ST Holdings closing and the future of vinyl

No doubt by now, you'll have heard that our former distributor, ST Holdings, is to cease trading at the end of July.  It's a big shame that such a prestigious distributor has now gone.  What the knock on effects will be for record labels still trying to push physical product will be, remains to be seen, but any way you look at it, this isn't good news.  It's getting harder and harder to sell records and more and more labels are turning to the self-distribution route via their own managed stores.  The problem with this method is that postage has become an absolute farce.  It now costs more than the record is worth to post it from most countries, which is putting a lot of people off.  This has been the main reason why Auxiliary hasn't gone the DIY route yet, but it's almost inevitable at some stage I feel.

We'll continue to put out vinyl with our new distributor, SRD, but it really seems like the clock is ticking until conventional distribution methods can't sell enough to the handful of big online stores left.  Frightening times for vinyl lovers and collectors, but we'll ride this wave until it's no longer possible.

Anyway, I want to end this post by thanking everyone who worked for ST Holdings that helped make Auxiliary the label it is today.  For that, they will forever have my respect and gratitude.

4 comments:

Michal said...

Glad to see that you managed to find new distro. Good luck with SRD.
I hope that Auxiliary will keep releasing CD albums as well, Auxcast Phase 2 CD sounds and looks dope.

PCon said...

The truth about the STHoldings closure is that the business wasn't in fact closed due to a 'decline in the market' but due to a string of terrible business decisions. The situation labels currently face isn't half as bleak as the former owners of that company would like you to believe.

ASC said...

Trust me, I know about why and how it closed. Some of it is better left out of the public though, hence why I didn't go into specific details.

ASC said...

...although after recent developments, I probably should go into more details... grrrr

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