Warner Music Group is partnering with vinyl-on-demand service Qrates to support its vinyl-only label Run Out Groove with vinyl reissue initiatives.
Qrates will provide Run Out Groove with manufacturing and direct-to-consumer and retail distribution solutions.
This agreement marks Qrates’ first partnership with a major-label imprint having already helped over 2,000 artists issue their vinyl recordings.
Warner Music Group launched Run Out Groove in 2017 to allow fans to vote on the label’s next vinyl pressing, chosen from three selections of either unreleased material, out-of-print material, or brand-new collections compiled from the Warner Music vault.
While Run Out Groove’s monthly voting model will not change, Qrates will help the company make more fan-demanded releases.
Qrates will also provide an embeddable widget for album discovery and purchase through Run Out Groove’s website, and the Warner Music catalog will be made available to retail partners through Qrates’ Store Delivery network.
The first four back-catalog titles from Warner Music – Ronnie Hawkins’ Mr. Dynamo (pressed on red vinyl), Fred Neil’s Bleecker & MacDougal, Better Than Ezra’s Friction, Baby, (pressed on clear vinyl) and The Incredible String Band’s The Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter (pressed on solid blue, white and black) – are currently available through Qrates and Run Out Groove, with more releases to be announced soon.
“We’re proud and excited to be working with Taishi and the lovely people at Qrates who share in our independent spirit and dedication to the craft.”
Billy Fields, Warner Music Group
“We’re proud and excited to be working with Taishi and the lovely people at Qrates who share in our independent spirit and dedication to the craft,” said Billy Fields, VP of Sales & Account Management at Warner Music Group.
“While these titles didn’t win the monthly vote the first time around, we here at Run Out Groove felt they still deserved to be pressed.
“We are trying something new with Qrates to bring this music back out to the world – think of these releases as the ones that got away, but you got ‘em anyway.”
“Since we’re able to press smaller production runs, Qrates is the perfect partner for the kinds of exclusive releases Run Out Groove offers to music fans.”
Taishi Fukuyama, Qrates
Taishi Fukuyama, CMO of Qrates added: “Since we’re able to press smaller production runs, Qrates is the perfect partner for the kinds of exclusive releases Run Out Groove offers to music fans.
“In addition to top-quality audio fidelity, we offer so many custom options for the package as a whole – over 100,000 possible variations – so each Run Out Groove release will continue to be something unique.”Music Business Worldwide
