Unique Distribution bites the dust
cardova
743 Posts
Oh well, there goes another one..."January 11, 2008Re: Unique Music Corp. d/b/a Unique DistributorsTo Our Customers: It is with deep regret that Unique Music Corp. d/b/a Unique Distributors will be closing our business this month. Unfortunately, our lender has decided not to continue financing our operations and we have no ability to continue purchasing product to sell absent that support. Over the coming weeks, we will be communicating with you concerning any outstanding balance that you owe our company, along withdetermining your interest in acquiring any of our remaining inventory. We know that you will continue to deal with us as fairly as you havedone in the past during this difficult process. We truly appreciate your support over the past 27 years and we deeply regret our inability to continue servicing you. We wish you all the luckin the future and hope that you will be able to find new suppliers for your needs. Sincerely,Robert MillerPresident"
Comments
I haven't been on SS in a minute and maybe you already know but SYNTAX distro is gone as of today I believe. They were big, bigger than unique I think.
I don't have what they sent but they said something like downloads plus the increased price of everything having to do with record distribution was the cause.
I would imagine the cost of oil has greatly affected distribution. Import vinyl prices have gone up a lot also recently so you have to wonder if distribution for imports will continue or also bite the dust.
Personally I can't believe Traffic is holding out. They ask 4.99 to 6.99 for domestic singles which means a $10+ single for the consumer. We stopped buying them because no one wants to pay that. I straight up told them once their vinyl was too expensive. "It's good and people are buying it". There was a time when a $5.99 chi-ali re-ish 12" was something people wanted but the same record for $8.99 is not so desirable.
"Syntax To Shutter
January 10, 2008 - Dance | Indies
By Cortney Harding, N.Y.
As reported on the Daily Swarm, dance music distributor Syntax will cease operations tomorrow (January 11). In an email message, Syntax cited "Digital distribution, closing stores, a weak dollar, a poor economy and the rising cost of every aspect of distributing vinyl" as being responsible for their decline.
Syntax opened in July of 1997 and specialized in distributing underground dance music and DJ supplies. They are based in Long Island City, New York."
Basically, what Zach said.
Also, Zach, i never thanked you for the hospitality when i was down there this past summer. So, thank you!
Still can't bring myself to open that Quas 12"...
But droppin like flies...
I used to work for Groove Distribution, and they're still fam so I'll big them up. They're mainly on the import tip. I'm not sure what they currently are doing, but they used to be hookup for all the GAMM stuff, Raw Fusion, and tons of other stuff in that vein. Catalist and Delay know whats up.
They're hanging in there, but around the time I left the weak dollar was already beginning to wreak havoc on the exchange rate and, consequently, their wholesale prices. That's something that's going to hurt any import distributor.
im glad they are still going. that where all the hot stuff came from to me as far as beats go.
this business is tough on that end. as far as import style dj shops there seems to be no distros left! every place we ordered from where i worked is gone. they had to start ordering directly from uk for imports. now all the distros that carried domestic product are going.
Traffic has different owners than landspeed did. owners went separate ways for a reason...
traffic is about as stand-up as you can be in this business, and i would never wish someone to go under...
in fact, i have had great experiences with them.
if everyone folds, who is going to pay to press records? or have the business relationships to be able to press up more than 500?
i hope he does find a way to keep supporting up and coming artists, and keeps on pressin' (records that is)
One of the same people who ran Landspeed runs Traffic. Therefore the fuckwad ripped me off. Again....I hope they go under. I will change my opinion if you want to pay me back the money they owe me, but if not then fuck them.
also, hope your loss wasn't too great ... never fun to get burned
we agree to disagree........
I can vouch for homie's claim regarding Landspeed. The motherfuckers were hell bent on NOT paying a label for product SOLD. Always with some bullshit and always threatening to put them in collection. I hope they go down in flames so I can piss on their ashes.
Revolver was the only distributor I worked with that did it right. Everyone else tried to snag you into their shady ass P&D deals, where they'd get funny with the numbers when it came time for them to break you off your share. If you didn't fall for the okey-doke, they'd take in your product, sell through, and try to order more stuff without first paying for what they sold. A bunch of Frickin' thieves & frustrated musicians who lack the creativity and balls to put out their own records. The whole record game needs to be re-structured.
For real? Sorry to sound like an idiot in this thread, but this is all news to me. Since I left Groove i've been totally out of touch with that whole scene.
Goya and SoulSeduction were the guys selling Groove some of their best stuff.
