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”

Back From Capricon

It was a very interesting weekend at Carpicon XXX–the thirtieth science fiction convention and the only four-day show for sci fi fans in this area. Many thanks to all who stopped by the Turntabling table and picked up hard-to-find vinyl, talked music and other ephemera and made the show a lot of fun to be at in general.

One of the more interesting features of this convention was the concept of party suites–something I haven’t seen at the horror conventions so far. Turntabling may well get involved in organizing a suite at some of these shows to try something new, spin some tunes and throw a monster party to promote the site. Stay tuned, that is something in the works that we’ll give updates on shortly.

It’s great to be back–there are plenty of new titles to be added to the site this week, keep your eyes peeled for those plus the usual run of bad album covers and much more.

–Joe Wallace

Crosley iJuke CD/MP3 player

Coming to a convention near you? We’re seriously thinking of scoring the Crosley iJuke CD/MP3 player for the Turntabling.net booth to display and play Goblin CDs  on when doing horror movie conventions. It looks great, the price is decent, but we don’t know anybody who’s actually used one. Amazon.com customer reviews notwithstanding, we know very little about how good this little baby might be. If you own one or know someone who does, drop us a comment and let us know what you think–we’d love to get some feedback on this unit before dropping cash on it.

It would make an awfully cool addition to the table, I must say…

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

The Orb Dr. Alex Patterson DJ Set

Alex Patterson is a legend, both behind the DJ decks and the synth rack. He’s a force to be reckoned with and a longtime favorite round here at Turntabling. If you’re an Orb fan, chances are you’ve caught Alex Patterson’s DJ sets at one time or another, but if you haven’t, here’s a nice clip of the Doctor at work.

If you aren’t yet plugged into the goodness that is The Orb, we strongly suggest you pick up a copy of The Orb’s Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld and see what you’ve been missing all this time.

Star Wars Scratchin’

I honestly can’t decide if this is the DUMBEST thing I’ve ever seen or if it’s one of the most goofy-yet-clever/brilliant. It’s entertaining in a sort of Ernest Vs. George Romero Zombies sort of way, but maybe Seth Green and Robot Chicken have run Star Wars into the ground for me…you decide.

Experimenting with Twitter Plugin

Yes, we’ve gone over to the dark side here….but I do love the idea that you can update Twitter and the blog at the same time. I do love the simplicity of Twitter and actually thought it might replace blogging for a bit, but I see now the utter folly of that notion.

In other news, purchased the Criterion version of Border Radio, more on that after it arrives and I can review it. Two months ago I scored the once-rare vinyl LP soundtrack for the movie which features the Flesheaters, Divine Horsemen and Chris D. I love this movie and it’s even more fascinating now in light of the fact that the music business as depicted in Border Radio all at once no longer exists AND is the same as it ever was.

I love contradictions and dichotomies.

Christian Marclay and Unwanted Sound

by Joe Wallace

My first exposure to Christian Marclay was though my bandmates in Crevice. In 1999, some of the Crevice crew hooked up with Marclay to do an art show in San Antonio, Texas at the Art Pace gallery. The show, according to Uncle Buzz Records (the label home of Crevice, Pink Filth, Paisley Babylon, and others) to be an “audio/visual event using hundreds of Christmas records (Marclay) collected while in town.

Interesting enough to combine DJing with art galleries; moreso that the idea was to create new music from a collection of thousands of Christmas records. Ever since then I’ve been intrigued by Christian Marclay and his body of work. I don’t think DJ culture has been the same since Marclay, in the same way that tape manipulation art hasn’t been the same since John Oswald.

Marclay has been described as a “Dadaist DJ.” He may be a DJ but is far from a club kid knob twiddler.
For starters, he studied sculpture at the Massachusetts College of Art in Boston Marclay has been involved in a number of collaborations with high-profile names in music. The term DJ or turntablist is really inadequate for Marclay–he’s gone far beyond club DJing and studio recording. His concepts involve the physical manipulation of the recorded music on vinyl as well as the aural manipulation of it.

Christian Marclay has worked with John Zorn, Sonic Youth, Otomo Yoshihide and Fred Frith. His work has been shown at the Whitney Museum of American Art New York among other important galleries around the world. It’s obvious that he’s a name in the business of sound, in the same manner as Eno, John Cage, Harold Budd and other experimenters/pioneers.

Check this clip about Christian Marclay and his desire for “unwanted sound”. It’s a fascinating little glimpse into the world he inhabits. “When we play a record we don’t want to hear the surface noise,” said Marclay,”But those are the sounds I’m interested in. I’m interested in the sounds I can get out of this vinyl record.”

Zombie Disco!

FINALLY, the long-awaited update on the Turntabling front…it has been far too long I know, but the madness round here has been both profitable and amusing. On that note, I’ll be DJing the Chicago Horror Society’s one-year anniversary party and Zombie Disco on June 20th at Chicago’s famous Viaduct Theater. Stay tuned for more details.

Yes, it’s been a little while since the last update–things have gone crazy in the Turntabling camp! Rest assured, the updates begin in earnest now that the smoke has cleared. Here are some of the developments I’ve been working on since the last update here–lots of DJ gigs lining up, some photo shoots forthcoming, and plenty of freelance blogging and editing. It’s been a busy few weeks. Fortunately there’s been plenty of interest in Turntabling.net, and we are pleased to report the Russ Meyer bio is almost sold out. THANK YOU to everyone who purchased copies. Your support of Turntabling is greatly appreciated.

I’ll be adding some exciting new things for sale soon. Stay tuned.

King Britt Interview

I’m not a huge Digable Planets fan, but when I interviewed King Britt for Gearwire.com back in 2006, he was great to talk to. Full of stories, advice for new DJs and a lively personality all round. I’d check him spinning anytime. My favorite part of the discussion is when Britt laments the fact that the joy of searching for those obscure tracks is gone with the advent of instant download gratification. Too true, KB, too true! Seeking and finding are half the fun of vinyl. Downloading, not so much.

King Britt is naturally a source of interest for budding DJs all over the globe, so I thought I drop Part One and Part Two of my chat with KB, and throw in a little YouTube love with the man besides. I didn’t have anything to do with the clip below, it wash shot at the Novara Jazz Fest in Italy earlier in ‘08.