Rhino Records no longer exists?

Does anyone know if Richie Gallo is safe?

 

The sad thing is people losing jobs. As far as Rhino goes, it could re-emerge down the line, just like MOFI did.

 

RIP RHINO!

 

Boy, I'd like to go with you here but this is bad news all around. It's true that you'll probably see some of the material licensed out but that means relying on other labels to know the good stuff to release. When Sanctuary bit the dust a couple of years ago it left a huge void in the UK reissue world that has never been filled and Rhino's disappearance leaves a huge one as well. It's not a business that can afford to lose labels of that size IMO.

 

Given the hit or miss quality of their recent releases, I can't say I surprised, but I'm extremely broken hearted none the less. I hope this doesn't have a negative impact on Sony's Legacy division and Hip-O

 

The death of Rhino was pretty much written by the death of B&M stores like Tower and the relegation of the CD departments of places like BestBuy to second tier status.

The key here is that part of the model that allowed a label like Rhino to exist and thrive was the ability to pre-sell a few thousand copies of these expensive to produce and modest selling deep catalog type releases.

Now, with most physical sales through Amazon (who don't stock more than a few copies of deep catalog), WalMart (who don't stock deep catalog at all), Target (ditto), BestBuy (ditto) and a rag-tag rapidly shrinking group of last man standing regional and local B&M stores, there just isn't the ability to get the pre-sales or the in-store promotion necessary to make the stuff that we all associate with Rhino cost effective.

Very very sad...

Something to remember next time you assert that the death of the B&M store is "no big thing" or that downloading "doesn't really hurt anyone except the rich..."

 

Absolutely. It's seems like everyday more folks are joining the unemployment
ranks.

People with families to support, trying to make ends meet, losing health benefits.

Things just seem to be getting worse in almost every sector of our economy.

 

I'm saddened to hear about the cutbacks at Rhino. They've released some of my most treasured CDs though the years. I can only hope that Warner will be more likely to license their catalog to other reissue labels.

 

Hey, on the plus side, new/sealed Rhino titles will be hitting the cutout bins/second hand websites pretty soon at great prices!

 

Wow....Rhino was like morning coffee to me.......Does this mean that any more WEA reissuess are now mostly non-existent?

Is Hip-O Select next?? Yikes!

 

And I was never able to get a replacement for my defective Disc Six of the Woodstock box. Luckily, my computer could read it and make a playable CD-R clone.

 

HOLY CRAP! I can't believe it!

I guess this explains why there were no promo samplers for the Genesis Live box set coming out next week in North America??

 

Hey Andrew! please comment if you can...(is it as bad as it seems?)

 

That's because it isn't shutting down! From the Variety article:

This just means that they are shifting to digital downloads and ending CDs, and possibly vinyl (nothing was said about vinyl). The name Rhino isn't gone, just the type of product they market.

And, anyway, the guys who started Rhino started Shout! Factory. But, how long they, and companies like Varese Vintage and Hip-O will hold on, is anyone's guess.

Now's the time to really offer lossless downloads if we can't get CDs or if it will be harder to get them.

I know it sucks, I hate that CDs are going away, but the times, they are-a-changing!

Better start ripping your CDs!

 

CDs aren't going away. There's still a huge market for physical media.

 

The news is shocking, but not surprising. A bad night for music lovers.

Even if Rhino continues to exist as a shadow of it's old self, this quote from the Variety article seems to put the nail in the coffin of all those great CD reissues we treasure:

Company said Rhino will evolve into an entity that "handles WMG's global digital catalog initiatives, film, TV, vidgame and commercial licensing, and name and likeness representation for legendary artists."

"Global digital catalog initiatives" probably doesn't include gorgeous CD box sets.

I will treasure my "Beg, Scream & Shout" box set even more than I already did.

Chris

 

First and foremost - my heart goes out to those who are losing their jobs. May they all land on the feet, very soon.

Rhino was my main gateway into the world of R&B and soul music. To someone like me who was born too late to hear most of this music when it was fresh and new, Rhino was a Godsend.

I am also grateful for the Have a Nice Day series - it gave me back a large, happy part of my childhood.

And countless other CD's and box sets. It seems not a day goes by where I do not play at least one Rhino disc.

As for what this means to us fans in the future - I believe the music will always find a way to reach the ears that need to hear it. It just make take a little longer to get there.


To any Rhino folks reading this - you have served the music well. For that I am eternally grateful.

 

I really, really hate this practice. If a company wants to dump merchandise at bargain prices, fine. But why deface it? Why damage it? All that does it make it less attractive and harder to sell. I don't see the point.

 

been a fan of Rhino Records since day one...have tons of their releases...

all cherished even more now...RIP to a fine label.

 

I will continue to seek out their fine product in the used CD market that I am interested in and can afford to pick up.

 

Damn, I was really hoping the Sly Stone Stone Flower set was going to happen. That is a compilation that simply has to exist. I was looking forward to the Chic box too.

 

They started cranking out really lousy sounding boxed sets around that time:
'No Thanks!' (punk rock)
'Left Of The Dial' (post punk)
'Tales Of The Ramones'

The 'Dictionary Of Soul' deluxe set sounded horrendous as well.

So if they're only gonna release trebley, brick-walled CRAP who needs them?

 

Please forgive me being out of the loop, but what would this contain
that's not on the 7-cd Sony box? Pre-Columbia material? Live?

 

Rhino ain't dumpin' their catalog into the bargain bins, at least not the good stuff like box sets, and deluxe fancy packages. I'm sure that they held onto enough staff to keep selling what they have already made.

But, we all know sales have been falling for the last 8 to 10 years right? Well guess what, the first six months of this year sales fell again, only this time they fell an even larger percentage drop.

In other words, sales are in a free fall with a tail spin. And it don't look like they are coming back.

 

Very nice. Classy. Not surprising though.