This is a good idea and mark my words this is going to carry on to a different level when it comes to rare and collectables. And he has a relevant point about not making a cd anymore for this kind of thing. Thinking waaaay ahead is the way to win.

http://today.reuters.com/...ticlePage1



By Todd Martens

LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - There is plenty of new indie and mainstream music available on legal download sites, but the obscure, the out-of-print and the experimental often remain relegated to used vinyl bins at small retailers.

Kemado Records' Keith Abrahamsson aims to change that.

He'll launch his Anthology Records online store this fall. His initial releases may not be household names, but there is plenty for music enthusiasts to get excited about.

There's the funk-inspired punk of China Shop's "21 Puffs on the Cassette," the Midwestern garage rock of the Suicide Commandos' "Make a Record," the scorching swamp-goth of the Scientists' debut LP and the spacey rock of My Solid Ground's self-titled effort. He plans to have about 15 titles by early 2007.

"If Anthology is able to become successful with the digital stuff, I'd like to do some vinyl stuff," says Abrahamsson. "I don't know that I'll ever do a CD release. Digital and vinyl are the only two formats I'm really interested in."

He's secured exclusive digital licenses for three years, and will use TuneCore to distribute music to the likes of iTunes and eMusic if the acts request it. Abrahamsson hopes the Anthology Web site (http://www.anthologyrecordings.com) will score most of the business, where he will provide videos, extended free audioclips and extensive liner notes.

The site was designed with the help of freelance tech designer Matthew Gillespie. Abrahamsson raised money for the site from private investors -- he declines to give a figure.

Single MP3 tracks will cost 98 cents, and album prices will be close to the standard online rate of $9.99, but some may vary. For instance, one of Abrahamsson's choicest finds, the self-titled two-CD set from Sweden's psychedelic Parson Sound, will sell for $11.99. Otherwise, it is available as an import from Subliminal Sounds for 200 Swedish kronor (about $28). Continued...

"They are the Sweden equivalent of what Pink Floyd was to the U.K.," Abrahamsson says. "It is some serious head music."

There is an online audience for this kind of music, eMusic CEO David Pakman says. His site has made available a number of deleted titles from K Records, blues label Blacktop Records and some heretofore unreleased music from the Sun Records catalog, including such artists as Charlie Rich, Rosco Gordon and Bill Justis.

"All that stuff is in our sweet spot," Pakman says. "Any indie rock from the last 20 years or so does really well. The more obscure it is, the better we do with it."

Abrahamsson says no act he's working with pushed for a CD release, and he has no interest. That being said, he doesn't think digital will kill the used LP business either.

"This is more cost-effective, but for the people who are purists and gung-ho about collecting old, rare LPs, you're always going to be able to buy the LP," he says. "That's the true format people will want this stuff in. But I just don't see a difference between a CD reissue and a digital reissue."