I need the latest hot music, on vinyl!

January 9, 2011 6:04 PM

I'm beginning to DJ using vinyls instead of digital files. Where can I acquire the latest singles (i.e. Katy Perry's "Firework", Far East Movement's "Like A G6", etc.) without buying entire albums on vinyl?
posted by Askiba to Media & Arts (13 answers total)

Where are you buying records now? You live in Chicago; there must be a ton of actual vinyl shops that you should go to.

Discogs shows no vinyl version of Firework was released, and the only vinyl version of "Like a G6" is a bootleg. Discogs may actually be a good place to find sellers in your area. Or GEMM.
posted by mkb at 6:12 PM on January 9, 2011

Response by poster: Hm, good point. I do plan to go physically shopping soon. I imagine that the release of vinyl these days is pretty sporadic. But it's good to know where to start.
posted by Askiba at 6:14 PM on January 9, 2011

Have you considered asking another DJ?
posted by Slinga at 6:55 PM on January 9, 2011

I imagine that the release of vinyl these days is pretty sporadic.

Vinyl is a rising fad right now, although it has not yet encompassed Top 40.
posted by griphus at 6:58 PM on January 9, 2011

Gramophone
posted by rhizome at 7:23 PM on January 9, 2011

DJ-centric record stores. (Check the Yellow Pages...or google your town+record shop.) Also, call up your local radio stations--they probably get a lot of promo stuff they can't get rid of quick enough.

Vinyl is a rising fad right now, although it has not yet encompassed Top 40.

It's actually very much a falling fad since free mp3s, and the ability to DJ with same, became a thing.
posted by Sys Rq at 8:18 PM on January 9, 2011

(P.S. Vinyl is a mass noun. Every time someone pluralizes it with an s, an angel gets its wings caught in a ceiling fan.)
posted by Sys Rq at 8:27 PM on January 9, 2011 [3 favorites]

It's actually very much a falling fad since free mp3s, and the ability to DJ with same, became a thing.

Not in the indie/experimental world. Every single band is releasing their new albums on vinyl, re-releasing old albums on vinyl, and other bands are just skipping CD releases entirely, choosing to release only in digital and/or vinyl.
posted by griphus at 8:37 PM on January 9, 2011

Forgot the link.
posted by griphus at 8:39 PM on January 9, 2011

I know someone in the music industry who released a single on vinyl- She said it was actually quite expensive to do so, from their perspective. Of course, bigger names on bigger labels might be different.

Have you considered final scratch or serato? I know it's hybrid, and probably not quite the experience you were looking for, but it's a bit more fun than straight up digital mixing, if you can't get an authentic vinyl release of something.
posted by sunshinesky at 9:04 PM on January 9, 2011

Find out where your record shops are and go hit 'em. When I was a DJ, half the fun was the hunt for the vinyl itself. If it is a decent place they can special order stuff for you.
posted by medeine at 11:42 PM on January 9, 2011

Most DJs use something like Serato.
posted by phrontist at 1:07 AM on January 10, 2011

Oh, Groove Distribution is in Chicago and newly open to the public.

Ignore this Serato derail. Most DJs are also suckers (self included) and you obviously are trying to not be a sucker.
posted by mkb at 4:09 AM on January 10, 2011