Speculation rooted in supply chain operations. Amazon has a robust system and this is could be a nice avenue to move items that are not turning fast enough without actually marking down the posted item price.
I'm the Charter (and so far sole) Member of the official "CatManDude Vinyl of the Month Club: The Gilded Era" (Trademark Pending) For a mere $24.99 a month*, I get to purchase an album of my choosing and if not completely satisfied... Well, I guess if I'm not completely satisfied, I only have myself to blame. While membership in the official "CatManDude Vinyl of the Month Club: The Gilded Era" may not help fulfill my lifelong dream of seeing Jeff Bezos blasted into space, that's a cross I'm willing to bear. *give or take
I guess whoever said that this is curated by some bot based on your previous purchases is right. Just for fun, I thought to subscribe, and I was curious to see what am I going to get. I haven't bought a single rock album from Amazon, it's all jazz for me. So, what am I getting? John Coltrane Giant Steps 60th Anniversary Edition (2 LPs).
I had some gift card balance left so thought what the heck, may as well try it. Well, they won't accept gift card balance. Fresh debt only. I think I'll pass.
Jesus Christ. How about just go into your local independent record store & ask the owner to recommend a record you might enjoy for 25 bucks instead? Imagine letting ****ing amazon try to dictate what you will enjoy. I wish a miserable experience for anyone that signs up for this.
I suspect that many vinyl newbies would rather let Amazon dictate what they will enjoy than seek out VMP or their local indie shop’s record of the month club. One click, it’s easy, everyone has Amazon. No scary records like Dorothy Ashby or some weird electronic album you’ve never heard of. My local indie store’s record of the month for its club is Ethiopian jazz: I’m down with taking a chance on something like that, but most people are not. The ROTM pick for June is… – End of All Music
My guess is that the albums you get are "curated" using a filter like: (New LPs carried by Amazon) | Filter (> 4* Amazon reviews) | Filter (Primary genre purchases from user's account or default rock) | Filter (Retail price < $40-something) | Filter (Top albums list from some 3rd party source) | Filter (60s or 70s) | Random(not_previously_purchased_or_sent) > Ship The curation, if it occurs, replaces the automated filter on a 3rd party source.
It would be pretty easy to require that a UPC be entered. Almost all LPs issued after the early 1980s have a UPC, including all the available-as-new 180g issues. (Yes, there are some new LPs where the UPC is only on the shrinkwrap/stickers). Someone could circumvent that by entering a UPC they found elsewhere, but at least this would put a lid on a lot of the nonsense. Albums entered without a UPC could still be listed, but would show up in some generic version of the listing that would not appear in searches (except if you look at "all versions").
I don't understand why this would appeal to anybody. Personally, I think I have a much better idea what kind of music I like than some expert at Amazon. Now that I have streaming, I can sample all kinds of music and if there's something I like enough to want it on vinyl, I can buy it then.
This. I believe though in my heart that there's a market for this. Vinyl for....well.... dummies. People who just got a glorified lazy susan and they want to feed it.
Just got my first LP after joining, which is Aretha Franklin's Amazing Grace. It's the Rhino 2-LP issue on 180-gram vinyl. So far, quiet pressing, sound quality is nice, and so far a fantastic album! Never heard the full album before!
That's a great point. Sometimes I'll corrupt my brain in advance with too much information and thus create unreasonable expectations by the time I listen to an LP. Just put it on and if it sounds good to your ears then that's awesome!
To me, well worth the $25.00 this month! Like I said, I never heard the full album, I love Gospel music, and this is really well done. If there is an upcoming title I already have, I'll cancel for that month. But if I don't have something on vinyl, I'll take the chance on the version they send. I've spent a lot more money on things to be disappointed! I'm not going to sweat the $25.00 each month for this, especially if it's music I don't currently have a vinyl version of. And some look like they'll have the Amazon mp3 version with purchase, so a bonus there!
The subscription thing with music just can’t buy into. Even 3rd Man. I need to choose what I buy. I’m too deep and too far along. But I think it’s a cool idea to get exposed to stuff, like school. I’d rather research myself.
While I don’t wish anyone a miserable experience, I hope Amazon fails at this, or eventually bails on it for some reason. It might end up being a big success precisely because many people don’t have a local indie shop to turn to.
Besides people who just don’t like Amazon (which is fine, I get the reasons why), this seems fine esp for people newer to vinyl, of which there are many. To the extent it raises visibility of artists to a new generation/audience and makes them seek out other albums in those artists’ discography, so much the better. It seems to me it’s very much in Amazon’s best interest to be very clear on what you’re getting and when to avoid the cost of returns though. While the $25 price point gives good savings on double LPs, it might be limiting at some point if there are good albums with retail prices below $25. They should consider a policy where you get billed less for those cases. As long as the subscriber consistently saves a few bucks each time and has ample time to cancel a month’s selection, seems like a no lose situation for those who want to build their collection and aren’t inclined to do a lot of research on their own.
I already own nearly 3,000 albums and am a member of VMP. How can you not sign up? Free returns for items you don't like or want (as long as they are unopened) and from what I've seen posted some of the albums received for $25 were Pink Floyd The Wall, a Music on Vinyl release of The Supremes and the 2 LP deluxe edition of The Who Sell Out. Seems like a no brainer to me. "Buy now, or cry later" laugh if you want, but it's true.
different strokes for different folks I guess, to wish a miserable experience is pretty petty of you imo.