The new partner for the GW2 Vinyl is a big downgrade for people outside of the US

[Phil.1074]

Cheers People,

prior Vinyls were distributed through Iam8Bit or their stockists (for Europe this was BlackScreenRecords for example).

BSR offered phenomenal customer support, low shipping fees and pre-handling of taxes (If any were applicable). Materia has nothing of the like and actually obscene shipping prices. Example for shipping to Germany:

• "First Class Package International: €47,88
• UPS Worldwide Expedited®: €52,45
• UPS Worldwide Saver®: €58,11
• Priority Mail International: €74,46
• Priority Mail Express International: €87,60"

For comparison Iam8bit wants "$28.66" for shipping, lets round that up to 30€ and they're still cheaper.

Oh and another goody from their site "Returns for damaged products are available to US customers only."

 

Who decided that this was a good idea?

[Stix.9241]

Funny, I was just looking at this. I would love to collect all of the vinyls, but in the UK getting hold of them seems a nightmare. Only End of Dragons and SotO seem to be available now and as you say, shipping is ridiculous.

Seems like they are looking to make all the music available on multiple platforms though which is great, but not a comparison to vinyl sadly. 

[Spectral Spiral.6109]

We have just secured pre-order availability in the EU from Black Screen Records https://blackscreenrecords.com/products/guild-wars-2-secrets-of-the-obscure?variant=45247833080074

 

[Ashen.2907]

3 minutes ago, Spectral Spiral.6109 said:

We have just secured pre-order availability in the EU from Black Screen Records https://blackscreenrecords.com/products/guild-wars-2-secrets-of-the-obscure?variant=45247833080074

 

Thank you for the timely update. Very much appreciated.

[Tiamat.8254]

Will there ever be CDs? 

[Gehenna.3625]

27 minutes ago, Tiamat.8254 said:

Will there ever be CDs? 

Just out of curiosity (I have hundreds of CDs that I never play anymore), between streaming services like Spotify, YouTube, etc. what place/function do CDs still have for you?

[RoseofGilead.8907]

19 minutes ago, Gehenna.3625 said:

Just out of curiosity (I have hundreds of CDs that I never play anymore), between streaming services like Spotify, YouTube, etc. what place/function do CDs still have for you?

I'm not Tiamat, but I still collect CDs with either cool artwork or that are from artists/projects I really care about. I do still keep a CD case with about 20 CDs in my car, too, for when the mood strikes.

[Tiamat.8254]

44 minutes ago, Gehenna.3625 said:

Just out of curiosity (I have hundreds of CDs that I never play anymore), between streaming services like Spotify, YouTube, etc. what place/function do CDs still have for you?

I don't have a record player, but I do actually still listen to CDs, quite regularly actually. I like having something physical, I like looking at the art work and inlays. Take the recent release of final fantasy 7 rebirth, the soundtrack comes in a beautifully presentation case, lovely artwork inside, something you don't get with streaming. Streaming is great, but it feels empty. I often listen to select tracks instead of the album as it was intended. 

So yes, they still have a place for me. I don't get the fuss about vinyl personally. But each to their own. 

All I'm saying is, why go to the fuss of only putting the soundtracks on vinyl. Would it really hurt to have CDs as well?

Edited April 4 by Tiamat.8254
typo

[zaced.7948]

3 hours ago, Gehenna.3625 said:

Just out of curiosity (I have hundreds of CDs that I never play anymore), between streaming services like Spotify, YouTube, etc. what place/function do CDs still have for you?

imagine people wanting to OWN a thing they paid for. i know, unheard these days.

[Fueki.4753]

10 hours ago, Gehenna.3625 said:

Just out of curiosity (I have hundreds of CDs that I never play anymore), between streaming services like Spotify, YouTube, etc. what place/function do CDs still have for you?

Some people want to actually buy and own stuff.

Not everyone wants to merely rent things on "service" platforms that have the power to arbitrarily disable content people have paid for.

