Product Updates

12/17/2024 - TAPROOT SC/SSRS VINYL
 
Taproot faithful...
 
Earlier this year I sent out an update about the TAPROOT SC/SSRS vinyl, and explained there was a few months extra delay, on top of the usual manufacturing time, and then I gave some additional updates and talked about it multiple times over the following months on TAPROOT TUESDAY, and over the recent months/weeks since there has been many rumblings about it again, so I wanted to send out another update and explain a few things I apparently didn't clarify well enough in my original email/post
 
(I apologize in advance as it got a little longer than I wanted it to be.) 
 
On the logistical side, It takes, at minimum, 8 months to a year, or more, to manufacture vinyl. (Plus shipping to us from Europe, then to you.) I have literally had some at SLOWER times take almost 2 years. This is part of the abject frustration of making vinyl. Yes it's gotten better, but it's still 10 times longer than CD or any other format.
 
This time does not start from the date of the PRE-ORDER, which is often many months before the manufacturing starts (In this particular instance it was 7 months BEFORE the master was even turned in.) But that is the nature of a pre-order. You order WAY early to help a company fund something to support.
 
In the case of SC/SSRS, there were issues I did not foresee in getting the masters and completing them due to the unconventional way it was recorded, so the completed LP masters were not even turned in to me until early September 2024, almost 8 months AFTER the initial pre-order. That's when the clock starts ticking on manufacturing. And then, we had the previously mentioned delay. 
 
I have been seeing comments "I ordered your record two years ago". And technically that's true. But to clarify, the original pre-order page explicitly explained it would be a year or more from when the record was finished and turned in (not from the date it was ordered), and that it would not even be released until 7 months from the date we launched the pre-order, and that the vinyl would be significantly later..
 
 I know that makes it feel SO MUCH LONGER, but the reality is, on the normal original schedule - to when the masters were turned in - it probably wouldn't have completed until sometime this FALL and then had to ship. So even on THAT schedule it would probably JUST be arriving now. So we're literally just NOW getting into the delay I emailed about in March. 
 
Which, if you somehow missed it, was that I had some serious health issues (a stroke), and there was some additional issues with the master, and it went in a few months late, basically the BEGINNING of this year, and that it could be up to a year from THEN, and everyone seemed cool and supportive and understanding, until a few months later we started seeing complaints again. 
 
I had in fairness started writing this email a couple weeks or more ago, and had planned to send it out then, so I truly apologize that I didn't. And it's my fault totally that I didn't. Fact is I was hoping i'd have a better answer for you if I waited longer. Really I didn't want to send another update without an update, which I guess I just should've. as I know people prefer ANY kind of communication over none. 
 
All i can tell you is i'm pushing to have it completed and shipping sometime in the first quarter of 2025. But at this point, the only thing you should be waiting on is VINYL (or test pressings. Or the few remaining lyric sheets, which i've been on Steve for) ANYTHING from the bundles - shirts, CDS picks, etc, you should have received already long ago. 
 
I've heard "Other labels can get vinyl done quicker." Yeah, that might be the case now. This is my manufacturer, our process, which I have used for over 7 years through multiple labels, and, literally, hundreds of releases. Our stuff is manufactured in the Czech Republic, is super high quality and amazing, but it's a slow process, which is unfortunately SLOWER when there are delays. (And dealing with anyone in Europe, is a slower process, and the communication is very slow, sometimes almost nonexistent.)
 
Most people have been amazing and super cool about it, and I appreciate it so much. We have gone far and above to send all the other pre-order bundle items out, at our expense, and done everything we can to keep everyone as happy as humanly possible in light of the circumstances. 
 
All of our pre-order pressings are non-refundable, but If you REALLY want a refund - on VINYL ONLY - I will figure it out in the timeliest fashion possible. 
 
But at this point, nothing will probably be going to retail, and there more than likely won't be any more of these records made. So there might only be a small handful available beyond what was pre-ordered, if any. So this will probably be your only chance to get it. (And if you don't want it, someone sure will.) 
 
