Esoteric October releases

[Esoteric]

Hi guys

Quick reminder of Octobers releases on Esoteric

Anthony Phillips-Harvest of the Heart 5 disc boxset anthology, superb memorabilia etc.

Sky 1 and Sky 2 --- 2 disc sets (CD and DVD(NTSC region free) on both.

Quantum Jump--Quantum Jump -plus bonus material, if you think they were just "Lone Ranger" think again!

Fish on Friday-Godspeed--NEW STUDIO ALBUM superb melodic rock from the Belgian studio band with Nick Beggs as bass player--, Theo Travis guests. Band often compared to Alan Parsons project in style.

Heres their trailer for the abum

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SB0yLBSG9qY

All track listings can be found on www.esotericrecordings.com


Kind Regards

Vicky

[Scrotum Scissor]

New Sanguine Hum - when is that due?

[Esoteric]

New Sanguine Hum - when is that due?

Jan or possibly Feb 2015 at the latest I believe.

[Enid]

Wow!

[NogbadTheBad]

Looking forward to the Sky stuff, haven't owned that for decades.

[Rarebird]

The Sky stuff looks interesting, but I'm not sure about them, considering the CD's are also available on Castle, without DVD's, but for almost half the price of the Esoteric disks. Sky 1 seems to have some extra tracks, so it might be worthwhile, to invest a bit more.

[progmeister]

Just ordered Tin Spirits from Amazon. Pricey

[Esoteric]

The imports are indeed very expensive in the USA at the moment, cant believe the mark up , particularly with Amazon but the dollar rate against the pund isnt helping either. Cherry Red are looking again at the US situation at the moment. Problem is we dont want standard distribution in the USA apart from the "very big new titles" , the terms are very onerous and they have a habit of "going down" owing loads and its difficult to get stock that hasnt been paid for back!!

[Joe F.]

Just ordered Tin Spirits from Amazon. Pricey

Try importcds for Esoteric titles. Usually they're $6-8 less than Amazon.

[JKL2000]

I recently got the Help Yourself compilation from Amazon UK. Loving it! Amazingly affecting melodies.

[LASERCD]

The imports are indeed very expensive in the USA at the moment, cant believe the mark up , particularly with Amazon but the dollar rate against the pund isnt helping either. Cherry Red are looking again at the US situation at the moment. Problem is we dont want standard distribution in the USA apart from the "very big new titles" , the terms are very onerous and they have a habit of "going down" owing loads and its difficult to get stock that hasnt been paid for back!!

Apparently Cherry Red still thinks its 1995.

[jkelman]

The imports are indeed very expensive in the USA at the moment, cant believe the mark up , particularly with Amazon but the dollar rate against the pund isnt helping either. Cherry Red are looking again at the US situation at the moment. Problem is we dont want standard distribution in the USA apart from the "very big new titles" , the terms are very onerous and they have a habit of "going down" owing loads and its difficult to get stock that hasnt been paid for back!!

I'llo just throw in my support for Vicky and Cherry Red here. An American label that sadly no longer exists and who shall remain nameless took a distribution deal with an Amarican distributor in order to try and get to the next level, visibility wise. The comment at the time, from the label owner? "We assume all the risks; they reap all the rewards." They took the deal anyway because they felt they had to and, instead, it pretty much sunk them.

Add the complication of a UK label having to export to the U.S. (I don't know but suspect there would be impoet duties), the exchange rate and cost of sending product, and I can only imagine.

I do know that the is a very good answer to those who ask me why certain Norwegian labels like Jazzland have distribution in Canada but not the US....and the answer is pretty much the same. It is just too cost-prohibitive, unless the label is reasonably certain that they will sell sufficient numbers to get past that brick wall of cost.

It's unfortunate, but for North Americnas, thankfully, the solution exists: buy either directly from the labels or even Amazon Uk (which strips VAT out for non-UK destinations)… Obviously better for labels like Espteric to buy directly from them, of course, just saying there are options for Noeth Americans, and it doesn't cost an arm an a leg. In fact, in general, it is cheaper for me to buy from the Uk than it is her or the U.S.k odd though it might seem.

All I can add is we need to support labels like Espteric, Cuneiform, MoonJune, Abtract Logix, Panegyric, etc, because they're the ones feeding our jones and if we don't support them and they go...well, what then? Yes some major label stuff gets reissued by major labels, but rarely with the same love and attention to detail. And speaking of Esoteric, with the label now branching into new music in recent years, with some great groups like Tin Spirits, Sanguine Hum, Van der Graaf Gennerator and Schnauser (a really great discovery for me Vicky...thanks!!) they've become even more relevant than they already were....

[Scrotum Scissor]

Keep waiting for that Schnauser to hit Wayside. Might have to look into Tin Spirits as well.

[Esoteric]

Apparently Cherry Red still thinks its 1995.

well they had this happen 2 years ago , at the end of the day with regards to distro , what they say goes for us, as its their moneyto lose, not ours.