Edited April 5 by Fueki.4753

[Phil.1074]

12 hours ago, Spectral Spiral.6109 said:

We have just secured pre-order availability in the EU from Black Screen Records https://blackscreenrecords.com/products/guild-wars-2-secrets-of-the-obscure?variant=45247833080074

 

Thanks for the Update. The BSR offer went online just about 7 hours after I originally posted this.

 

I also see that the original news post has been updated to include the EU-Link. Thank you whoever is responsible for that 🙂

[Danikat.8537]

11 hours ago, Gehenna.3625 said:

Just out of curiosity (I have hundreds of CDs that I never play anymore), between streaming services like Spotify, YouTube, etc. what place/function do CDs still have for you?

I'm not the person you asked but for me it's a good mix of convenience and having a physical copy that can't be changed or removed by a company. It means I don't have to worry about it disappearing because contracts change or the artists have a falling out or decide they don't like a song or a whole album any more and don't want it included in their catalogue. Or going the other way finding it's been replaced with a "remastered" or "enhanced" version which sounds different.

I know a lot of people say vinyl has better sound quality because it's analogue (although I think that's counteracted by my cheap record player), but if I want to listen to a physical copy I'll usually pick the CD because it's quicker to set up.

Also it's easier to copy CDs to the computer (yes I also still have a disc drive, and games on discs) so I can have digital offline copies. I still have an MP3 player too because I'm often in places with little/no wifi and I don't want to waste my phone battery when I don't know how much I'll need it before I can change it again.

[Gehenna.3625]

10 hours ago, zaced.7948 said:

imagine people wanting to OWN a thing they paid for. i know, unheard these days.

4 hours ago, Fueki.4753 said:

Some people want to actually buy and own stuff.

Not everyone wants to merely rent things on "service" platforms that have the power to arbitrarily disable content people have paid for.

 I do understand the desire to own things, that's why I buy vinyl and I used to buy CDs for a long time (doh). For me, though, CDs have lost their appeal because for digital music is much easier to use streaming services (at least that's how I see it). I don't really understand this backlash, just because I'm interested in finding out someone's reasoning that's different than mine.

[Gehenna.3625]

13 hours ago, Tiamat.8254 said:

I don't have a record player, but I do actually still listen to CDs, quite regularly actually. I like having something physical, I like looking at the art work and inlays. Take the recent release of final fantasy 7 rebirth, the soundtrack comes in a beautifully presentation case, lovely artwork inside, something you don't get with streaming. Streaming is great, but it feels empty. I often listen to select tracks instead of the album as it was intended. 

So yes, they still have a place for me. I don't get the fuss about vinyl personally. But each to their own. 

All I'm saying is, why go to the fuss of only putting the soundtracks on vinyl. Would it really hurt to have CDs as well?

Thanks for answering. I can definitely see where you're coming from. As for your question, I think a lot more people collect vinyl because of streaming services rather than CDs so there might be a poor business case for bringing out stuff on CD as well.  I mean I also know a lot of people who buy vinyl as collector's items but don't actually have a record player. 🤷‍♂️

2 hours ago, Danikat.8537 said:

I'm not the person you asked but for me it's a good mix of convenience and having a physical copy that can't be changed or removed by a company. It means I don't have to worry about it disappearing because contracts change or the artists have a falling out or decide they don't like a song or a whole album any more and don't want it included in their catalogue. Or going the other way finding it's been replaced with a "remastered" or "enhanced" version which sounds different.

I know a lot of people say vinyl has better sound quality because it's analogue (although I think that's counteracted by my cheap record player), but if I want to listen to a physical copy I'll usually pick the CD because it's quicker to set up.

Also it's easier to copy CDs to the computer (yes I also still have a disc drive, and games on discs) so I can have digital offline copies. I still have an MP3 player too because I'm often in places with little/no wifi and I don't want to waste my phone battery when I don't know how much I'll need it before I can change it again.

