{"id":17286,"date":"2017-05-30T16:16:09","date_gmt":"2017-05-30T23:16:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/?p=17286"},"modified":"2017-05-31T11:12:21","modified_gmt":"2017-05-31T18:12:21","slug":"experience-vinyl-brad-hammonds-jake-fishbein","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/2017\/05\/experience-vinyl-brad-hammonds-jake-fishbein\/","title":{"rendered":"EXPERIENCE VINYL\u2014BRAD HAMMONDS & JAKE FISHBEIN"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Experience<\/h4>\n

VIDEO FEATURE & WEB-EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW<\/h4>\n

EXPERIENCE VINYL<\/strong><\/h1>\n

Experience Vinyl is more than a record a month club. It\u2019s a total customer experience with special concerts and unique member-only benefits. Each month, members will receive a selection of the featured artist-curator\u2019s essential \u201cDesert Island Disc.\u201d Accompanying the record will be a personal description written by or for the artist about why the record is so important. In addition to the curated album, membership may also include a\u00a0unique bonus gift determined in collaboration with the artist\u2014giveaways, trips and invites to Experience Vinyl\u2019s quarterly concerts.<\/p>\n

\"Miles

Miles Davis’ Sketches of Spain – vinyl<\/p><\/div>\n

The initial slate of artist-curators for the Experience Vinyl subscription service includes Elton John, Quincy Jones, George Clinton, Talib Kweli, Carlos Santana, Sean Lennon and more.<\/p>\n

Brad Hammonds\u2019 2014 DesertAlbums.com blog was the initial idea that launched this new venture. He\u2019s also a touring musician who can provide an insider\u2019s unparalleled perspective.<\/p>\n

We talked with founders Brad Hammonds and Jake Fishbein about this innovative idea to help people slow down and appreciate music, and their plans to creative a unique customer experience for their ExperienceVinyl.com subscribers.<\/p>\n

\"Experience

Brad Hammonds<\/p><\/div>\n

EXPERIENCE VINYL\u2014BRAD HAMMONDS & JAKE FISHBEIN Web-Exclusive Interview with\u00a0M Music & Musicians<\/em>\u00a0magazine publisher, Merlin David<\/h3>\n

How did the concept of Experience Vinyl evolve?<\/strong>
\nBrad: I\u2019m a professional touring musician and I started a blog called \u201cDesert Albums,\u201d where I would ask my jazz friends and others to give me their Top 10 favorite albums. I got Vernon Reid of Living Colour, Al Jarreau, Regina Carter (the violinist)\u2014I was doing a lot of jazz at the time. I got a lot of my musician friends, like Mark Guiliana, who is an amazing drummer. Vernon sent me his list, and told me why. And I found out people liked to read about great musicians\u2014why they chose the albums, who influenced them, what inspired them. Out of that, Jake and I started discussions of what medium we can use to get these amazing musicians\u2019 favorite albums out there\u2014and can we expand and get bigger artists to give us their favorite records. Vinyl is back in a big way. It\u2019s beautiful, and feels great. It slows you down. You listen from start to finish.<\/p>\n

\"Jake

Jake Fishbein<\/p><\/div>\n

Tell us a little about your musical background.<\/strong>
\nBrad: I was touring with a duo called Brazz Tree\u2014a violinist and I toured colleges, universities and theaters. I signed Hannah Gill to my record label, when she was 16\u00a0years old. She is now 19, and she has postponed college to do music full time. We recorded an EP, and got a great booking agency that helps with touring. Things are going really well. We had some great press, and we have videos out there. She\u2019s amazing\u2014a big bluesy, deep-sounding voice. It\u2019s a throwback record called The Water<\/em> by Hannah Gill & the Hours. It\u2019s Hannah, me and a big horn section. We play in the city a couple of times a month, and we finished our first national tour this past December.<\/p>\n

