Trax & Wax is a vinyl subscription service focused on dance music, which enables vinyl collectors to pay a monthly/yearly fee and receive a curated surprise box of dance music records delivered to their doorstep every month. They are currently working with the most prominent distributors of electronic music including Rush Hour, Clone, Syncrophone and Word & Sound to deliver a surprise box of brand new releases and represses from some of the most forward-thinking labels and DJs in the industry.
Electronic Groove: Where did the idea of Trax & Wax come from?
Trax & Wax: Initially, the idea came from the rising popularity of box subscription services over the past year, such as Hellofresh, Pact, etc. The concept has been well received primarily in the food industry, and as a result, we wanted to introduce the same concept to the music industry. We started investigating the competitive landscape and found another service called Flying vinyl but they were all about Alternative Rock Music. We wanted a service dedicated to more niche genres within electronic music and talked to friends who shared the same vision. The idea of receiving a surprise box of 12” records from the genres and labels we love, every month, really intrigues us. Hence, we decided to develop Trax & Wax, out of both necessity and gaps in the market.
EG: Do you view your target demo as DJ’s? Or is it more home listeners?
T&W: We aim to target both DJ’s and home listeners based in the UK to start with. People from other countries can also sign up for Trax & Wax but they will need to pay a shipping fee (at least in the early stages) shipping will be included for all customers based in the UK. DJs aren’t necessarily the main focus though as a lot of DJ’s we’ve spoken to tend to be very selective about their records. However, we do plan on expanding our package offering. E.G. a variety package, a club package or a Chicago house classics package hopefully more distinct packages could appeal better to DJs but this is really just the beginning so we need to keep on learning and validating our assumptions before we get to this point. In general, our target audience will consist of music lovers who are open minded and willing to discover new music. More and more people are liking the feel of vinyl records and with vinyl sales surging (a 30% increase in sales in 2015) and the continuous growth of box delivery subscriptions, we believe there is a huge opportunity for a service like Trax & Wax.
EG: Music is a very personal thing. How will you “curate” for individual users?
T&W: We are aware of the challenges ahead and that music is very personal. That’s why it’s crucial for us to focus on a very specific audience in the early stages while clearly indicating the labels and distributors we curate from and that we target an audience who have already expressed interest for this type of music. Nevertheless, this is a surprise box, and we believe a part of the appeal is that you don’t always get exactly what you expect, which in turn enables you to discover new acts and music styles, so you need to keep your mind open. More importantly, we have a vast knowledge of electronic music Our team includes DJ’s, Producers and music lovers who have the right background and experience to create an unprecedented box of wax for our customers.
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EG: In a lot of ways, this service returns back to the days of DJ pools. Is that something you use for a model?
T&W: That’s correct, it is similar in that customers will receive a selection of brand new releases on a regular basis. We’ll also allow our customers to sign up for different packages that suit their needs as a vinyl fan or club DJ. Further, we’ll enable labels to submit their new releases for consideration so that anyone has the chance to be included in the monthly box. In that sense, I think the model is similar and a perfect tool for both home listeners and professional DJs looking for new records to include in their sets.
EG: How can other labels/distributors get their product considered for inclusion?
T&W: That’s a great question and something we’re thinking about as we develop the website. We’ll most likely integrate a demo page on which labels can submit their releases for consideration every month. If we like what we hear we’ll get in touch and order directly from the label.
EG: Why 4 records (as opposed to 6 or 8)?
T&W: Our concept is unique and our aim is to meet the demands of our users. We wanted to be able to provide this box at a reasonable price and while having set up a detailed budget, it made sense for us to offer 4 records to achieve the position we wanted to have in the market. Hence, it will enable us to fulfill our customer’s requirement by providing a mix of classic records and brand new releases.
EG: What if users don’t like all of their monthly selections?
T&W: If customers don’t like their monthly selections we will urge them to provide us with feedback. We are working on implementing a feature on our website where users will be able to rate each record they receive in their monthly box. This means we can improve the next box in response to their feedback and also get to understand which styles of music appeal to the majority of our customers. Ultimately, we aim to offer tiers where customers can customize their boxes by specific genres and record labels from month to month. We also plan on expanding into new genres so that we can serve a larger audience simultaneously.
