Don Was interview with Forbes regarding the future of Blue Note (audiophile vinyl)

"We have the 80th anniversary of the label coming up, and we’re planning to announce a very big vinyl campaign towards the end of the year. For our 75th anniversary we did 100 titles that were priced under $20. We tried to keep it reasonable so people could take a chance. We’ll be doing more of that, but also some extensive audiophile things."

That could be interesting (though likely somewhat duplicative of the Music Matters program); hopefully designer scarves will not be included with each release. Lots of other cool topics, opinions, and history in the interview too; check it out, even though the title of the article might warrant an eyeroll or grumble.

Blue Note Label Boss, Don Was, Is Not Ready To Give Up On Jazz

 

Great news - would be lovely to have more classic Blue Note albums on vinyl at under $20 each.

 

I don’t see how the “extensive audiophile things” that Don Was is planning will ever top the Music Matters & Analogue Productions Blue Note reissues in terms of SQ. If he wants to fill these releases with chachkies as the OP mentioned, then the prices for these releases will be too much for my budget.

 

Please, please do it right this time.

 

It shouldn’t be that hard - there is a template for how to do it and many good partners potentially available. AP, Music Matters, MOFI

 

It'll be really interesting to see which albums they reissue. There are a number of Andrew Hill records I still want, and they skipped a few Herbie and Shorter albums too. Maybe they could redo Jacknife they way they did the CD.

 

The high end audiophile thing with Blue Notes might have been done before, but did they come with scarfs?? Hmm??

 

This is a difficult question as to the best way to proceed with Blue Note. If they are content with just roping in aging Boomer and GenXers one last time then that would be straightforward. Just pick the dozen favorite titles and reissue them in fancy packaging. One thing that might help sales to that audience beyond good sonics would be a picture booklet of the artists and if available the sessions.

If they want a larger younger customer base then I think they need to put together well chosen Sampler Album downloads at a low price that would allow people to listen to 10 or 12 artists and select favorites to delve into.

I wish Don luck but he has a difficult task.

 

The scarves and other chachkies release was abysmal. Blue Note as a status symbol brand for those who may not even care about the music.

Go the One Step route if you have to find a way to justify (not for me but it's working) a big price tag for new wine in old bottles. At least that leaves the focus mostly on the music.

 

Great interview. I hope he starts pressing their vinyl releases at Third Man.

 

I would love to see more quality new music. IMO they have a good number of accomplished "young" artists that need more exposure.

 

Good luck to Don. That was a nice interview. I don’t want a scarf either, but I might buy a bundle that includes analog vinyl, a well mastered dual layer SACD/CD, and downloadable hi-res flac file.

It’s an uphill battle, he’s competing with grey goods. Box sets of all the blue note releases of classic artists for $10. I haven’t bought any of them yet but I admit I’ve been tempted.

 

They don't need to do that. They frequently put out spotify playlists that are "curated" and pretty well organized -- I really like them. It was mentioned that in the article.

 

I meant in better sound hence the Download (which might also prompt a few more plays from newbies rather than SH Forumites). But perhaps that ship has sailed too.

 

Similar to what has been stated above, I'd like to see Blue Note closely follow the model Analogue Productions has used to reissue jazz titles. The AP 200gm mono series are very nice and well-priced at $35. But 180gm pressings would be fine, or even well done 150gm if that helped keep the prices reasonable.

This is not hard, nor is it rocket science. For the life of me, I cannot understand why BN messes around with things like the ridiculous Blue Mitchell box set that sells for $200 and includes a bunch of stuff few people really want. I value sound quality and pressing quality above all else. I appreciate nice packaging but that is second to the sonic and physical qualities of the lp itself. I certainly don't need, nor want to pay for, a friggin scarf or cardboard box.

If AP can do it with their 200gm mono series, why can't BN do it with an arguably better known and more marketable catalog of music?