What's next for Mosaic

[Brad]

1 hour ago, Lyin' Wolf said:

As Brad said, better inventory management is part of a strategy.  I didn't think my remark would have been taken as "this is the single strategy that will save our company".

I'm not a businessman, so perhaps you know better, but inventory management seems like a sound way to control costs.  Having hundreds or thousands of sets sitting on shelves in a warehouse doesn't seem to be very liquid, or smart, to me - especially when no one is buying the product because you may have pressed too many sets. 

Unsold inventory increases overhead costs and thus affects the bottom line and as Lyin' Wolf observes, affects liquidity. 

[David Ayers]

2 hours ago, Brad said:

Unsold inventory increases overhead costs and thus affects the bottom line and as Lyin' Wolf observes, affects liquidity. 

Sure, I just mean they can’t sell sets of which they have zero copies, so no more profits on that investment. 

2 hours ago, Rooster_Ties said:

What, what?  When??

I passed because of SQ issues regarding the live set (the masters were issued in Andorra and have more bass presence and none of the high frequency artefacts), but I’m kicking myself now. I did get a copy of the booklet. 

[Scott Dolan]

11 hours ago, Lyin' Wolf said:

As Brad said, better inventory management is part of a strategy.  I didn't think my remark would have been taken as "this is the single strategy that will save our company".

I'm not a businessman, so perhaps you know better, but inventory management seems like a sound way to control costs.  Having hundreds or thousands of sets sitting on shelves in a warehouse doesn't seem to be very liquid, or smart, to me - especially when no one is buying the product because you may have pressed too many sets. 

All good points. My only thought is there is a fine line somewhere between saving money by keeping iventory low, vs saving money by printing in bulk. I’ve never run a company like that, so I have no idea how easy or difficult that balance may be to find.

Perhaps Chuck can expand on that?

[Justin V]

From how things have been going, I worry that the number of available sets will continue to dwindle down and any recent sets will be pressed in such small quantities that they will go out of print much faster than sets once did, leading to no new sets being released.  As a person whose collection (and life) has been enriched by Mosaic's work, it pains me to say that.  

[Scott Dolan]

There’s always...new music. 

[Justin V]

3 minutes ago, Scott Dolan said:

There’s always...new music. 

Obviously, which is why I go to see a ton of live music and support the artists by buying their music.  I don't think many people here completely ignore current artists in favor of artists who are no longer with us, so save the snark.

[Scott Dolan]

It’s not snark, it was just a response that it pains you to face the reality that even Mosaic would eventually run out of new ways to package material that is already 50-70 years old. 

It’s a rather common theme here, not just you. 

[Brad]

I don’t really agree that they’ve run out of ideas but getting the rights may be challenging, not to mention finding a set that will be a financial success. 

[Clunky]

They could blunder European radio archives.  Lucky Thompson broadcasts (minus Paris) . I’d buy that in s heartbeat 

[Scott Dolan]

19 hours ago, Clunky said:

They could blunder European radio archives.  Lucky Thompson broadcasts (minus Paris) . I’d buy that in s heartbeat 

Best typo ever! 

[Kevin Bresnahan]

20 hours ago, Clunky said:

They could blunder European radio archives.  Lucky Thompson broadcasts (minus Paris) . I’d buy that in s heartbeat 

Isn't that the Resonance Records model though? I have read several stories about the amount of work required to acquire the rights to issue just one of these dates. Wouldn't it be incredibly difficult to do so with enough material for a Mosaic box?

Also, if someone somewhere has issued any of it, there goes another potential customer. We are already a dwindling breed - every sale matters.

[Brad]

I emailed Scott this weekend and he replied as follows:

"We continue to survive and have new sets planned but just waiting to get them cleared. It's a long process."

For those going to the New Jersey Record Bash in late June, Scott will be bringing the Wilson and Savory sets with him. 

[Ted O'Reilly]

On 5/27/2018 at 3:58 PM, Scott Dolan said:

Speaking of Doritos, did you know they were originally created at Disneyland? 

Yes -- I think I read that in the Mosaic Bill Barron notes. 

[Scott Dolan]

That's where I read it!!! 

[Ken Dryden]

There are a vast amount of live broadcasts that have been recorded for radio or satellite broadcast and many of them deserve consideration for release. Imagine a boxed set produced from the Chicago Jazz Festival or Monterey Jazz Festival archives, not to mention Carnegie Hall, the Village Vanguard, etc. The trick is to find performances that will sell in sufficient quantities and making the numbers work. Some of these lawyers who block releases or ask for outrageous figures need to remember that keeping music locked up and inaccessible for sale all too often eventually leads to unauthorized European releases which pay nothing at all.

 

[gmonahan]

7 hours ago, Scott Dolan said:

That's where I read it!!! 

No, no, no--it was in the Mosaic Buddy Bolden set. You guys need to do some memory exercises!

 

 

gregmo

[Clunky]

7 hours ago, gmonahan said:

No, no, no--it was in the Mosaic Buddy Bolden set. You guys need to do some memory exercises!

I recall snapping one the cylinders trying  to prize it out of the plastic tray. Mosaic packaging strikes again. 

[Daniel A]

I never saw the Bob Belden wax cylinders for sale at their site. How was that set advertised?

[Clunky]

18 minutes ago, Daniel A said:

I never saw the Bob Belden wax cylinders for sale at their site. How was that set advertised?

It came free with the Bill Barron set, as did the Buddy Bolden. Three BBs for the price of one. Or as RRK would put it “three in one without the oil”

[JSngry]

Bright Monuments!

[Scott Dolan]

8 hours ago, Daniel A said:

I never saw the Bob Belden wax cylinders for sale at their site. How was that set advertised?

By telegraph. 

[Daniel A]

4 hours ago, Scott Dolan said:

By telegraph. 

Thanks, I always wondered! This is only heresay of course, but I've been told that the digital version of that set suffered quite heavily from bit conversion issues (this was during Mosaic's short-lived excursion into punch cards).

[JSngry]

Actually, the Bolden estate objected and had the set withdrawn. A few Japanese copies remain, but they come dearly.

[Scott Dolan]

The player piano rolls can only be obtained through auction. Bring your Visa.

[ghost of miles]

On 5/26/2018 at 6:31 PM, medjuck said:

Ricky Riccardi has suggested that they're thinking about a set of the George Avakian/Columbia/Armstrong  studio recordings. 

I talked to Ricky today at Jazz Congress, and he says the set is ready to go—they’re just waiting for Sony to sign off on the licensing, which is evidently taking longer than they’d expected.