Tell us about \u201cAustin\u201d\u2014her most recent video?<\/strong>
\nBrad: I wrote that the morning of a wedding where a guy named Austin was getting married. I\u00a0just woke up and wrote it, and then collaborated with Hannah and others in the studio to bring it to life. We decided to go to Austin TX to shoot the video.<\/p>\n

Jake, you\u2019re the partner and also a writer?<\/strong>
\nJake: I just finished the draft of my first novel. My background is in writing, project coordination and publicity.<\/p>\n

Brad: Jake came on as part of my record label. We work together on the label. We started talking about Experience Vinyl, and we thought \u2018let\u2019s do this too.\u2019 It\u2019s been such a blast doing both, and now we have some more team members to help out with Hannah, so we can focus on Experience Vinyl.<\/p>\n

\"Quincy<\/a>

Quincy Jones<\/p><\/div>\n

When did you get this idea?<\/strong>
\nJake: It was definitely more inspired from Brad\u2019s side\u2014he\u2019s a huge audiophile\u2014vinyl. He has a record player setup in his apartment. I started working with him last summer. We\u2019re both entrepreneurs. He loves creating things, and we both hit upon this shared concept\u2014for the purpose of slowing down. Vinyl is perfect for that\u2014for listening to the entire album and not looking at Facebook, Twitter and Instagram\u2014and baseball game at the same time. It fit perfectly with DesertAlbums.com\u2014Brad\u2019s blog. We honed in on the concept together and got it to this Vinyl of the Month Club curated by these iconic artists.<\/p>\n

This innovative concept will attract all consumers and all music lovers, but who is your specific target audience?<\/strong>
\nBrad: Because we\u2019ve gotten more iconic artists, it\u2019s intended more for 35-50 professionals, with more disposable income, who collect vinyl. Less so, the hipster\u2014although we just signed a curator who will appeal to that target. Because we have a lot of iconic artists, and announcing more in the coming weeks\u2014rock \u2019n\u2019 roll hall of fame platinum artists\u2014we are going to appeal to more of that target demographic. We\u2019re still doing exclusive color vinyl, so we will still appeal to younger vinyl lovers.<\/p>\n

How do you get Artists to be involved?<\/strong>
\nWe have 12-15 in-between stages of signing contracts and signed contracts. When we started, we knew this would be our biggest challenge. Once a few curators signed on, a lot of others signed on. We\u2019re working with Michael Frisch, an entertainment lawyer. He knows a lot of people, but it\u2019s really about going to managers, soliciting, and telling them about the project. Quincy Jones is a huge producer, and he loved the idea and hopped on. Some people are really into the idea. They love music and love talking about why they love it.<\/p>\n

\"Sly

Sly and the Family Stone \u2013 Fresh \u2013 red vinyl<\/p><\/div>\n

That\u2019s probably the toughest part\u2014to get people to commit.<\/strong>
\nJake: By far! (Laughs<\/em>)<\/p>\n

Brad: We were initially in panic mode\u2014no one\u2019s signing on. Is this going to fly? How deep do we have to go? Maybe it\u2019s just Hannah\u2019s picks. (Laughs<\/em>)<\/p>\n

Which curators jumped in?<\/strong>
\nSean Lennon was the first: \u2018Yes, I\u2019ll definitely do this.\u2019 We were excited because we figured he\u2019d pick his dad [John Lennon], and write about him\u2014which would be so epic. Then CeeLo Green, Chris Robinson, and Elton John signed on.<\/p>\n

Who on the jazz side of things signed on?<\/strong>
\nBrad: We have Quincy Jones, and he\u2019s a legend in that world. I would love to get Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Esperanza Spalding. A lot of people are picking Miles Davis and John Coltrane. Michael Frisch works with Ravi Coltrane, John\u2019s son. We\u2019re working on getting him more involved. As a jazz musician, I have Top 10\u2019s from some great jazz artists, and I have a lot of fun seeing those records on lists. We talked with George Clinton about Miles Davis, and those conversations are surreal. I think, \u2018I can\u2019t believe I\u2019m having this experience right now.\u2019 It\u2019s like an out-of-body experience.<\/p>\n

