Music On Vinyl is a vinyl only record label that releases high quality 180g LP and 7" vinyl pressings of titles licensed from a wide range of record companies and artists who control their own repertoire.
These are both re-issues of classic titles, or a simultaneous vinyl release to complement a CD/DVD release, all marketed under the Music On Vinyl brand, which vinyl lovers worldwide recognize as a trusted name providing a superb LP vinyl product.
When did Music On Vinyl came to realization and what's the story behind its formation?
Music On Vinyl was established in 2009 as a cooperative effort between music distributor Bertus Distribution and vinyl pressing plant Record Industry. Out of a mutual love for vinyl, as well as building on the strength of each individual company in manufacturing and marketing vinyl, our aim is to market fully licensed classic and brand new albums on audiophile quality vinyl.
What was the original concept?
Apart from reissuing classic albums, we are more and more releasing brand new albums, as demand for vinyl of contemporary artists and their latest releases has been a significant factor in vinyl’s resurgence. Artists themselves also increasingly demand vinyl releases of their latest work, which MOV still facilitates to this day.
You are covering a wide variety of Rock, Jazz and lately also Classical music. How do you select your reissues?
Good, timeless albums simply deserve vinyl pressings, and we know our music. Each individual in our team has their own taste and deep knowledge of catalogue and new artists. Our audience can file requests for vinyl reissues through our website www.musiconvinyl.com, which we take into consideration as well.
Bringing out quality music is the one main factor in our release schedule, regardless of genre. Like our Classical releases, each and every one of them are essential albums in music history in our opinion. Also, last year we introduced At The Movies, a sub label specifically targeted towards soundtracks and scores.
How many people work in your company?
Currently we are with 5 people working full-time, managing the product development, marketing and promotion. Apart from the core team, we work closely together with said companies (Bertus and Record Industry) when it comes to sales, distribution, promotion, manufacturing, packaging and quality control.
Can you tell us a bit more in-depth what is the releasing process like?
First we get in touch with the copyright owners and see if there is potential for good quality release(s). After a particular (range of) title(s) is approved for a vinyl release, we source the audio and art from the same copyright owners. We use original metals, tapes and digital master recordings on high resolution audio files. We don’t use CDs as masters.
We regularly cut new metal masters using the latest advances in technology. Some releases require DMM (Direct-to-Metal-Mastering), some require a lacquer cut. It all depends on the audio, sound, dynamics, time length per side, and so on. Meanwhile, we prepare the original artwork for printing. Sometimes the art needs polishing and fine tuning, which takes additional effort. After everything (audio & art) are approved by the copyright owners, we press the vinyl and sleeves, after which products are packaged, stored and ultimately sold from the distributor’s warehouse.
DMM cutterhead.
Do you have your own mastering studio?
We use the cutting rooms present at Record Industry. Their mastering engineers have years and years of experience cutting quality records, and the gear is top notch. Whenever needed, they can add the finishing touch to the vinyl master.
How about pressing plant?
We press exclusively at Record Industry in Haarlem, The Netherlands.
Can you tell us about the audio gear you're using? What turntable, cartridge etc.
For an overview of audio gear Record Industry is using to cut their records: http://www.recordindustry.com/audio-artwork/.
How many albums have you released?
We have released over 1.500 vinyls so far, including box-sets, 10”s, 7”s, limited editions etc.
You're one of the very few record labels, that really releases only vinyl format. What led to such a decision?
We are a bunch of vinyl enthusiasts who love what we do. 7 years ago, vinyl wasn’t as huge as it is today, but there has always been a consistent demand for classic albums. Very few albums were available on vinyl those days, so our thought was; let’s fill in that gap.
What are some future plans for Music On Vinyl?
More lovingly manufactured classic re-releases, brand new albums, soundtracks, more music in every genre imaginable… and in the best quality possible. Another goal would be to enable record shops to grow their business further, so in 100 years, there will still be record shops for our grand kids to shop at. One of these initiatives is our online store locator (containing a whopping 750 addresses in Europe alone, and growing weekly) which gets thousands of visits each day, and the recently launched VINYL STORES Tumblr photo blog, where every record store worldwide (also those who don’t sell MOV) can upload a few pictures to get more exposure to the vinyl buying public.
What’s your opinion about the great vinyl comeback, which mostly started in USA, but it’s spread all around the world. I think, it’s the best format and that’s not only because of the analogue signal, but also because it’s a timeless object. Music became easy accessible and one of the very best format is vinyl with digital download code. What’s your opinion?
We think it’s great that a young audience is rediscovering the ultimate music carrier. Who would have thought 10 years ago… About those downloads, including a download coupon surely adds something extra to the vinyl package, but at the same time we see that streaming is rapidly becoming the most convenient solution of taking your music with you, everywhere.
With all-round global wireless internet for affordable prices around the corner, and cloud based computing becoming a standard, these are very exciting times for music lovers. We love to see what happens in the next few years.
However - the collectability, charm and experience of playing vinyl is something that has proven to stand the test of time, even in an increasingly digital world, and therefore we have good hopes for the future of vinyl.
Erik Guillot of Music On Vinyl.
Thousands of people are buying your vinyl records. Would you like to send a message to all of your fans.
Thanks to everybody who showed their support throughout the years and we wish large vinyl collections (and much understanding from your significant other) to everybody who just started out buying records!
Interview made by Klemen Breznikar/2015
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