Releasing An Album On Dead Formats

It's been quit the thing to do in recent years to release an album on a format that was dead and gone. For a while that was vinyl, then 8-track was the thing to do. No one would be able to play it, but it was good for the PR value.

But how about release an album in just about every format ever used? That's what British musician Trevor Jackson did with his new Format album, making it available in no less than 12 different delivery formats.

Format is available in three sizes of vinyl (12, 10 and 7 inch), CD and mini-CD, reel to reel, USB stick, cassette, VHS, MiniDisc, DAT and 8 track. If none of those work for you, it'll also be available digitally in March.

It'll be interesting to see how many of each format is actually sold (my bet is that VHS and DAT will be the least), but it will be even more interesting to find out just how many of those buyers actually played the thing.

The album is being released by Jackson's label The Vinyl Factory, and actually doesn't have any new material, since it's made up of remastered and re-edited tracks from his previous records.

This might seem like just a PR stunt, but it got us talking about it, so it worked. That said, it still has a way to go to compete with OK Go's DNA album, which was literally released as organic DNA.

The 10 Most Expensive Records Of 2014

People love to collect things, and paying stupid amounts of money for a collectible is something that's pretty common to feed the obsession. Vinyl records are no exception, but you have to wonder why some records are worth so much.

The Vinyl Factory recently posted the 10 most expensive records sold on the Discogs trading site so far this year. If you've heard of more than 2 of these then you are indeed a serious collector.

1. Coil – Gold Is the Metal (With the Broadest Shoulders) (1987), $1,889 
2. Bernard Purdie – Lialeh (1974), $1,875
2. Necros – Sex Drive (1981), $1,875 
2. Mammut – Mammut (1971), $1,875 
2. Dr. Z – Three Parts to My Soul (1971), $1,875 
2. Nicholas Greenwood – Cold Cuts (1972), $1,875 
2. Lee More – Free and Easy (1981), $1,875
2. Vicious Visions – I Beat You / No No’s (1983), $1,8752
2. Old Man & The Sea – The Old Man & The Sea (1972), $1,875 
2. Various – Sonatas for Violins (1964), $1,875

If you take notice there are 10 titles, but 9 of them sold for the same amount - $1,875.

What's the big attraction? Most are limited collectors items. For instance, the Coil record was one of only 55 pressed (you can listen to a sample here).

It's pretty cool to see the great drummer Bernard Purdie on the list though.

Any bets that the buyers of these records never actually listen to them?

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