Can You Sell Vinyl on CD Baby?

A while back, I sent a query out to CDBaby asking about the possibility of selling a vinyl album or in addition to digital downloads and compact discs. Vinyl junkies take note, the official word from CD Baby is good news–vinyl is most welcome. From the CD Baby rep, Deena:

“Sure, we can list vinyl at CDBaby. We prefer if it matches an album on CD that is already for sale or will be for sale here, but isn’t required. Just makes things easier for the set up, as you’ll see.”

According to CD Baby, if you already have an album for sale on CD Baby and want to start selling vinyl copies, all you have to do is send five copies (contact CD Baby directly for details about sending more for in-store distro, etc.).

Vinyl submitted as a “stand alone submission” (as in, there are no other formats to be sold) must be signed up in the same way as a new CD or digital download. You’ll need a UPC code or you can purchase one from CDBaby. Again from the rep:

“Then, we’ll need an audio cd that matches the audio on the record so that we can post your clips and/or digitally distribute the album. You can send that with the first five records you send us. Please keep in mind, we might have to take a different cut than $4 per physical copy sold, shipping costs are sometimes more than it is for CDs.  We’ll have our receiving manager check it out once it arrives.”

Don’t forget about the cover art!  Just like with CD Baby CDs, you’ll need to send  a 1000 x 1000 pixel tiff file at 300dpi (with no compression) to CD Baby. This is great news for anyone who wants to get more ears on their vinyl release but doesn’t know where to start with distribution, etc. This CD Baby page has plenty of information on signing up and getting started. And, yes, Turntabling Records does have some material distributed via CD Baby, including all the titles found in the upper right corner of our site under “Download Turntabling Records albums”

How to DJ Advice

Turntabling (the blog) is all about vinyl–everything connected to the collecting, playing, archiving and culture associated with vinyl.

I know the drive-in culture thing I am so obsessed with in these pages seems a bit of a stretch, but since I cut my teeth with vinyl when these things were growing up right alongside in 70s and 80s culture, it seems a natural to me.

But some days, it’s all about the act of mixing together the tunes and keeping people interested in your mix. The DJ aspect doesn’t get nearly as much face time here, but I do like to dispense a bit of my insider knowledge from time to time.

Today I stumbled across another one of those How To DJ sites, but this one actually had some decent information. Sound advice there, especially when it comes to trying to feel out an audience and know what works and what doesn’t.

My main gripe with how-to-DJ advice is that you can’t really learn how to spin music without DOING it. And then there’s only so far you can go before you need to have an actual audience. Want to see how fast you can clear a dance floor? How about how long it takes to bring those feet back onto that floor? You have to learn by doing. … Continue Reading

Dario Argento Blood Is Red LP Collection

Five original soundtrack albums from Dario Argento films on 180 gram vinyl with delicious gatefold sleeves. I scored one of these limited edition collections, called Blood Is Red, and I have to say the vinyl junkie in me is VERY pleased indeed. The films are Cat o’ Nine Tails, aka Il Gatto A Nove Code,  Four Flies on Grey Velvet aka Quattro Mosche Di Velluto Grigio, Profondo Rosso, Suspiria and Tenebre.

I have seen these selling for upwards of $175, so I was very happy to score mine for well under $70 and in tasty condition, too! Cat o ‘Nine Tails is a very underrated soundtrack, and it definitely gets lost in the shuffle compared with Tenebre and Suspiria. Any Goblin fan will swoon over this collection but the Morricone lover in me insists on giving the maestro his due as well.
… Continue Reading

DJ Peter Hook: Beyond New Order

For fans of New Order, Peter Hook’s solo antics are well known…but have you ever seen Hooky in action as a DJ? He tours semi-regularly, coming to Chicago’s Smart Bar and plenty of other DJ venues around the globe including Melbourne, Argentina, and elsewhere.

There’s a certain segment of the New Order audience quite into Hooky’s non-NO projects like Monaco and Revenge, but it’s unclear (to me, anyway) how many love Peter Hook as a DJ. Here’s a chance to see the man in action behind the decks…does Hooky make the grade? You decide.

