Sonic Youth's Goo and Nirvana's MTV Unplugged are among records considered for the project.
Universal Music will use a new crowdfunding website to work out which "rare and deleted" albums it ought to reissue on vinyl.
According to online magazine
Fact, the
Vinyl Project will allow fans to register their interest in the re-release of certain LPs, with
Sonic Youth's Goo, Björk's Biophilia, Pulp's His N Hers and
Nirvana's MTV Unplugged performance currently being considered for the project. More importantly, backers will have to vote with their pounds and pence much like
Kickstarter, where users have to promise to buy a copy if the proposal goes ahead.
As the world's biggest label, Universal has a large catalogue of
vinyl records. But for every new
Disclosure LP or reissued
Five Leaves Left, a hundred records remain the sole purview of eBay hawkers and crate-diggers. For a taste of the treasures in Universal's vaults, we can look at the project's own marketing survey: according to the Vinyl Project, questions included references to Tom Waits's Swordfishtrombones, the Jackson 5's ABC and
Erykah Badu's Baduizm.
As
Fact pointed out, a crowdfunded reissue site isn't a new concept. Earlier this year, Ninja Tune Records launched
Beat Delete, which helps labels such as Ninja Tune, Domino and Beggars Banquet gauge which of their out-of-print albums and singles are in high demand. Lots of these labels' vinyl stock was destroyed in the 2011 Sony
warehouse fire, and about 150 pre-orders are required to justify a repress. LPs by Caribou, Roots Manuva and the Cinematic Orchestra have been
among the beneficiaries thus far.
Universal has not yet announced a launch date for the Vinyl Project.
http://www.theguardian.com/music/201...albums-reissue