In what must surely be a herald to the approaching golden age of American life and stuff -- projected by Nostradamus and a large portion of liberal pundits to occur sometime between November 4, 2008 and January 20, 2009 -- there is actually good news coming from the usual total downersville known as the record industry. And it comes in the form of one of the most love stories of our time: that of MP3 album downloads and vinyl sales, together and better than ever.
Over the past year, vinyl LP sales have been on the rise, and online retailer Insound in particular has benefited. Insound co-founder Matt Wishnow recently told Billboard, "The percentage increase over the last 12-18 months in vinyl sales has been dramatic -- close to 100%. Our gross margins and pricing model for vinyl are the exact same as that for CDs. However, there is one major difference and that is the elasticity of that margin. We don't discount vinyl often because consumers believe that vinyl is worth the suggested price."
It's nice to see a music retailer doing well, and of course it's awesome to see sales figures helping out the careers of our friends Fleet Foxes and Iron & Wine. But wait, there's more! Everybody likes hearing good news, but when this good news benefits you yourself, then it's AWESOME NEWS! And that's what's up next: awesome news. See, when Insound started offering simultaneous MP3 download/vinyl purchase bundles, not too many indie labels were down. But now, online shoppers can expect to find almost 500 titles available from the likes of Sub Pop and Matador, which are providing loads of titles from the two aforementioned bands, as well as The Shins, Mogwai, Wolf Parade, Band of Horses, Flight of the Conchords, and The Postal Service.
It gets better: in 2009, you'll be able to get MP3 downloads with more than just vinyl. Yes! You'll be able to get digital download bundles alongside such exciting and possibly earth-friendly physical products such as tote bags! t-shirts! super dreamy band posters! and more, all within roughly $20.
These packages are possible through what Billboard calls more "lenient royalty deals." According to Wishnow, many of Insound's indie label partners work with artists who "control their own publishing or who have progressive publishers." This allows the online retailer to pay mechanical royalties only once for the download/physical bundles, and helps you, the Flight of the Conchords obsessive, to purchase every single imaginable tie-in and format of music -- all for one low, low price.