Thank you for answering also, I do have a disc drive for my PC btw 🙂 but that's for things I have on CD that I bought in the past and are not available on streaming services. But yeah, thanks for explaining your experience.

Analogue sounds less perfect than digital by definition but that's also perhaps why it feels more life-like to some people, but it's also because it's a much more visceral experience. I guess I just see digital music as a convenience factor. I grew up in a time before CDs existed, so I grew up with records and cassettes. For me CDs were about convenience when they came out because the were smaller than records but didn't tick the collector side for me because they were so small by comparison.

All in all, I think there's a bigger market for vinyl than CDs these days and that's why they probably don't bring things out on CD a lot anymore

 

 

[Fueki.4753]

36 minutes ago, Gehenna.3625 said:

 I do understand the desire to own things, that's why I buy vinyl and I used to buy CDs for a long time (doh). For me, though, CDs have lost their appeal because for digital music is much easier to use streaming services (at least that's how I see it). I don't really understand this backlash, just because I'm interested in finding out someone's reasoning that's different than mine.

You may be fine with renting stuff on "services" that are free to take down the content that you paid for when they feel like it.

Other people despise that.

And then there also people who generally hate that more and more things in their lives get digitalized for reasons that feel "just because" to them.

If you still can't understand it, you just have to accept that people have different opinions.

[Tiamat.8254]

3 hours ago, Gehenna.3625 said:

 All in all, I think there's a bigger market for vinyl than CDs these days and that's why they probably don't bring things out on CD a lot anymore

I wish that were true. Quite often soundtracks I listen to sell out of the first run of CDs very quickly. I think in the case of the gw2 soundtracks they aren't expecting anyone to listen to the vinyl but rather just display it somewhere which is a real waste. I would love to know how many people here have a record player and use it... 

[TheNecrosanct.4028]

36 minutes ago, Tiamat.8254 said:

I wish that were true. Quite often soundtracks I listen to sell out of the first run of CDs very quickly. I think in the case of the gw2 soundtracks they aren't expecting anyone to listen to the vinyl but rather just display it somewhere which is a real waste. I would love to know how many people here have a record player and use it... 

Got a record player and a full stereo set, with a few thousands CD's and a few hundred vinyl records. I actually don't use any music streaming services, never have and it's unlikely I ever will. When I do listen to music on my computer it's on iTunes and it's self-compiled playlists that I shuffle. I'm a music junkie, always have been, so I collect what I like. And physical copies are the only way for me. Then again, I come from a time when people actually knew all the names of band members, who produced the album and in which studio, etc. There's also too much music I listen to that you don't find on these commercial streaming services, so that's another reason I am not encouraged to use streaming services. My husband had a Spotify account and when I started looking what was on offer there were just too many things I couldn't find.

I am the same with other forms of media, movies, games, etc. Books as well. I don't do audiobooks and I've never used a reader. Instead I have bookcases with hundreds of books I've collected over the decades. I also have a thing for special editions, hardcover books, extras on BluRays. I've been doing this for more than 30 years now (Gen-X here, born in 1977) and don't see this ever changing, unless they stop making physical media altogether.

[Tiamat.8254]

34 minutes ago, TheNecrosanct.4028 said:

Got a record player and a full stereo set, with a few thousands CD's and a few hundred vinyl records. I actually don't use any music streaming services, never have and it's unlikely I ever will. When I do listen to music on my computer it's on iTunes and it's self-compiled playlists that I shuffle. I'm a music junkie, always have been, so I collect what I like. And physical copies are the only way for me. Then again, I come from a time when people actually knew all the names of band members, who produced the album and in which studio, etc. There's also too much music I listen to that you don't find on these commercial streaming services, so that's another reason I am not encouraged to use streaming services. My husband had a Spotify account and when I started looking what was on offer there were just too many things I couldn't find.

I am the same with other forms of media, movies, games, etc. Books as well. I don't do audiobooks and I've never used a reader. Instead I have bookcases with hundreds of books I've collected over the decades. I also have a thing for special editions, hardcover books, extras on BluRays. I've been doing this for more than 30 years now (Gen-X here, born in 1977) and don't see this ever changing, unless they stop making physical media altogether.

