What Is Happening With MoFi?

Yea but my Silver Label has the flames on it!!

 

Not sure. What do indie labels ask to license an album to a niche label?

 

Then you see them put out a Beck album and it sells out quickly and commands high prices in the resale world.

 

Oh, I know that. I mean when you get up to numbers like that, why is it important?

 

License agreements and that end of it is another topic, all things being equal what I don't see from MoFi is titles I want to spend $60 on. Brothers In Arms I am sure sounds amazing but for me the original release is good enough, plenty of detail in that original digital recording. For me MoFi does a wonderful job with analog recordings that are put thru their mastering process, that's what I want to pay for.
If re-releasing Dylan meets their sales targets, ok good for them.....but a some point fans of that music will stop buying and the next group (like me) want to see new artists released by MoFi.

 

One thing i will say is that they’re really milking these Dylan titles. I like Dylan but I also like other artists. I also grew up during the 90’s and would like to see that era represented a little more.

I know the response will be that there are a lot of digital recordings....that I am aware of. However, there are a surprising amount of titles that were recorded to tape. A lot of the stone temple pilots stuff was recorded to tape...they should be looking at branching out into something a little different. Analog Spark have done the Cranberries and Blind Melon titles so it can be done. I’m not talking about them changing their whole approach but just adding a little more variety.

 

If mainstream labels keep mastering things better and selling them cheaper, we won't need boutique labels anymore.

 

That is my point, whether I like Dylan or not is not my issue (which I don't BTW), its that I want to see more "new" artists given some MoFi love. To your point STP recorded to analog would be great, as I am sure those original records may have started to suffer from the loudness wars from the 90's. Not just the classic rock era albums need love from the 70's, although I wonder what MoFi would/could accomplish with Genesis~SEBTP on the Gain2 Ultra Analog LP mastering process, or even something like Rush~Hemispheres........one can dream right?

 

Another couple of examples from other labels are AF's Blade Runner and ORG's Grace. There's also demand for albums from the 90s/00s that have never been released on vinyl as VMP's Tidal demonstrated. MOV has done loads of releases from the 90s, albeit not from an audiophile angle.

There are some data points, at least.

 

Why couldn't they put Dylan's Stereo-Mono album version on one single disc. Getting both discs is about 80€ over here.

That's exactly what the European sellers ask either. And they probably get the discs from the Austria pressing plant but charge the full price including custom fees.

It's quite weird that a disc that was produced over here can't be licensed for European market too. Can't they startup a European MoFi sister company. E.g. in collaboration with Music on Vinyl.

I'm waiting for the day the hipsters exchange their vinyl and cassettes for sacd

 

One disc wouldn't make it that much cheaper. They would gave to license the material as two albums. Publishing gets paid per track.

 

A prime candidate for a MoFi series would be Fleet Foxes. Their albums have really great sonics, but sub-par mastering. Helpnessness Blues is very close to being an audiophile disc, and their first record and Crack-Up would benefit greatly from a nice open mastering.

 

I’m just jumping into this thread, so forgive my potentially-repeated take on this.

If there is any current strain on MFSL right now, I believe a good chunk of it's from the licensing costs of all the recent mono and stereo Bob Dylan re-releases. However, if the company is truly struggling financially, they need to stop pressing future releases on vinyl and just stick to CD and SACD so it stays more cost-effective for the business.

Either way, it can't be all bad for them. They just sent out a newsletter to pre-order Stevie Ray Vaughan's "Texas Flood" on UltraDisc One-Step.

 

I think the opposite. The CD and SACD market is shrinking as the vinyl market has been increasing.

 

Just to recap for you, the One Steps seem to have a higher profit margin thus MOFI's attention to it. Other releases whether digital or vinyl have been sharply cut back this year compared to last. There is no fire sale of MOFI inventory; so at this point they still seem viable but with yellow caution lights due to the slowdown of new issues.

 

I don't disagree that it's currently shrinking, but it still makes no sense to make a mass shift to vinyl releases given the cost difference.

Take "Texas Flood" as my example again. MFSL released this title on SACD 8 years ago (and probably for the typical store price of $29.99). Fast forward to now: They want/expect people to cough up $125 for the same album. I'm sorry, but there's absolutely no reason to justify a business model like this if it keeps continuing this way. Even if we pretend that the SACD and new UltraDisc One-Step are being released at the same time this year, there's no logical reason to be paying more for the same mastering on a playback medium that's more expensive to produce.

 

Stevie Ray Vaughan - Texas Flood 45rpm 2LP Box Set - PREORDER

 

I don't know how much attention they are giving to OneSteps. It took a year for BOTW to be released.

 

Phew, it's about time Texas Flood got the 45rpm all analogue cut treatment.


Stevie Ray Vaughan-Texas Flood-45 RPM Vinyl Record|Acoustic Sounds

"We've used the original 30 inches-per-second, half-inch analog master tapes for all of these albums. Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound cut the lacquers for the LPs using the ultimate VMS 80 cutting lathe. Gary Salstrom handled the plating and the vinyl was pressed of course at our Quality Record Pressings, maker of the world's finest-sounding LPs."

Hey this one's only $55!

 

At those prices, I doubt their share of the vinyl market is keeping pace with the "resurgence."

 

And...it sounds great.

 

This is a link to the MoFi order page. Is there any reason to order from MoFi rather than Music Direct?

 

Fair point, but relatively speaking MOFI seems to be keeping on with them whereas one would think those would be the first on the chopping block with decreasing overall demand.

 

No, order from Music Direct.

 

You're funny. Mofi doesn't really "hope" people are going to cough $125 for Texas Flood or any of the other One Step releases, the fact is THEY ARE buying these releases so fast that they are selling out before the release date. Best business model around! And then those same titles are going for double or triple the original cost on ebay. So far, that's one hell of business plan.