Universal Music Enterprises is gathering musicians like Henry Rollins and music experts to help vinyl buyers assemble a record collection. Rather than take the advice of the tattooed store clerk in a Napalm Death T-shirt, UME’s The Sound of Vinyl is launching a recommendation engine that suggests albums based on a user’s personal tastes.
The Sound of Vinyl alerts users via text message to albums that may interest them. When a user enters their mobile phone number and creates a taste profile, The Sound of Vinyl begins sending daily texts with album recommendations that feature album artwork, information and price. User replies help improve future picks. They can also instantly buy an album from the text The service is powered by Seattle-based startup MessageYes.
“Until today, music fans haven’t had a personalized and curated experience for discovering and buying vinyl albums,” Universal Music Group EVP Michele Anthony. “Sound of Vinyl solves that problem for consumers by providing daily suggestions tailored to their individual tastes, recommendations from music experts and exclusive albums and merchandise that can’t be found anywhere else. With Sound of Vinyl, music fans will have a simple, easy and engaging service that provides instant access to the very best in vinyl.”
Rollins and audio engineer/DJ Gimel “Young Guru” Keaton are The Sound of Vinyl’s first featured vinyl curators. Rollins will recommend his favorite albums, share stories from his life and interview music veterans such as producer/Blue Note President Don Was and Capitol Studios vinyl mastering engineer Ron McMaster. Young Guru will tap into his experience engineering music for Jay-Z, Beyoncé and Alicia Keys, as well as his deep history as a DJ and producer, to showcase albums that form the foundation of his work. “Vinyl is the ultimate delivery medium for music's limitless greatness,” said Rollins, who undoubtedly will recommend every John Coltrane album in the Universal vaults. “I came into music via vinyl, and that's how I'm going out. The Sound of Vinyl allows music enthusiasts of all levels of interest or experience to not only get records easily, but to learn about every aspect of vinyl from extraordinarily unique and informed sources.”
Additionally, The Sound of Vinyl’s website will host exclusive content from artists, producers, radio DJs and those pesky know-it-alls, music journalists.