You're my hero 💗 

[Gehenna.3625]

4 hours ago, Fueki.4753 said:

You may be fine with renting stuff on "services" that are free to take down the content that you paid for when they feel like it.

Other people despise that.

And then there also people who generally hate that more and more things in their lives get digitalized for reasons that feel "just because" to them.

I'm not fine with that. I buy music on vinyl and I used to buy it on CD but since then I didn't really have a use for CDs anymore so I just wondered why they did.

4 hours ago, Fueki.4753 said:

If you still can't understand it, you just have to accept that people have different opinions.

Please learn to read Fueki. I asked the following:

Just out of curiosity (I have hundreds of CDs that I never play anymore), between streaming services like Spotify, YouTube, etc. what place/function do CDs still have for you?

And a couple of people answered and explained, so now I understand where they're coming from.

So I saw a different opinion and asked about it. Then I learned about their opinion. How does that constitute me "still not understanding it"?

[Fueki.4753]

10 minutes ago, Gehenna.3625 said:

How does that constitute me "still not understanding it"?

Your posts seemed to indicate that you think digital goods would objectively be superior (when in reality they are not) and you couldn't understand why people used a perceived inferior medium (CDs) instead of streaming "services".

But, this could just have been a misunderstanding caused by nuance getting lost in text-only communication.

[Zinchmwah.2067]

15 minutes ago, Tiamat.8254 said:

You're my hero 💗 

Higher quality audio. Meta data tagging and album art on audio files. Compression/decompression with out data loss when ripping with ALAC. 50% sound enhance + Electronic equalizer. An AE5 Soundblaster and loud speakers. This is why I still collect CDs. My 8Stops7 - In Moderation album just came in yesterday. I enjoyed it.

[Zok.4956]

5 hours ago, Gehenna.3625 said:

I do understand the desire to own things, that's why I buy vinyl and I used to buy CDs for a long time (doh). For me, though, CDs have lost their appeal because for digital music is much easier to use streaming services (at least that's how I see it). I don't really understand this backlash, just because I'm interested in finding out someone's reasoning that's different than mine.

I still buy CDs and then I convert them into some lossless audio formats like ALAC and FLAC, put them on my NAS and use those. The 16 Bit/44.1 kHz of the CDs still has a better quality than the audio streaming of most streaming services. And I can be sure that I can hear the music whenever I want. I don't need a subscription. And I can be sure that these files will not be removed from me at some point just because they have been removed from some provider's offering.

[Gehenna.3625]

Just now, Zok.4956 said:

I still buy CDs and then I convert them into some lossless audio formats like ALAC and FLAC, put them on my NAS and use those. The 16 Bit/44.1 kHz of the CDs still has a better quality than the audio streaming of most streaming services. And I can be sure that I can hear the music whenever I want. I don't need a subscription. And I can be sure that these files will not be removed from me at some point just because they have been removed from some provider's offering.

Ah that's actually something I never considered. I might go back to my CD collection and turn them into FLAC files. Gonna be a big project cause I probably still have 500-600 CDs lol. To be honest I haven't had much experience with a provider removing something I listen to. It happened a couple of times but not recently. 

[Zinchmwah.2067]

Got any rare to find albums? Like "Away" by CoRe. I'll take some off of your hands if you don't care about them. 😅

[Gehenna.3625]

11 minutes ago, Zinchmwah.2067 said:

Got any rare to find albums? Like "Away" by CoRe. I'll take some off of your hands if you don't care about them. 😅

Oh I will definitely keep them lol. I do still care about the collection I have. I just don't play them anymore (unless they're the type that wouldn't be on a streaming service), which is why I wondered why people still buy new CDs. Well, I got my answers now and a couple of good ideas on top of that 😉

as a sidenote: I've never even heard of "CoRe" 😂