Hi Everyone,

Thinking about the issues with vinyl this week.

We have been struggling for a few years now at indie retail to get enough vinyl to keep our shelves stocked. Before the pandemic, it was a case of fulfillment, with new releases often showing up late and catalog sometimes taking weeks or even months to get product back in.

Then with the pandemic, there has been a whole new slew of problems that have entered the mix. Supply chain issues are rampant, and not just within our industry. There are shortages all along the line, from labor to cardboard to well… you name it, that have made it even more of a challenge for our stores to keep those customers happy and coming back for more. Yet, we are still here. Cue the Gloria Gaynor because, despite the tireless job it is, our stores are not only surviving but thriving! There has been impressive growth in the indie sector with vinyl sales over the past two years… and that is with what we can get our hands on. Imagine what we could do if we were not limited by all the supply issues that abound. It is a complicated multi-faceted problem and despite lots of robust discussions on the subject, there doesn’t seem to be a clear end in sight.

When we finally receive product, sometimes in very limited quantities to start with, there is an amazing amount of damaged product we are dealing with due to poor packing and shipping practices. That is the part that really makes me sick. After all the painstaking work and long hours that went into making those records, there ends up being a huge amount of unsellable product. The worst part of it all is this is an issue that was preventable.

This is something we have been actively discussing with our Partners on the Music Biz-led Physical Business Action committee and later today, this issue will be the focus of the fall installment of Let’s Talk Physical. Several members from all areas of physical distribution will come together to take a hard look at the packaging challenges faced by retailers, labels and pressing plants, and we will begin to discuss best approaches for optimizing shipping practices going forward.

What is that saying? One small step for Vinyl…

I look forward to the giant steps, but we must start somewhere.

I remain thankful to all the supporters out there that remain committed to independent physical retail and help to keep us on this journey.

Onwards and upwards.
Andrea

Here are the charts.

Andrea Paschal
Executive Director
Coalition of Independent Music Stores
ThinkIndie Distribution
3738 4th Terrace North
Birmingham, AL 35222
Phone: 205.595.1932 x.208
Fax: 205.595.1938
Email : andrea@cimsmusic.com
cimsmusic.com
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