Tuttle et al v Audiophile Music Direct

[The Computer Audiophile]

it's clear I can't communicate this morning. Please disregard anything I posted earlier. it's totally normal that an AAA release is being advertised and released on vinyl.

[botrytis]

35 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

it's clear I can't communicate this morning. Please disregard anything I posted earlier. it's totally normal that an AAA release is being advertised and released on vinyl.

☕☕☕☕

[The Computer Audiophile]

4 minutes ago, botrytis said:

☕☕☕☕

 

[Mike Rubin]

Apropos of this discussion, I have realized that I don't know enough about record production to know what I don't know. 

 

I just read this in connection with yet another Miles Davis reissue (and happy birthday, Miles) :

 

"The albums have all been mastered AAA from 1-to-1 tape transfers of the master tapes by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound." 

 

Before the MoFi dispute popped up, I would have understood that to mean "all analogue, all the way," without digital processing at any stage.  Now, I have no idea.  Does the AAA reference preclude digital steps or does it simply mean that certain steps are analogue? 

[PYP]

It would be interesting to me to learn about the economics of these kinds of reissues.  I have no ideal of the market size for mono recordings.

 

It would also be interesting to know how many people actually play these kinds of records vs. collecting for re-sale to other folks who also don't play them.  Does the value increase if the seller states "Never been touched by a stylus.  Mint condition" ?

[MarcelNL]

2 hours ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

Perhaps my initial post wasn't very clear. I'm not surprised by the release of any album from any artist on vinyl. My surprise is that it's touted as being ALL ANALOG. Given what MoFi just went through and knowing a little about what it takes and the limits of producing an ALL ANALOG album on vinyl, this sounded like it may be too difficult to actually pull off today.

 

2 hours ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

Analog mastering is offered by tons of people and places. 

 

 

I may have misunderstood what you wrote..

[MarcelNL]

58 minutes ago, PYP said:

It would be interesting to me to learn about the economics of these kinds of reissues.  I have no ideal of the market size for mono recordings.

 

It would also be interesting to know how many people actually play these kinds of records vs. collecting for re-sale to other folks who also don't play them.  Does the value increase if the seller states "Never been touched by a stylus.  Mint condition" ?

I'm collecting mono Vinyl in order to play them.... no re-issues for me as I have heard the sonic difference between a 1st press and subsequent ones and reissues. I'll gladly take a VG+ over a mint or near mint, mono is more foregiving anyway.

Means I'll probably not be able to own some records... an original first press Johanna Martzy Bach solo in VG+ is still prohibitively expensive;

https://www.discogs.com/sell/item/2496996812?format=Vinyl&text=Bach-Johanna-Martzy-The-Unaccompanied-Violin-Sonatas-Volume-One&utm_campaign=sell_email_new&utm_source=relationship&utm_medium=pm&ev=wh_new

[PYP]

20 minutes ago, MarcelNL said:

Means I'll probably not be able to own some records... an original first press Johanna Martzy Bach solo in VG+ is still prohibitively expensive;

https://www.discogs.com/sell/item/2496996812?format=Vinyl&text=Bach-Johanna-Martzy-The-Unaccompanied-Violin-Sonatas-Volume-One&utm_campaign=sell_email_new&utm_source=relationship&utm_medium=pm&ev=wh_new

Umm...wow.  That explains some of the economics of this kind of re-issue, especially if you own the tapes and rights as Blue Note does for so much Jazz.  

[sphinxsix]

3 hours ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

it's clear I can't communicate this morning. Please disregard anything I posted earlier. it's totally normal that an AAA release is being advertised and released on vinyl.

Smoke from your neighbors.? ;-) 

I thought this was a problem typical to the Netherlands.. 

[PYP]

3 minutes ago, sphinxsix said:

Smoke from your neighbors.? ;-) 

I thought this was a problem typical to the Netherlands.. 

more likely a gummy that looked appetizing.  

