump dancehall floors with, and some have taken up this challenge by offering them what they desire.

Rather than making them purchase both a digital and physical copy, as is the case when it comes to purchasing CDs or vinyl, a couple of labels have taken a double-headed approach by inserting a unique download code in vinyl albums that allow buyers to download a 320Kbps DRM-free MP3 version to use however they see fit.

The double-headed approach makes sense for several reasons. DJs and audiophiles will always want the best quality of music available, so they will buy physical media, but for convenience they will often need a digital version as well.

Unlike CDs, vinyl holds a special place in the hearts of DJs as a vital "scratching" tool to produce music sets, so it isn't necessarily fair to compare the two but, imagine if labels did the same with CDs as well. If you're already shelling out $20 bucks for a CD isn't it only proper that that they offer you a digital version as well? Or do they secretly hope you'll be "PC-illiterate" and unable to rip a digital copy and thereby be forced to patronize iTunes?

Either way it's cool to hear about labels actually trying to meet the demands of the customer and trying to get his business instead of merely curling up in a ball and cursing illegal file-sharing.