Ik heb mijn afstudeerstage gelopen bij Fog Mountain Records waar ik tevens mede-eigenaar van ben. Fog Mountain is een progressief platen label, wat abstracte techno uitbrengt. Het label is ontstaan uit een behoefte, omdat een vriend van ons een album af had, maar het niet kon uitbrengen bij een plantenlabel waar bij zicht verbonden bij voelde.

Fog Mountain vind dat muziek het best tot zijn recht komt op vinyl. We hebben meerder platen uitgebracht op vinyl, maar kregen deze moeilijk verkocht. Ik heb mijn scriptie gewijd aan het onderzoeken ven wat de behoefte van de consument is om muziek op vinyl aan te schaffen. Om hier een passend concept bij te maken.

Naast het maken van mijn scriptie had ik ook de taak om de communicatie en marketing van Fog Mountain te doen. Ik doe ook de financiën en de productie van Fog Mountain.

Thesis Management Summary

The  Fog Mountain Records (FMR) asked me to do research about the motivations of consumers when it comes to buying music on vinyl. In spite of the increasing sales vinyl records over the past ten years (Nielsen, 2017), FMR is dealing with a surplus of vinyl and they wanted a solution for these unsold records. What’s the motivation for consumers to still buy vinyl while it’s an inconvenient and expensive medium compared to the digital media of nowadays (Bots, 2012)?

The purpose of the research is to advise FMR on how to sell their vinyl records that they still have in stock.

The consumer continues to buy music on vinyl, because they want to have an extraordinary experience while listening to vinyl records. In addition to owning something physically, The consumer doesn’t get this experience when they listen to music on another medium like, a computer or digital device. Another factor is that a vinyl record is a lot bigger than other music carriers, which gives the opportunity to add additional information on the cover and to make the artwork more attractive. For older people listening to vinyl also has a nostalgic and emotional value. They see their vinyl collection as a kind of diary, in which every record brings back a different memory (Bots, 2012).

While young people find their music online on streaming platforms such as Spotify or Apple Music, they still often buy music on vinyl. Because all the music is so easy to find online, it attracts young people to buy their music on vinyl. Music on vinyl is rare which gives a feeling they don’t have while listening to digital music. The consumer indicates that when they listen to music on vinyl, they are more conscious with listening to music (Bartmanski & Woodward, 2015). When they are listening to music on vinyl and don’t like the number, they don't skip it to the next one. The vinyl will be played from beginning until the end. Experiencing how the artist composite the album.

Because there is more demand for vinyl within the last years, there have also been more developments around vinyl. For example, since 2014, there’s a vinyl top 50 that is updated every week. And since 2008, Records Store Day is celebrated worldwide with it’s focus almost exclusively on vinyl’s. Nowadays there are also vinyl-services where consumers can subscribe to, so they receive vinyl records every month at home.

To sell the remaining vinyl records of FMR, it’s advisable to engage a collaboration with a vinyl-service. This’s also good for the brand awareness of FMR. To bring vinyl under attention of the listener. There’s also the opportunity to sell vinyl through Spotify. FMR only print their records once on vinyl, so they’re limited editions. More emphasis can be put on this fact. To sell the vinyl’s in store, they have to go to record stores in order to sell their vinyl’s.

When Fog Mountain Records prints a new vinyl record, it’s important to pay attention to the artwork. Make sure it’s in conjunction with the music. In order to enhance the experience while listening to the music, a photobook can be made that also includes texts about the music and the artist. It’s also possible to print the vinyl plate with a picture, with this it’s more visually attractive and the concept will be extended throughout the entire experience.