[PYP]

11 minutes ago, PYP said:

more likely a gummy that looked appetizing.  

what Chris didn't mention was that his chickens also accidentally ate gummies.  I hope to see the video of the stoned birds dancing and singing to the music in the backyard.  Would be great for TikTok.  

[firedog]

On 5/26/2023 at 8:06 PM, Mike Rubin said:

 

"The albums have all been mastered AAA from 1-to-1 tape transfers of the master tapes by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound." 

That sounds to me like they made  tape copies of the master tapes and then mastered analog from those. I can imagine that would be done to avoid wear and tear on the original tape masters. 

[Mike Rubin]

1 hour ago, firedog said:

That sounds to me like they made  tape copies of the master tapes and then mastered analog from those. I can imagine that would be done to avoid wear and tear on the original tape masters. 

That's what I was thinking. Nothing in that sentence implies a digital step, though? 

[Rt66indierock]

Only 1,486 claims were received in the class action suit.

[PYP]

9 minutes ago, Rt66indierock said:

Only 1,486 claims were received in the class action suit.

any idea what percentage this is of the total number of owners?  just curious.  

[Rt66indierock]

5 minutes ago, PYP said:

any idea what percentage this is of the total number of owners?  just curious.  

 

Less than 2% at best.

[PYP]

1 minute ago, Rt66indierock said:

 

Less than 2% at best.

that confirms my cranky bias that this was always a tempest in a teapot. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

12 minutes ago, PYP said:

that confirms my cranky bias that this was always a tempest in a teapot. 

Or perhaps a couple people with extra time on their hands to spearhead it. I get it, they thought they were getting one thing and received something else. But, the amount of time and money put into this whole exercise perhaps could've gone to more productive uses. Who knows. 

[PYP]

3 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

Or perhaps a couple people with extra time on their hands to spearhead it. I get it, they thought they were getting one thing and received something else. But, the amount of time and money put into this whole exercise perhaps could've gone to more productive uses. Who knows. 

I do wonder if the reviewer(s) who told everyone these were great before the great reveal put in a claim or not.  But I don't want to go there...  Already enough conflict on our little planet.  

[Jud]

5 hours ago, Rt66indierock said:

 

Less than 2% at best.

That equates to something like 75,000 people with such recordings.

[Rt66indierock]

12 minutes ago, Jud said:

That equates to something like 75,000 people with such recordings.

 

60,000  was kicked around early in the  case. Many on SHF had more than thirty. Could 300 reailers, Walmart etc have reached 75,000 customers themselves? Add about 27,000 direct customers and you get to 100,000 easily.

[Rt66indierock]

On 10/13/2023 at 3:03 PM, Jud said:

That equates to something like 75,000 people with such recordings.

 

The latest information is claims were filed on about 11,400 albums. 60% took the 10% discount.

[Rt66indierock]

Now the fun begins. The judge just asked for an estimate of the monetary value of 2,643 records class members opted to return. And an estimate of the value 1,913 claims for a 5% refund.

[Rt66indierock]

The estimated claims for a 5% refund or a full refund are about $301,000. Refunds of sales tax and shipping are estimated to be $48,000.

Plaintiff’s attorneys are asking for $290,00 in legal fees. Defendants’ legal fees are unknown.

Some class members filed more than one claim, so the actual number of class members is 1,002. The average number of albums per class member was 13.

[PYP]

3 hours ago, Rt66indierock said:

The estimated claims for a 5% refund or a full refund are about $301,000. Refunds of sales tax and shipping are estimated to be $48,000.

Plaintiff’s attorneys are asking for $290,00 in legal fees. Defendants’ legal fees are unknown.

Some class members filed more than one claim, so the actual number of class members is 1,002. The average number of albums per class member was 13.

all in all, do you think this is a good result?  Did plaintiff's get a fair deal and did the company suffer sufficiently for being naughty?