[Esoteric]

and Im afraid we had the same issue in the past with Inside Out/SPV with our old label as Im sure people are aware of, not going over old ground but it made me way more cautious. For those who arent aware using a US consignment distributor (and I dont mean an end purchaser like lovely Wayside or Lasers Edge or Greg Walker) but the middle men who "get it out" means that basically we have to supply lots of stock for no upfront money on a sale or return basis, they just pay every month for what they have sold. In return they charge the labels a whole raft of fees, ranging from "product lines" --essentially charging you just to take that title, to "returns fees" meaning they charge you not only shipping when they want to return a load of surplus stock back but an actual "admin fee" which is not small, meaning it is actually in their interest to "overstock" --they can make money on it.

[Steve F.]

Keep waiting for that Schnauser to hit Wayside. Might have to look into Tin Spirits as well.

Thank you for asking.

Schnauser won't hit Wayside until our next UK shipment which won't be until RELAYER Steve Wilson style comes out. I can't bring over 10 copies of Schnauser by themselves....

[Scrotum Scissor]

Thank you for asking.

Schnauser won't hit Wayside until our next UK shipment which won't be until RELAYER Steve Wilson style comes out.

That's awright, I prob won't have any moneys until then anyhow. Lezzope Steve Willy won't Delayer all too mucho.

[Bazcrim]

I see Steven Wilson has picked the Tin Spirits album for his latest playlist. Glad to see the Schnauser getting lots of attention too. That is quite a refreshing listen indeed.

[arturs]

well they had this happen 2 years ago , at the end of the day with regards to distro , what they say goes for us, as its their moneyto lose, not ours.

In 2014 what value does an "old school" distributor really add for a specialist niche label like Esoteric? I assume in days gone by the big distributors basically could place product in every mall cd store; that was the real value added. But all those stores are gone anyway. So what is left? It's not like I'll ever see an Esoteric disc in Walmart or Best Buy anyway, right? So who are they distributing to?

And, someone like me who enjoys Esoteric's output knows where to get it anyway... If Wayside or LE don't have it, I can go to import cds on Amazon. So, again, it seems like added distribution has little value. Am I missing something?

[Esoteric]

In 2014 what value does an "old school" distributor really add for a specialist niche label like Esoteric? I assume in days gone by the big distributors basically could place product in every mall cd store; that was the real value added. But all those stores are gone anyway. So what is left? It's not like I'll ever see an Esoteric disc in Walmart or Best Buy anyway, right? So who are they distributing to?

And, someone like me who enjoys Esoteric's output knows where to get it anyway... If Wayside or LE don't have it, I can go to import cds on Amazon. So, again, it seems like added distribution has little value. Am I missing something?

We do use MVD on consignment and to manufacture domestically on certain releases too, where sales are bigger in USA and where we "can" get into Walmart etc--- we did with Squackett, Jack Bruce and Todd Rundgren and will be doing with Bettye LaVette (not Prog)!!

The main situation where a consignment distributor can add value is "price" due to tariffs and volume of shipping bills etc -- and they can also offer sale and return to an "end shop" thats the big difference really. If someone like say Amoeba wants to take 10 of something without the risk of not selling them all, then old school distribution works, as they can return within a set period what they dont sell (otherwise the store has to buy 10) , the advantage to an end customer is more in terms of "price" usually and the advantage to retail is less risky in terms of taking stock. .

[arturs]

We do use MVD on consignment and to manufacture domestically on certain releases too, where sales are bigger in USA and where we "can" get into Walmart etc--- we did with Squackett, Jack Bruce and Todd Rundgren and will be doing with Bettye LaVette (not Prog)!!

The main situation where a consignment distributor can add value is "price" due to tariffs and volume of shipping bills etc -- and they can also offer sale and return to an "end shop" thats the big difference really. If someone like say Amoeba wants to take 10 of something without the risk of not selling them all, then old school distribution works, as they can return within a set period what they dont sell (otherwise the store has to buy 10) , the advantage to an end customer is more in terms of "price" usually and the advantage to retail is less risky in terms of taking stock. .

Thanks for the informative explanation. Those are some factors I would not have considered. I will eagerly await the Todd Rundgren BBC box at my local Walmart!

[Esoteric]

Thanks for the informative explanation. Those are some factors I would not have considered. I will eagerly await the Todd Rundgren BBC box at my local Walmart!

If you cant get it,PM me, Ive sold for $34 to my Esoteric club members including postage.

[Luckie]

Vicky, is the new solo album that Todd says he's agreed to deliver by the end of the year one of Esoteric's, like State, or are you currently overseeing the archive only?

[Steve F.]

In 2014 what value does an "old school" distributor really add for a specialist niche label like Esoteric? I assume in days gone by the big distributors basically could place product in every mall cd store; that was the real value added. But all those stores are gone anyway. So what is left? It's not like I'll ever see an Esoteric disc in Walmart or Best Buy anyway, right? So who are they distributing to?

That is a reasonable question, but as someone who has had good 'old school distribution' for some time, I can say that IF something makes the record 'pop' a bit in the marketplace, it is the difference between selling 100 and selling 600 or 800 or over 1,000 in the USA.

[progmeister]

Well all that being said....Tin Spirits album is great. Highly recommended to all Americans