As punitive, dangerous heat waves have become a massive problem in the US in recent weeks, one small consequence is that record shipments are being delayed by extreme weather conditions. Ba Da Bing Records, which released the new Cassandra Jenkins album, An Overview on Phenomenal Nature, emailed customers saying that several people had received distorted records. The label offered customers two options to reduce the risk of damaged vinyl.
- We can delay your shipment. If you write to us and tell us that your shipment should be held until the heat wave is over, simply reply to this email. Then if it looks a little cooler in your area, let us know you’re ready to receive and we’ll send your copy.
- We send our documents by media mail, which can take up to two weeks. We do this because shipping is so much cheaper and we don’t have to refund you that much. However, we would be happy to convert your dispatch from standard to priority mail. This would require you to send us a little extra money to cover the postage increase – it can be up to $ 8 more depending on where in your country you live. Let us know and we will tell you the cost.
Other labels notify customers in advance of the possibility that the weather could affect the records. Sargent House Records, the label behind Deafheaven and the Armed’s albums, noted that the merch shop it works with – Hello Merch – has added the following weather language to its terms of use: “Please note we are NONE Refunds or replacements for damage caused by extreme weather conditions, minor cosmetic damage such as corner dents, bends, split inserts, etc. Hello Merch works with several indie labels and artists.
Joyful Noise Records noted that it hasn’t heard that much about warped records, but in an effort to proactively avoid the possibility of heat damage, it printed large labels for vinyl mailings that read: DIRECT SUNLIGHT (f * ck climate change ). “
To the possibility that vinyl mailings could be damaged by extreme weather, several labels replied that the weather was not the problem, but that despite considerable delays, they were unable to press any new releases onto vinyl at all. Read more about the current vinyl production jam in Pitchfork’s feature “Why Are Independent Artists and Labels Turning Away From Vinyl”.
