The first part of the interview covered an introduction to the three partners that founded Connaisseur Recordings; Alex Flitsch with his wife Hilary, alongside Martin Henkel. The label is based in Offenbach, and has two sister labels called Connaisseur Supérieur and Outils du Connaisseur. Apart from producing quality underground electronic music, their striking cover illustrations make an equivalent visual impact. We get down to business at the start off the second part of the interview by talking about what it takes to get a hit, and piracy.
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[Read the first part of the interview HERE]
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[SG] I was chatting to Mike Weiss from Nervous Records about what it takes to get a hit these days. He said something interesting; that in New York in the 90s you could get a track supported in the clubs, get some word-of-mouth buzz and then came the radio play which created the hit. He went on to say that today the music is so diluted and easily accessible that it’s much harder to get a hit and that there aren’t as many “big” tracks anymore. Do you agree? And if so, how do you try and create buzz around your releases?

[AF] I absolutely agree. Due to the easy accessibility, music has lost its value completely. You play a track, even if it is a great one, but then after a month or so, it is out of your case and your mind again. The throughput is simply too high to leave lasting impressions. At the moment, there is no real formula on how to promote your releases perfectly. Sometimes, you do a great promo, receive excellent feedback and the press coverage is brilliant, but the sales just don’t mirror that at all. If you are mid size electronic label and not in the attention of the current hipster tendencies, it is quite tough actually.

With all that being said can you paint a picture about the current vinyl market? I know you’re committed to the format, but how many units would you say makes for a “big” release and is it worth all the hard work?

As I already said, you need a lot of passion and a long breath in the current situation. We will stay true vinyl, even if it will only be the add-on for the main digital release in future. Vinyl will always be worth fighting for! I would say, if you sell 1500 vinyl copies nowadays, you can already speak of a hit. Of course, there are still labels selling 3000-5000 units, but this is rare, temporary and only based on current hypes, I think.

Back in 2007 the distributors Neuton, Intergroove, Word and Sound, Groove Attack and Kompakt got together and formed the ProVinyl Alliance which is basically a commitment from it’s members to release music on vinyl two weeks prior to the digital release. From reading on your site I know that you support this. Do you think the Alliance has been a success as a concept, and has it been a success for your labels?
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