Are you looking for a vinyl subscription service but don’t know where to turn? Have you seen the Viny lMoon pop up in your search and wonder what it means and how it might benefit you?
Well, today we will be exploring this subscription service through the eyes of those who have experience the service compared with the promises the company make!
What is Vinyl Moon?
At heart Vinyl Moon, or VinylMoon if you are fond of eliding the space between words, is one of many vinyl subscription services that have appeared in recent years to scratch the itch of vinyl record collecting without any of the commitment of actually visiting a store. Services like this and, say, the VinylBox offer subscribers the opportunity to explore various strains of music that they might not otherwise, receiving specially curated record collections in the post to bolster their collection.
While a service like VinylBox or Vinyl Me, Please is more concerned with offering a general subscription package, Vinyl Moon’s niche is that it offers new music and original artwork in one neat package. They claim to be the only vinyl mixtape club where each month the subscriber receives a compilation of new tracks by emerging artists as well as original artwork as its complement. Thus, the Vinyl Moon sign is one that is focused on the curation of albums as album art.
In this way, those who are looking for an ultra-deluxe record experience or one of deluxe vinyl discovery would do best to avert their gaze and seek one of the aforementioned services for assistance. Instead of re-releasing lost albums or giving older artists some shine, Vinyl Moon is far more concerned with exploring emerging music and amazing visual artists in conjunction with one another.
A warning: be prepared not to have heard of any of the artists that are released on these compilations. Sure, this is often some stunning vinyl and the fact they use a different visual artist every month is commendable, but this is not going to scratch the itch of anyone looking to relisten to music they already know.
If you are looking for a fresh world in this way, though, you won’t be disappointed.
How is Vinyl Moon?
Thankfully, the interactive artwork on display is often sent in sturdy shipping boxes, ensuring that it makes its way to you in one piece, especially if you are ordering from overseas.
The sheer variety of music on display here really is not something that can be stressed enough. What you are likely to receive month-to-month can and usually will vary greatly – one month you might receive a mixtape that you absolutely love, filled with all the indie rock you desire, and another month you might be a little disappointed at how much ambient music is on display.
Still, this is usually some beautiful vinyl, and the first record is cheaper in the month-by-month club, so you get great music from not-your-favorite bands for cheaper!
Nowadays, with the constant surge of information that the internet provides, you would expect people to be more excited about a discovery experience. And yet, now more than ever, it seems that people are content simply to listen to the same old stuff over and over again. Perhaps the endless possibility of the internet has inundated people and overwhelmed them to the point of being reclused hermits.
Now more than ever, independent artists need your help, especially considering just how little these new favorite bands are able to make from the scant offerings that Spotify proffers for each individual stream. Each stream counts, and more than that each piece of physical merchandise matters most.
In this way, Vinyl Moon is doing a great thing, though there are plenty of reviews that say otherwise, that either point toward their ineptitude at actually supporting artists to many claims that subscribers don’t even receive their subscriptions!
Whether or not you make a purchase here is entirely up to you, though you are advised to proceed with caution.
Some Alternatives to Vinyl Moon
Or, you might be interested to explore some alternatives on the market today.
Black Box Record Club
The Black Box Record Club is a subscription service precisely suited to the needs of those as concerned with streaming as audiophilia. Sometimes, it can be a little too much to entirely dedicate your time to audiophilia. After all, you can’t take your record player on the bus to work. In these times, you are likely to turn to a streaming platform like Spotify for help.
Magnolia Record Club
Founded by Nashville singer-songwriter Drew Holcomb (pictured below on one of his own releases), the service began with a gift from his wife Ellie. She bestowed her new husband Drew with a record player as a wedding present which inspired a love for the vinyl format that he had not otherwise experienced. This inevitably led him to believe that he could do things differently from the rest, aiming to offer a music curation service led by real human beings.
Thus, those who are indebted to the artists that they love might want to check the Magnolia Record Club to see whether one of their favorite artists has guest-curated one of the months before. Taking great pride in the fact that their service is entirely ‘curated by artists, not robots’, this record club is founded on the idea that music is better when recommended by another human.
Final Tone
So, there you have it! Hopefully, you are now feeling as informed about the ins and outs of Vinyl Moon as you wish to be!
FAQs VinylMoon
Is Vinyl Moon worth it?
This remains to be seen by each individual user. For every record collector who might benefit from the selections curated by Vinyl Moon, there is likely an equal number who think it a waste of time to discover new artists in this way. Not to mention the fact that Vinyl Moon seems like a pretty corrupt company, if reviews online are anything to go by.
What is Vinyl Moon about?
The idea behind Vinyl Moon is to help newer artists to achieve more exposure by releasing their music on a monthly mixtape-like compilation alongside championing visual arts and encouraging collaboration between the two mediums.
Is vinyl still a thing?
Indeed it is. Though many thought it was dead and buried, there has always been a sturdy and loyal following in the underground, and, in the mid-00s, the medium took off again for various reasons pertaining to cultural nostalgia.
Can you make a playlist on vinyl?
While you can’t technically make a playlist on a vinyl record – certainly not without having your own lathe and cutting machine to hand – Vinyl Moon seeks to do a similar kind of thing with their monthly mixtape-style curations of music.
