June is the start of summer - the season of sunshine, long days and (much needed) holidays! For those of us who have gardens, the flora is beginning to "bloom and grow" (just like the Edelweiss, in the song) - especially the grass! Here in the U.K. we have already had some very warm weather and our meteorologists are predicting a lot of sunshine, with just a little rain - I guess that should cover all eventualities…

I have just spent a fair amount of time looking back over the sales figures and accounts of Sting and Snow and have managed to draw a few somewhat sobering conclusions. Amongst these is the realisation that the days of vinyl are drawing to a close. I feel that I should try and explain this prediction, so here goes…

When I first took on the "mantle of responsibility" as the owner/producer of Sting and Snow Records, there was a great deal of concern about the future of vinyl. Most retail outlets had ceased stocking vinyl - especially 45s - and it looked as though Square Dance callers would soon have to live without plastic. I travelled to Nashville and visited United Record Pressings, where I was very pleased to find that they were set up for a long future (the full report of this is told in the "INFORMATION" drop-down under the article named "Future of Vinyl").

However, I now realise that - as a result of the still declining market for new music - vinyl will soon be gone.

In simple terms, the "problem with plastic" is that it costs so much to produce. Before you can press a single 45, you have to create the "pressing plates", by a very expensive process. When Tom Dillander at Palomino began pressing vinyl, this cost was reduced - by more than 30% - which allowed most Record Companies to stay in business. Since that time two things have happened - 1) the market has continued to decline and - 2) there has been a "move" from vinyl to digital (approximately 40% of all music sold, now, is in a digital format).

The financial effect of this will vary from company to company but I can tell you that - for Sting and Snow - we now depend upon income from digital sales to pay for the shortfall on the cost of the production of vinyl. Put differently, if we stopped selling vinyl, our total unit sales would fall (probably to about 50% - assuming that some vinyl users would "transfer" their allegiance to digital media) - BUT our total financial situation would be significantly better!

We would still not have enough money to pay the full cost of production; there is a "gap" that is paid for (in part) by the callers who make a financial contribution towards the cost of recording the tracks - but it is a fact that without the cost of vinyl production, we would be better off than we are at present. So now - more than ever before - it seems most likely that the vinyl option will soon be gone.

Alternatively, vinyl prices could be increased to reflect the full cost of vinyl production but that would require a very large increase in vinyl prices. The situation is not static it is very dynamic (i.e. constantly changing), I will keep you informed as things develop…

Now for the other news:

BEST SELLER LISTING (positions on the April 2008 listing)
No.2 - Standing Outside The Fire - SNW 605
No.5 - Nowhere Man - SIR 374

NEW RELEASES (June 2008):
Wind Beneath My Wings - SNW 708 - vocal by: Maarten Weijers
B.J. (Big John) / L.J. (Little John) - SIR 522 - Double Instrumental Patter

NEW CD RELEASES - also available on MP3 & Vinyl (in most cases) / (June 2008):
Waliking In Memphis - SIR 408 - Vocal by Robert Björk
Garden Party - SIR 1001 - Vocal by Sören Lindergaard
Whirligig / Nash-Bash - SIR 512 - Double Instrumental Patter

INDIVIDUAL RECORD HISTORIES including ALL THE ADDITIONAL LYRICS:
To find these, just click on the book symbol next to the title on the Catalogue, Future Releases or Latest Releases pages, this month's record histories features our newest singing call release: Wind Beneath My Wings.

If you want to hear how these top-selling recordings sound, just click on the musical note symbol.

Go Squareful! - Paul Bristow (Owner and Producer Sting and Snow Records)