… a blog post from Chairman’s Corner.

Hey hey hey everybody. I’m a big believer in the phrase “community is everything”. These three words have always been accurate – and now (IMHO) they’re more true than they’ve ever been. Besides, we’ve always only had each other!

Speaking of community, a couple of us from Spinney Media (yours truly & Rob; pictured above) visited our Portland neighbors over at the awesome Cascade Record Pressing plant today. It was truly amazing to witness the process of vinyl being manufactured, and all of the heart and soul (and quality control!) that goes into creating a physical album. Cascade’s mission is “producing high quality records for discerning artists and labels” – and they’ve been doing so all day everyday for quite some time now.

Some might think, “why bother making physical albums when it’s already so easy to stream everything out there?” or “with everything at the tips of our fingers online, why go out of the way to get physical media”? Well, there are some reasons that many of you have likely heard many times already: physical albums almost always have higher sound quality (as compared to most digital versions), the tangible (and overall richer!) experience of reading liner notes, the collectible value of physical media (which often provides a closer connection to the art and the artists themselves), and even just having the chance to appreciate the visual design of large, glorious artwork found all throughout the front & back covers of so many records (and their inserts for that matter). A song feels a bit more impersonal when it’s rented out from a streaming platform (or just one of many on a playlist), as opposed to being part of a tangible album or single in your physical collection. However, there’s another reason (a huge reason) to embrace the physical world of music on vinyl, cassettes, and CDs: Artist support.

It’s no huge secret that streaming services do not pay very much to artists. By purchasing an album on cassette, vinyl, or CD, you can support an artist directly (putting wayyy more money into their pocket), and at the same time you’ll be able to consume the art and connect with the music on a much deeper (and more personal!) level. Supporting an artist in this way also makes it much easier for them to continue on with creating their music.

There’s something extraordinary about going into that neighborhood record store, talking with the folks in there, and maybe even buying something based on what’s playing inside! There’s also nothing quite like going out to a show and stumbling upon an artist that surprises you with their own style. In a world where a sense of community just might be the most important thing for us all to hold on to (where so many of us are starved for connection), going out to record stores and shows, having conversations, and buying merch are all crucial activities for us music and art lovers. These actions not only build community and feed your soul, but they support artists directly as well.

Cheers,

Jeffrey “Chairman” Couch

Music lover, creator & collector

chairman@spinneymedia.com

Chairman currently enjoys freaking out & creating panic with his spastic rock band Nasalrod, which is based in Portland, Oregon. He created this blog to share his serious love of music, the arts, and physical media.