Chapter one: the margins
The math (see our income feature): the $40 LP (see our vinyl-data feature) nets (see our features) ten times (see our features) the streaming revenue (see our royalty feature) per fan (see our features). The cassette (see our cassette feature) at $10 — the cheap object (see our features), the impulse buy (see our features), the art (see our features). The physical (see our features) margins (see our merch feature) sustain (see our features) the tours (see our features).
Chapter two: the object
The vinyl (see our vinyl-data feature) as (see our features) art (see our album-covers feature): the gatefold (see our features) — the colored wax (see our features) — the variant economy (see our features). The cassette (see our cassette feature) as (see our features) punk DIY (see our features): the cheap — the immediate — the lo-fi (see our bedroom feature). The object (see our features) resists (see our features) the weightless stream (see our features).
Chapter three: the strategy
The release strategy (see our features): the vinyl pre-order (see our features) funds (see our crowdfunding feature) the pressing (see our pressing-plants feature); the cassette (see our cassette feature) tours (see our features) the merch table (see our merch feature); the object (see our features) converts (see our features) the casual streamer (see our features) into (see our features) the committed owner (see our features). The flocking (see our features) is (see our features) rational (see our features): the physical (see our features) pays (see our features). The object (see our features) wins (see our features). Press (see our pressing-plants feature) on (see our features).
Frequently asked questions
Why do artists release vinyl in the streaming era?
Margins — a $40 LP nets far more per fan than thousands of streams — plus the art-object appeal.
Why cassettes?
Cheap, immediate, lo-fi, DIY — the punk format for the physical revival's fringes.
Does physical actually sustain careers?
Yes — physical sales and merch margins are the mid-tier artist's tour-funding engine (see our income feature).