Is Records International still in business? If I try to visit the website I get an "Account Suspended" notice.
Very odd, Mark. Their website was still up and they appeared to be trading on 2nd June which was when I last visited to see what the June catalogue had to offer. But you are quite right: I got the same message when I visited just now.
I get the same message. Oh dear.
Maybe Jeff Joneikis forgot to renew his web hosting company's subscription? Fingers crossed.
You would think that if he were closing up shop he would make some sort of announcement. Still, it would not be the first beloved business I have known that ceased operations without warning. Let's hope it's just a glitch.
The question for me in the UK, though, is why I would do business with him. I admit that (very) occasionally he features recordings that are billed as 'exclusives', but I haven't ordered from him for years because I can usually source recordings from the UK or Europe. It's just reality.
I'm just the same, but I wouldn't want to see RI go under...
Nor I. Although I have never actually ordered from him, I value Jeff's lists and I think he does a good job.
I've been ordering from RI since 1988 - back when they actually sold vinyl, as well as cds. Never had a problem until recently. Placed an order a few months ago, and it never arrived. My card wasn't charged, but usually I'll be informed if an item is back-ordered, or no longer available.
Hope it's just a temporary glitch.
Sadly, I suspect the worst...
There's still the same "Account Suspended" notice. I too fear that RI has gone.
:'(
They're back up. :)
https://www.recordsinternational.com/
Ah, good. In a world of unpleasant changes, a "pleasant constant" is to be valued.
Phew! I'm really pleased.
Hurray!
Dealing with RI has been frustrating lately. He's just down the highway an hour's drive, but I find Presto so much easier. I'll place an order with RI and fingers crossed it may or may not be delivered. Now that Arkivmusic seems to have gone to pot, getting some music has been difficult to say the least. I still really miss Harold Moore's!
It's a shame, though, isn't it? I appreciate JJ for his mini-reviews and for his evident love of neglected repertoire, but for me, ordering from him would always be a last resort.
What's going on with RecordsInternational? First there was a notice saying that the December Catalogue would be delayed for a few days, and now I'm getting "403 Forbidden. Access denied" when I try to access the site.
I got the same message earlier today. All very odd.
The website is back online but the December catalogue is slim pickings.
Much as one appreciated RI in times past, what exactly is its current raison d'être - especially if its web presence is, to say the least, unreliable?
Quote from: Alan Howe on Saturday 10 December 2022, 12:15Much as one appreciated RI in times past, what exactly is its current raison d'être [...]?
Sic transit gloria mundi.
The December catalog is briefer, but still does have the Sgambati symphony and Marschner overture to the overtures series (also the 1927 Wolf-Ferrari opera and a disc of Margola's almost certainly Romantic music). Also it does contain several issues of interest -outside- our remit that are of interest to some (well, at least this one) member of our forum (e.g. Meyer's symphony, which has been recorded before - as I remember seeing in my library's catalog... a 1985 release of the 1982 premiere, so this is new.)
Indeed, Eric, but the point is that once upon a time many of RIs offerings were only easily obtainable from them. Nowadays the ubiquity of online sources, either to purchase physical CDs or download tracks, makes RI a very long way from being the unique one stop shop it once was. I don't want to see RI disappear, of course, but it no longer has a USP.
Mark's right. If RI are no longer offering anything unique, then they're going to go under.