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What's going on with Mobile Fidelity?

I like this label a lot for the generally very high quality reissues and a great catalog that is continually expanding. But what is up with the crazy wait time for their pre-orders? I've had Santana III on pre-order since February, and was told by MoFi reps they expected to have it released by mid-March. Well, it's the end of April and still waiting...

I noticed quite a few of their advertised pre-orders are still in that status after more than half a year of being featured on record retailers' websites. Rickie Lee Jones, several Billy Joel albums, already mentioned Santana, a few Foreigner albums, Miles Davis "Kind of Blue," just to mention a few. I understand creating a buzz around new releases that are in the pipeline as a marketing strategy, but if you can't get it to market in half a year or more, I find it somewhat incompetent and almost tantamount to false advertising. I certainly do not appreciate paying for a product that the company seems to have no firm grip on delivering in a reasonably timely manner. Anyone else frustrated by this?
actusreus
goofyfoot's avatar
goofyfoot
1,387 posts
 
I'm going to have to recoil from my enthusiasm surrounding the possibility of a Dylan mono vinyl pressing from Mobile Fidelity. I didn't realize that those amazing JVC Mobile Fidelity vinyl remasters were strictly a thing of the past. A friend told me to skip on the newer vinyl MOFI and to stick with the SACD Hybrid's.
rockpig
18 posts
 
I cannot recall the source but I recall reading about Acoustic Sounds having trouble getting their vinyl pressed because the Big Boys (Rhino etc) were hogging the pressing plants. These plants would give the Big Boys preference and I dare say big money would sway the pressing plants to push back the small guys orders and steam ahead with the Big Boys orders.

Acoustic Sounds ended up tooling up and built their own pressing plant "Quality Records" just so they could get their own releases made.

So I would think it reasonable to think that MoFi is also a victim of having their orders being pushed back by the pressing plant. I'd assume MoFi have the masters ready for pressing but cannot get them done and that is most likely the main reason their vinyl is so long on pre-order. Not because it is some kind of marketing strategy.
actusreus OP
733 posts
 
Isn't MoFi one of the Big Boys? If they are not, I don't know who would be.
hevac1
812 posts
 
This issue is not new and it happens to all companies considered specialty since they really do not own the rights to anything they press. The record companies special products or services gives a limited licence for a reissue company to release a certain album. The reissuing company makes some test pressings then make some early batches with cover art get ready to release and the authorizing record company suddenly decides for whatever reason to revoke the licence.
Albums by MFSL in the past that were announced but never released.
Janis Joplin: Pearl, Journey: Escape & Steve Winwood: Arc of a Diver to name a few that we know of never mind others we do not.
actusreus OP
733 posts
 
Hevac1,

I seriously doubt this could ever be the case. If it were, no company in their right mind would ever pay for a license that could be revoked at will since a lot of money could be completely wasted with absolutely no way to predict it or take steps to prevent it. No sane company would operate like that. Music licenses have a definite period of time so they can't be revoked "for whatever reason."

For the sake of the argument, if what you wrote is true, that makes an even stronger argument for not listing an album in the catalog until it is being pressed and about to hit the market. In my opinion, there is absolutely no good reason for what MoFi does. If they use pre-orders to gauge the interest without actually fully committing to releasing those albums, shame on them.
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