What are you offering that is different from the record clubs of old?<\/strong>
\nOur angle is access to these big rock stars\u2014what are their favorite albums and why they love them. The questionnaires they are answering provide a deep insight into why they picked their albums. Since it is vinyl, it\u2019s exclusive to our members. It will be color. And we have quarterly concerts. We threw a concert with Talib Kweli at the Brooklyn Bowl. We have a lot of membership perks. We\u2019re new, but we want to create an experience. Not just a record a month. We worked with the Brooklyn Bowl in Brooklyn NY for that show. We\u2019re talking about doing an event in LA in a couple of weeks. A portion of the sales goes back to charity. We want to give back to the arts. Elton is giving to his AIDS Foundation. We also want to do some good. At the end of the day, it is entertainment\u2014it\u2019s music, it\u2019s fun.<\/p>\n

How do you communicate with the curators?<\/strong>
\nJake: Michael Frisch is our liaison with the artists. Once they\u2019re signed onboard, then both Brad and I communicate with them. My job is operations\u2014overseeing everything, making sure everything is running smoothly, and staying on top of customer service\u2014creating that experience for our customers. And making sure our website is in line with the experience we want to create. In our office, we throw around ideas all day long\u2014how can we create a better experience for our members. It\u2019s all about the context we create around Experience Vinyl. Our record club is about that experience.<\/p>\n

\"George

George Clinton<\/p><\/div>\n

What are the challenges?<\/strong>
\nBrad: One of the challenges with vinyl right now is that the demand is so high, and there are only so many plants that are vinyl. There\u2019s a long lead time. We have to make sure we forecast properly, but also we\u2019re on top of the labels and the manufacturing of the pressing. It\u2019s been tough, but that\u2019s what Jake is on top of.<\/p>\n

Where are the plants?<\/strong>
\nBrad: There\u2019s one we\u2019ve been working with in LA. And Jack White just opened a big one in Detroit, which is one of the newest. Most of them went out of business, but with the resurgence of vinyl, people found the big systems to make them on eBay, or with plants closing there are these epic stories of people finding machines and opening shop. They are hard to find.<\/p>\n

Who inspired you to collect albums?<\/strong>
\nBrad: I grew up in the grunge world. For me, it\u2019s the age old story. When I used to go to Tower Records, the guy behind the counter would say \u2018Go grab this album.\u2019 I would come home with a record and put it on, and look through the liner notes\u2014and read the lyrics. Sit there with it. Now, it\u2019s much more passive listening. With whatever artist for me\u2014Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel\u2014that idea of actually sitting down and putting a record on, and listening to it from start to finish\u2014that\u2019s what I love. Not just working and Spotifying music\u2014although I do that as well. (Laughs<\/em>)<\/p>\n

How does vinyl help create a different experience?<\/strong>
\nBrad: Just slowing way down and looking through the artwork. I used to get so excited\u2014driving home from the record store, with records in my bag, thinking \u2018I can\u2019t wait to get home, open these up, put them on, sit down, and once the first note starts\u2014thinking \u2018oh yes, this is going to be fun.\u2019 It\u2019s magic, and it\u2019s difficult to put your finger on it. I\u2019ve heard of people who don\u2019t have record players, and then they do it and experience that magic\u2014and realize, \u2018Wow. My life just changed.\u2019 That\u2019s when they realize\u2014this is the way it should be. I should spend some time actually listening <\/em>to the music. I\u2019m not saying that passive listening is bad because I do it a lot. While I\u2019m working, I listen to music. But there\u2019s something about conscious active listening that a lot of us are missing out on.<\/p>\n

