Anthology Records
I remember reading about Anthology Records prior to the launch a year or so back. It’s up and running now and has a quality, but limited, selection of hard to find records.
Anthology Recordings is the world’s first ever all digital reissue label, its goal to provide an online outlet for rare and out-of-print music of all eras, genres and cultures.
It’s a nice idea, and I think moves in the right direction of having digital releases paired with vinyl reissues, since I’m not sure digital downloads alone are sustainable for these niche releases. Anthology only handles the digital side of things and appears to license releases from various other labels doing the physical reissues.
Tracks are priced similarly to the iTunes music store– 98 cents per track and $9.98/$10.98 for an entire album. Many of the albums featured in their store have appeared in vinyl or CD reissue in the last 5+ years, though some are out of print or hard to find. This might cannibalize their sales, as MP3s of these records are floating around file-sharing sites.
I have a few gripes:
The site is not very clear if the original artists are getting royalties. This information should be explicit. I have faith that Anthology is legit, but it’s not really publicized on their site and in this day in age I don’t think it would hurt to advertise that the actual artists of these somewhat obscure gems are getting money.
It would be nice if the digital files were available for free when you purchased the physical version– it would be a good promotion for the label, and a deal for people who want a hard copy.
There are no links from individual albums to places to purchase their physical counterparts.
There are a couple of my personal favorite albums on the site– Inside the Shadow by Anonymous, Lucifer Rising OST by Bobby Beausoleil, and the almighty Pärson Sound eponymous double disc reissue.
