Ep561: Chad Kassem & The Road to The Vinyl Summit

[electronic music] Welcome to The Vinyl Guide, the podcast for record collectors and music nerds.

Here's your host, the biggest record nerd of them all, Nate Goyer.

Well, hey everyone, it's Nate, and welcome to episode 561 of The Vinyl Guide, the podcast for record collectors and music nerds.

And ladies and gentlemen, we are very stoked to be welcoming back to the podcast, friend of the show, Mr. Chad Kasem, uh, the mad music maker of the Midwest.

Chad has long been a pillar of the music and audiophile community, uh, running several well-known entities that we probably [laughs] all use, uh, one of which, Analog Productions, they do high-quality reissues of music on vinyl, CD, and sometimes even reel-to-reel tape.

That's still a thing.

They're also responsible for the recent UHQR vinyl reissues, and we've seen many recently.

Of course, there was the, uh, Miles Davis Kind of Blue, the Steely Dan catalog on 45 RPM, and of course, the recent announcement of several titles from The Who, including what may be the definitive version of Who's Next.

And, uh, I can't wait for that one.

I ordered it straight on the day.

Uh, Chad also runs Acoustic Sounds, where you can go online and buy the records and have them shipped anywhere in the world.

It's actually surprisingly cost-effective, uh, if you're grabbing quite a few of them, even internationally.

I get a few big boxes from them every year or so.

So, uh, that's acousticsounds.com. And of course, Chad also runs QRP, Quality Record Pressing, in Salina, Kansas, where they actually stamp out the records.

And, uh, speaking of Salina, Kansas, that's where Chad is holding the first Vinyl Summit this year, October 15th through 18th.

Lots of the who's who of the vinyl community will be there, and it's not only a record show, but tours of the record pressing facilities.

There's gonna be live music.

There's gonna be discussions, meet and greets, barbecue, lots more.

And, uh, this Vinyl Summit, like I said, it's October 15th through 18th, that's the weekend before the Austin Record Fair.

So, if you're flying into the Midwest, it'll be kind of a two-for-one.

Uh, you hit the Vinyl Summit and then drive down to Austin.

So, uh, more info on the Vinyl Summit at thevinylsummit.com. Now, today, Chad and I talk all about the Vinyl Summit, uh, but we also get into the current state of the vinyl industry.

Uh, he's got a very unique vantage point.

He makes the vinyl.

He ships it around.

Where does he see it now? What are the trends people are gravitating towards? Oh, w- what music is starting to lose the interest of record buyers? We also talk about the current threats to the vinyl industry.

Where are the weakest parts of the supply chain? And believe me, [laughs] there, there are several.

Uh, and we also discuss his recent UHQR series and the creation of what is likely the ultimate versions of these classic albums.

Uh, and we talk about a lot more.