This article come from our friends at scratchworks:
It is a cold hard FACT that the digital scene is killing the vinyl wielding DJ quite literally to death. Well perhaps not that true exactly, but if it were, Serato would be one of the 4 Horsemen of the Digital Apocalyse. Every time Serato move product off the shelf, a record shop closes and a puppy dies - or at least that's what purists would have you believe. But it turns out that Serato are actually head over heels in love with the past and want to keep the old ways alive. So in a somewhat unexpected move, Serato have started knocking regular vinyl out in a venture called Serato Pressings.
So in a nutshell, Serato have partnered with some record labels who will knock out a limited range of releases with real music on one side and the really annoying undanceable (unless you are truly off your face) control signal on the other. Here's the words:
Serato press forward with a new form of hybrid record
Auckland, New Zealand ( December 1st, 2008 ) - Serato, the name behind the world’s biggest selling Digital Vinyl System for DJs, today announced an initiative to license their control tone to select record labels.
A Serato Pressing is a unique hybrid record that DJs can buy from their favorite record store. The new range of official Serato Pressings feature new release music on Side One of a Serato Control Vinyl.
Serato Audio Research have now pressed more Control Vinyl records than any other 12” vinyl record in the last 14 years according to music industry sources.
Rare colored vinyl and promotional 7 and 10 inch pressings of the Serato Control Tone have fetched over $US400 a pair on eBay this year.
Bootleg vinyl pressings of the control tone have begun to surface in recent times. These illegal copies do not have the benefit of Serato’s extensive testing, resulting in poor performance with Serato’s Scratch Live software. To ensure high quality standards, Serato is now officially licensing the Control Tone under new venture called Serato Pressings. The result is a new form of vinyl record that will be hitting stores in December 2008. The new record is a hybrid of music and the Official Serato Control Tone and bears a catalog number of authenticity.
“Serato is genuinely interested in preserving vinyl culture” reports Product Manager for Serato Pressings, Bill Mitsakos. “Serato Pressings allows us to work with record labels and the few remaining pressing plants to cut a collectible series of records that have original music on Side A and the ability to control our software on Side B”.
Serato Pressings have a solid schedule of releases lined up for 2009 in collaboration with record labels from around the world. Each release promises to be collectible and will be catalogued online for authenticity and quality control. The first official Serato Pressing will be released and distributed by Mad Decent, the label started by revolutionary DJ producer Diplo. The limited edition 12” “Get Off” from Diplo and Blaqstarr will be available for pre-order on December 1st 2008.
Release information and sales locations are available at www.serato.com/pressings
Serato Pressings are distributed by the partner record labels and will be sold in traditional record stores and online vinyl stores.
The motivation behind this move? To me, it's a bit like planting a tree every time a book is bought - Serato are simply doing their bit to keep real vinyl alive. But to be honest, it's more about building the Serato brand and the prestige around it. As they say in the PR, limited edition Serato vinyl fetches silly money so you can be sure that each one of these will be snapped up and almost immediately have some sort of prestige, especially if the limited run is VERY limited.
So everyone's a winner - Serato has a new revenue stream, the artists and record labels get extra sales and the buyers get something that is almost certainly worth more than they paid for it. And in some small way, Serato Ironically help vinyl sales grow.
This does raise a question - if I buy the vinyl, do I still have to download as well or will www.whitelabel.net take care of that?
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