Crosley CR49 Traveler Portable Turntable

I knew about Crosley turntables, but I never spotted anyone using them until I paid a visit to my friends in Hyperbubble. There, perched on the bathroom counter next to a pile of great old vinyl was a Crosley, clearly intended to be used for bathtub chillout time after a long day of recording and producing new music. 

Not this particular Crosley, mind you, but this Crosley CR49 Traveler is perfect for bath time anywhere you care to roam; hotels, guest houses, crashing at a fellow DJ’s house…anywhere you might want to bring the vinyl equivalent of a boom box. Aspiring rappers and sound system-ers, here’s a concept for you—take your turntabling on the busking circuit! This is uber-portable and only requires a power supply. The built-in speakers make this the ultimate retro accessory. Buy two of em and do the world’s most lo-tech portable DJ set. What’s that, you say? Crazy? Not if you’re playing small intimate spaces like a tiny art gallery or somebody’s front room. Hell, I’m tempted!

Heavy Duty Vinyl Record Album Case

This is slightly pricey, but hot damn! This vinyl album case holds a whopping 200 albums, has a carpeted exterior and lid, and I hear you can stack these two and three high and even use the case as a makeshift stool if you’re in cramped quarters in some dingy club. You’re naturally spinning the good stuff instead of being what Mr. Automatic calls a “Craptop DJ”. I want several. I would imagine these to be a bit weighty when filled to capacity, but the lid is removable for easier access to the vinyl…never a bad thing.

Of course, I’d fill mine with dub platters, bizarre Icelandic new waver bands, Isaac Hayes records, Italian bachelor pad soundtrack music and a Goblin album or two. Those club kids don’t know what to make of me.

The Lost Turntable

Face it, blogs about vinyl are very few and far between when compared to their “anything goes” counterparts, so I was very pleased to find The Lost Turntable. It bears mentioning that I am a new fan of this blog not because of the MP3s from 12-inch singles and remixes, but because the writing is wonderfully caustic and fearless. In a review of Lollapalooza–which you couldn’t get me to at gunpoint because of those insane crowds–there is plenty of angst directed against Radiohead for a bewilderingly fan-unfriendly stage show, and some spleen venting at Rage Against The Machine. I quote now, only half-recovered from this. It made me laugh, depressing as it is…truer words were never written in a music blog about any one group…ever:

“Hey Rage, you do know that 90% of your fans don’t even give a shit about ‘the revolution,’ social injustice, political reform or the vanishing working class right? They just want to hear ‘Killing In The Name Of’ and start some shit. Nice message you got, too bad it’s falling on deaf ears. Time to call it a day.”

This sentiment is one I’ve had for a 13 years now and I am glad I’m not alone in the universe. Sometimes you don’t go to a show–in spite of how much you want to hear the band tear it up live–because you hate the FANS OF THE GROUP. I’d never go to a Nine Inch Nails show or a Ministry set for this reason. (Never mind that Ministry’s best days were when Al Jourgensen was in the inbetween period from pretending to be a gay disco maven to being the brain-dead industrial metal steelworker he became.)

But I digress. The Lost Turntable is all about bringing much-needed exposure to 12-inch vinyl and related sundries. I am a new convert…glad I found you, TLT.– RECOMMENDED

The World’s Most Expensive Record Needle

It’s not OFFICIALLY the world’s most expensive record needle, but at 10K, the Clearaudio Goldfinger is squarely in Donald Trump territory. Sold by NeedleDoctor.com, the Goldfinger is 16 grams of pure gold, with a boron cantilever. Are you going on one knee for some sweet, sweet DJ? Don’t waste your cash on one of those useless finger trinkets sold in shopping mall diamond shops, get this bit of precious metal instead. It’s functional, it’s beautiful, and it probably sounds like nothing on earth. Too bad it costs nearly as much as you’d get selling a kidney. What’s the first thing you’d play after scoring one of these? For my money, it would have to be the More Beer album by FEAR.

Just kidding.