The Rise of Fan Choice in the Music Industry

Vinyl Bay 777 takes a brief look at Warner Music Group’s new vinyl-only label that lets music fans choose what they release

On Tuesday, Warner Music Group unveiled a new vinyl-only record label that they recently launched. Dubbed Run Out Groove, it is the only label of its kind right now who’s releases rely on fan participation. Each month, the label will choose three titles for fans to vote on with the most popular choice getting a limited pressing. The label’s first fan-chosen release is Echo & the Bunnymen’s ‘It’s All Live Now,’ a collection of live material from a 1985 Swedish tour, which is up for pre-order right now. Fans can currently vote on the next release, choosing between recordings from Golden Smog, Solomon Burke and Secret Machines.

Run Out Groove plays into a recent development in the music industry towards a more fan-centric listening experience. Music has never been more in the hands of the people listening than in our current internet age. Fans have the ability to discover and listen to new music at the touch of a button. An artist can have their fans help them fund a new album based on how much the fans want to hear new music from them. It was only a matter of time before one of the major labels acquiesced.

Vinyl records have also become profitable again. Over the last 10 years, vinyl sales have surged among those that still want physical music mediums. In 2016 report, records were the only physical medium to see any sort of sales increase at all.

Historically, major labels are notorious for being set in their ways in terms of how they release new music. Instead of listening to what an artist wants or how fans are interacting with the music, they continue to do what has been profitable in the past. Only recently have they been trying to embrace the current state of music, embracing downloads, streaming and other “alternative” means of releasing music.

Now, I realize that a label letting fans choose from three pre-selected options doesn’t quite equate to someone choosing to help fund an artist making an album or listening to Spotify. However, it does say something about how labels can start to cater more towards the customer buying the product and better serve them. Even if it is only in controlled amounts, Run Out Groove puts listeners in charge of what they get to listen to next.

While I don’t think all record labels will put an idea like this into effect, Warner Music Group’s attempt at letting the fans decide what Run Out Groove releases is still a small step in trying to understand what some of their listener base is looking for. With the popularity of vinyl and the trend towards pleasing the music fan, this is the perfect time for the label to experiment with such a project.

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Music fans reign supreme at Vinyl Bay 777 and vinylbay777.com. As Long Island’s top new independent record shop, we have a wide selection of new and used vinyl records, CDs, cassettes, DVDs and memorabilia to choose from. We have thousands of titles in stock in store and online with more being added to the collection all the time. Come down and choose what YOU want to listen to.