\"Carlos

Carlos Santana<\/p><\/div>\n

What are your Top 10 Desert Album picks?<\/strong>
\nBrad: If you can get away from thinking what people will think of you, then it\u2019s easy. If not, it\u2019s difficult. A lot of musicians feel they have to pick certain artists because of their perceived persona. But here goes:<\/p>\n

The Rhythm of the Saints<\/em> (1990) \u2013 Paul Simon
\nKid A<\/em> (2000) \u2013 Radiohead
\nFriday Night in San Francisco<\/em> (1981) \u2013 Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin and Paco de Luc\u00eda
\nRage Against the Machine<\/em> (1992) \u2013 Rage Against the Machine
\nLed Zeppelin III<\/em> (1970) \u2013 Led Zeppelin
\nThe Score<\/em> (1996) \u2013 Fugues
\nDilate<\/em> (1996) \u2013 Ani DiFranco
\nLateralus<\/em> (2001) \u2013 Tool
\nShakti with John McLaughlin<\/em> [Live] (1976) \u2013 Shakti
\nUs<\/em> (1992) \u2013 Peter Gabriel<\/p>\n

Jake: People are probably going to judge me anyway, but here goes:<\/p>\n

Zorba the Greek<\/em> [soundtrack] (1965) \u2013 Mikis Theodorakis
\nThe Scarlet Pimpernel<\/em> (1998) \u2013 Original Broadway Cast Recording
\nPolihroma Kai Entona<\/em> (2000) \u2013 Notis Sfakianakis
\nSun<\/em> (2014) \u2013 Thomas Bergersen
\nUltimate Sinatra<\/em> (2015) \u2013 Frank Sinatra
\nTitanic: A New Musical<\/em> (1997) \u2013 Original Cast Recording
\nBest of Glykeria<\/em> (2007) \u2013 Glykeria
\nThe Wild Feathers<\/em> (2013) \u2013 The Wild Feathers
\nDear Agony<\/em> (2009) \u2013 Breaking Benjamin
\nMondo Greece<\/em> (2001) \u2013 Various Artists<\/p>\n

\"Sean

Sean Lennon<\/p><\/div>\n

Do you remember your first concert experience?<\/strong>
\n<\/em>Brad: My first concert was Soundgarden opening up for Gun N\u2019 Roses. It blew my mind.<\/p>\n

Jake: I absolutely love music, and yet my knowledge of it has been severely hindered. My first concert was when I moved to New York City and I saw The Wild Feathers. But when I was in elementary school, listening to Big 98.5 (an oldies station in Albuquerque New Mexico where I grew up), my parents took my brother and me to this oldies concert and the guy sang songs about a bouncing ball. I was 8, and we were the youngest kids in the entire audience. I grew up in the era of Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys and \u2019N Sync\u2014listening to Sinatra, the Beatles, musicals, and Greek music\u2014I was obsessed. I\u2019m a little younger than Brad, so I didn\u2019t grow up in the vinyl era. But I used to ride my bike to the local Borders [bookstore] and flip through the CD stacks\u2014finding cool Greek music. I would play them while I read books. I still know some of those songs but I have no idea what the words mean. (Laughs<\/em>) Just goes to show you the power of music. You don\u2019t need to know what the words are saying to get the meaning behind the songs.<\/p>\n

How many subscribers did you need to launch this?<\/strong>
\nBrad: We wanted a couple of hundred to initially sign up, and we reached our goal. We just want to get as many people to sign up. Now we\u2019ll be happy with whatever we get from here on. Our first record shipped in April\u2014on April 22, 2017\u2014to coincide with Record Store Day. It was Talib Kweli\u2019s pick: A Tribe Called Quest\u2019s Midnight Marauders<\/em>. He also picked John Coltrane\u2019s A Love Supreme<\/em> and Nas\u2019 Illmatic<\/em>. May was George Clinton\u2019s pick: Sly and the Family Stone\u2019s Fresh<\/em>. June will be Carlos Santana\u2019s pick: Miles Davis\u2019 Sketches of Spain<\/em>, etc.<\/p>\n

