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Looking to discover new music on vinyl? This service can help.

Back in the days of the Columbia Record Club, subscribers would get sucked in with the infamous “Get [X] albums for just $1!” campaign.

After you received your initial shipment, Columbia House sent out records every month.  You had to agree to buy a certain number of albums over a specific time period at club prices.

If you were open-minded about music, this was a pretty good deal. Often, though, you’d be sent something–a record you were obligated to buy–that you just didn’t care about.

There was also a problem with the physical quality itself. It was often thin and crappy, easily damaged and prone to skips. And, unbeknownst to fans, many artists had clauses in their contracts that stipulated no royalties from sales of albums through record clubs.

Then there was the Sub Pop Singles Club. For $35 a year, subscribers would get a new 7-inch from the label once a month.

Earlier believers received the first-ever Sub Pop single from a little band called Nirvana. This original edition of “Love Buzz” now fetches over $3,000 a copy.

Today we have Vinylmnky, a vinyl subscription service that’s been around for a while now. Unlike Columbia House, which sent you whatever they felt like, or Sub Pop, which sent out material only from Sub Pop artists, Vinynlmnky’s selections are carefully curated.

It picks the best breakthrough artists of the past month and then sends you that record. The box also comes with a variety of other specially-selected swag related to that artist. February’s pick, for example, is Jaymes Young’s Feel Something.

Given that us vinyl people might not get a chance to go to our record shop as often as we like, this might worth a shot, no?

 

 

 

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

Alan Cross has 38031 posts and counting. See all posts by Alan Cross

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