It's a daisy-chain clusterfuck. Overseas distributors close, an importer like Groove has less to sell. Plus all the old-school stores that kept the distributors alive (Vinylmania, Dance Trax, etc) are closing down, so there's less people to sell to now. It's like chinese finger cuffs.
Groove sells (or used to, perhaps) sell hella shit to labcabin. Now Labcabin's starting to offer a lot of digital releases, so that's going to mean they'll sell less and less vinyl eventually. That puts more squeeze on Groove. It's a big cycle.
It's getting re-structured as we speak. The brick and mortar distributors are dying off like dinosaurs. As an artist/label, you're not even going to need them. It's going to be too pricey to press vinyl anyway, so a lot of these little indies are going to go digital. Then the promotion, distribution, and sales is all up to you. It's good, I guess. It means then the music gets by on its merit, not on whether someone pushed it harder, or fucked up and didn't push it hard enough.
btw, what the hell is Labcabin? I typed turn table lab (without the spaces) and LabCabin pops up after I post. is this a mac virus for real?
What gives you the idea that the Internet removes that aspect of
tha_game? If anything, when music is mainly promoted over the Internet
then hype & promotion abilities become more crucial than ever, with
infinite competition and endless small & insular communities to be reached.
You don't think there is already money and influence behind what gets
highlighted on youtube and myspace, what makes the main page at Pitchfork?
Same game, different arena.
It's just a code trick, like how if you try to type fucking it will come
out Frickin' and how if you type Amy Winehouse it SHOULD come out "bacon."
Some can say turntablelab anytime they want, though
i totally don't doubt that people had bad experiences with Landspeed. but that is exactly my point, Landspeed... not Traffic. different companies...many different people involved. they parted ways for a reason. thats all i'm saying.
you know... you seem like a nice enough person, but you really need to shut the hell up on this one. Yes the owner of Traffic is only 1/2 of Landspeed, so let's be gracious and say that he only owes me half of what Landspeed ripped me (and maaaaany others) off for. This is still a lot of money, and basically he just gets to walk away free of obligation. I realize you claim to ride hard for Traffic. Maybe you work for them, or have friends there, or have had good experiences with them distributing items for you. Whatever the case may be, this 1/2 former owner of Lanspeed RIPPED ME OFF. He owes me money or my records back, plain and simple. Please get that through your head, and stop standing up for a thief, as it is really pissing me off.
A,
What product was it? *****s?
Sorry to hear they took you for some loot. Shit, I lost cash through my own family near the end.
C'est La Vie... But it's on some serious bullshit.
Historically, whenever a music distributor became "over extended" they simply closed shop, claimed bankrupcy and opened up under another name, never to pay their existing debts AND keeping all of the stock they claimed they had sold and never gotten paid for.
My first lesson was with the company with the initials GW in California. This was in the early 80's and I was involved with an artist, re-releasing a very rare LP he had recorded in the 50's for the King label.
I contacted them to see if they wanted to carry this title and they enthusiastically ordered 100 copies and informed me their payment terms were 90 days.
At about the 80 day mark they called me, said the LP was selling great, assured me payment was coming within the next two weeks and ordered another 100 copies. Like an idiot I sent them the second 100 copies before receiving payment for the first 100.
Then the fun started.
When the initial payment never arrived I started to call them only to be blown off with excuses of financial trouble. After months of trying to get paid I was sent a note that the company was defunct and that I would not receive payment.
I was never paid a penny for any of the 200 LP's nor were any of them returned.
This is a tale that I have now heard from numerous people with similar stories about various distributors worldwide.
But the WORST tale is that of a guy who started a psych music distributorship in the Midwest with the intent of ripping people off from the get go. This is known because he told at least one person that "I'm a distributor now, I can screw these small labels and just claim bankrupcy....which is exactly whet he did.
This sleazebag stiffed many a small label, even putting a few of them out of business. While he was operating there were tales, from him, about traveling through Europe living the life of bonvivant psych dealer. Then one day he closes shop, chalks it up to being a "bad businessman" and leaves many people hanging without payment. I pursued and bugged this person enough to finally get most of my money back, but I was one of the few.
If the internet provides one good thing to the music industry it will be the elimination of the "distributor" and I heartily support this idea.
The idea that they removed a bad apple and are now running business completely above board is laughable.
It's great that they treated you well and all but you are certainly in the minority.
P.S. I'm not on a bashing spree, I really do like many of the projects they've released and "reissued" over the years. Lotta good stuff. Kudos to them.
P.P.S. Great read above Rockadelic, I wholeheartedly agree.
Peace in the Streets.