UNDERGROUND RESISTANCE RELEASING BACK CATALOGUE DIGITALLY FOR THE FIRST TIME

Mike Banks of Underground Resistance has posted on the Somewhere In Detroit Facebook page, detailing changes at Submerge Distribution, who are responsible the delivery of the techno outfit’s releases.

The message outlines difficulties that independent labels and distributers like Submerge – who also deal with the distribution of Red Planet – face in the continuing vinyl boom, before announcing that Submerge Distribution will be shifting to BandCamp for sales.

Speaking about the shift to digital distribution in the post, Banks said, “Soon we will offer a BandCamp digital delivery service featuring UR & Red Planet digitally mastered by none other than DJ SKURGE of UR at sonic levels unmatched by any other site on the web (all UR & RP stuff on the web now are low res or copied from vinyl records and almost all are illegal!!!)”

In the post Banks also laments the “traffic jam” created by issues for independent labels and distributers stemming from the current vinyl boom.

He said, “If you love vinyl you already understand and value that sometimes you will have to wait on it (pressing/plating) turn around times now average 6 months due to the new found popularity of vinyl.

"We are a very small business in an increasingly competitive environment (selling primarily vinyl records)... our reality here is difficult.

“All this extra manufacturing combined with still only a handful of places to manufacture has created a traffic jam at the Pressing Plants. The plants obviously get to the smaller orders last (re-pressings) and service those who pay upfront first or larger runs (cant blame em on that)!!

“In addition with Distributor payment time at minimum 90 days (that makes NINE MONTHS before anybody gets paid for that record!!) as opposed to the 30 to 90 day turnaround on everything in the 80’s, 90’s & early 2000’s when only the American inner cities were pressing most of the vinyl records being made here in the USA.

“Ultimately this reality makes it extremely difficult for real urban inner city labels here in Detroit. As we cannot afford to float money over a 9 month period. We realize in order to survive we will have to adapt to remain in the Olympic Stadium of Electronic Music we helped build.”

Read the full post on Somewhere In Detroit below.

Rob McCallum is DJ Mag’s deputy digital editor. Follow him on Twitter here.