Most of you I actually know, and consider personal friends, and I love the Taproot community, so I don't want any one of the true fans or friends to be upset, or take this out on, or hold it against the band. And to be fair it has NOTHING to do with them. A lot of you have my personal contact info, and have reached out to me and I've talked to you personally about it. And I appreciate that.  Posting angry comments on the band's facebook page, or anywhere else, is fairly pointless, as they don't have any more answers (or control) than you do. 
 
I am the label I licensed the record, it is 100% MY RESPONSIBILITY to get it done and out.  And I will. I've personally put out HUNDREDS of records on multiple labels, and at the end of the day, no matter what obstacles there were, they ALWAYS got to anyone who ordered them. 
 
Moving forward, if you want to email me personally (in a kind and constructive manner), you can email thcmusicandfilms@gmail.com, or hit me up on messenger, whatever. if you're looking for an update. (I don't check this email often, especially during the 4th quarter/holiday shutdown, but I will try and check it every couple weeks at least starting in the new year, and keep you updated. 
 
Also, to hold everyone over, VOLATILE was good enough to manufacture some TAPROOT turntable slipcovers (that are clearly much faster to make than actual records) that we are sending out to everyone to hold you over until the actual records are done.
 
Hopefully it's at least enough of a gesture to keep everyone happy a little while longer while we get this taken care of. 
 
Thom H. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3/6/2024 - TAPROOT SC/SSRS VINYL

Hey guys..  Thom Hazaert here..

 
If you don't know me, I am Taproot's manager, and run their label THC MUSIC. 
 
So I made a post a few weeks ago on the THC page, and I wanted to write a personal update and reach out directly as well. So as you might know, in late September I had some serious health issues, a stroke and an aneurysm to be exact, actually WHILE we were playing the album release shows at The Machine Shop. It took them a while to even figure out what the Hell happened, but after several trips to neurologists,  ophthalmologists, etc, and a ton of tests, they figured it out. But not before it made me essentially lose function in one eye, and partially in the other, completely threw off my balance and equilibrium making it hard to walk/read etc, i couldn't drive, and I had crippling migraines and nerve pain that essentially took me out of commission for several months.
 
So why is that relevant to you? Well, in that time some issues arose that forced some things to get pushed back, and several releases due in the 4th quarter of last year, and the first quarter of this year, were affected, and the SC\SSRS vinyl was one of them.  
 
The first culprit is, as you may or may not know, everyone wants vinyl, there are very few pressing plants, and vinyl manufacturing is SUPER backed up, and can take 8 months, or even longer. (I have had pressings that took over a year.)  So as I only got the masters to even START the process in late August, that already meant we were potentially looking at April or May or beyond.. (The initial projected/estimated March/April street date was set when I expected to get the masters much earlier.) So, that part is obviously out of my control. 
 
That was compounded with some issues with the masters and with my pressing plant, which potentially caused additional delays, as I mentioned above, I was not well enough to deal with. So for any part I had in any delays, I apologize, and know I always try to avoid these types of scenarios whenever possible. That said, I am currently working on getting it pushed through and turned around as FAST as humanly possible, and waiting on some updates myself, so please be patient. Thankfully, we got BEST OF BESIDES done and out (which took about 9-10 months), and, again, I am pushing this as fast as humanly possible.  
 
I know TAPROOT is super loyal to their fans, and have always been transparent, so I wanted to handle this the same way. So please bear with us, as I said I am pushing to get SC\SSRS LPS (and everything else) done and out as SOON as humanly possible. So please stay tuned, and I will let everyone know as soon as I have a concrete idea when they are coming. 
 
The most up to date information will come directly from us via email, so we'd appreciate it if you didn't email volatile for updates, as they will not have any, nor will we be responding to messages/comments on facebook regarding the status.Please don't take it personally, it's not that we don't want to, but we don't have the staff or resources to spend all day responding to emails/comments/messages about the same thing. Especially when there's not a concrete answer yet. 

Please bear with us, and as soon as we have any updates, we will keep you updated via email. And hopefully you will have it in your hands soon!  
 
We have also created this page: https://www.volatilemerchandise.com/updates/
 
Please bookmark this page, and we will post updates here as well, for not just TAPROOT, but any VOLATILE or THC related delays or issues. 
 
Thank you all so much for your support and patience.

Taproot Loves You. 
 

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