LPs as a historical media business model - Osho's Journals
The vinyl LP is now remembered almost entirely as culture: album art, ritual listening, the sense of owning an album, the physical intimacy of music etc. It has receded from memory that it was a constrained business model, one that forced those who worked in the business to confront risk and scale with unusual clarity. For independent labels in particular, the LP was not a romantic object. It was capex heavy business in creatives where failure was common and success could not be predicted. An LP imposed its costs early. Before a single record was pressed or the album was in the market - money had already been committed to songwriting, singers, scouts, studio time, producers, session artists, mixing and mastering. These costs were incurred before the market revealed anything at all. An album that failed commercially cost almost as much to make as one that became a hit. As in cinema or book publishing - most projects were expected to fail economically. This expectation did not imply indi
LPs as a historical media business model a nostalgic walk into how music business behaved Osho Dec 25, 2025 4 2 3 Share The Long Play Business Model There was a time when taste and knack could build a media business. The vinyl LP is now remembered almost entirely as culture: album art, ritual listening, the sense of owning an album, the physical intimacy of music etc. It has receded from memory that it was a constrained business model, one that forced those who worked in the business to confront risk and scale with unusual clarity. For independent labels in particular, the LP was not a romanti
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