After you get the curator\u2019s list, what is the turnaround time?<\/strong>
\nJake: For the most part, 99% of the time, we\u2019re working 2-3 months in advance. Getting a curator signed, getting the contract, getting their deliverables, essays, photos, bio, getting the album pressed. We\u2019re already working on late summer right now.<\/p>\n

Do you want your subscribers to know which album they will get?<\/strong>
\nBrad: We are still learning. We\u2019re keeping it close to our chest until the month of\u2014that\u2019s our goal. But maybe we\u2019ll find that people want to know three months in advance. Obviously, it\u2019ll be exclusive, and a colored vinyl. You won\u2019t be able to just go and buy the record, but as of right now, we\u2019re going to list a couple of their Top 10s and leave the Top 3 out until the month.<\/p>\n

\"Talib

Talib Kweli<\/p><\/div>\n

Best advice someone has given you.<\/strong>
\nBrad: From a company perspective, and as a musician, you have to remember it\u2019s music. You can get so bogged down in the rejection or the art of it\u2014which is a very serious aspect of it. But at the end of the day, we all do this because we love it. We started this company because we have a passion for music. I play music because I love it. But the business of music drives people crazy\u2014worrying \u2018How do I make it?\u2019 And I just tell people, take it one day at a time, and love it. You\u2019re doing it because you love it. Don\u2019t do it to \u2018make it.\u2019 Chances are, that probably won\u2019t happen. If it does\u2014amazing. But do it because you love it. We have to constantly remind ourselves. We get overly stressed, and realize\u2014we\u2019re not saving lives here\u2014it\u2019s just records. (Laughs<\/em>) It\u2019s the same with music: \u2018that show was simply awesome\u2014let\u2019s enjoy that.\u2019 You get so bogged down in that arena of success and money\u2014and sometimes forget the art\u2014you forget the purpose.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next?<\/strong>
\nBrad: We have curators we\u2019d love to get\u2014specific goals there\u2014some specific names we\u2019d like to get. But we would love to hit 10,000 subscribers. I don\u2019t know if next year is realistic, but that\u2019s our big goal. And get more involved in concerts. We\u2019re always brainstorming on what other ideas we can do with these artists, aside from just vinyl\u2014which is the medium. The ideas of albums that they love, the deep insight into them. We\u2019ve talked about getting the general public involved and telling us what they love\u2014sharing their top albums. And crowdsourcing records\u2014what records would you love on colored, exclusive vinyl. We want to build it out into an online record store based on our curator\u2019s picks, and potentially build a turntable. I could go on forever. (Laughs<\/em>)<\/p>\n

Where can consumers get more info?<\/strong><\/p>\n

ExperienceVinyl.com<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Hannah

Hannah Gill and The Hours<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

VIDEO FEATURE & WEB-EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW EXPERIENCE VINYL Experience Vinyl is more than a record a month club. It\u2019s a total customer experience with special concerts and unique member-only benefits. Each month, members will receive a selection of the featured artist-curator\u2019s essential \u201cDesert Island Disc.\u201d Accompanying the record will be a personal description written by or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3,7],"tags":[9053,9054,8329,9055,3155,9056,9057,9058,9059,9060,9061,4162,9062,958,9063,9064,9065,9067,9066,9068,9069,1063,9070,2207,9071,9072,3990,3886,9073,8465,9074,5226,9075,9076,988,8155,3408,9077,4935,1271,5302,4315,9078,10161,7566,9079,3010,9080,9081,2121,7978,9082,4826,9084,4947,9085,9083,9086,1857,292,8541,1186,4811,9087,9088,9089,9090,7020,1551,8724,1478,3818,9091,9092,9093,9094,9095,9096,9097,9098,8157,3915,9099,9100,5960],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17286"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17286"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17286\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17306,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17286\/revisions\/17306"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}