Not Your Ordinary Rhinoceros

Rhino's digital reinvention

(July 2010)

Feature by Alex Pudlin

By most accounts, the digital trends of the last decade wreaked ruthless havoc on both music stores and record labels. According to the documentary film I Need That Record, 3000 record stores have closed since the early 2000s, including onetime heavyweights like Tower Records. However, the last few years have marked a record store revolution of sorts, as shops have once again begun to open, due in part to the resurgence of vinyl as a viable format. Furthermore, the new stores and the old ones that have survived have used the digital age to their advantage, promoting themselves on Facebook and Twitter, selling products on eBay and in some cases operating their own online stores. One particularly effective digital reinvention is record label Rhino’s website/online store, which debuted November 24th, 2009.

Rhino started in 1978 as an offshoot of the quirky Los Angeles-based Rhino Records, and specialized in archival releases from the start. Since then, Warner Music Group has acquired Rhino, which in turn gave Rhino reissue rights to Warner’s many storied labels such as Atlantic and Elektra. While Rhino has maintained a website from the cyber days of yore, it wasn’t until the re-launch that the website mirrored the ingenuity of the Rhino brand itself. In addition to a vast back catalogue of CD and vinyl releases, Rhino.com also offers the largest collection of high-resolution lossless digital downloads of any major label. Furthermore, Rhino.com offers a unique array of merchandise items and frequent exclusive releases on its Rhino Handmade imprint. Thus, Rhino.com has reinvented itself as a virtual record store, one that serves as a model for both online-only record stores and physical stores with strong web presences.

Shirts, Mats and More

When Virgin Megastore closed last summer, it was just the latest evidence that physical media’s time had come. However, as Gary Calamar and Phil Gallo depict in their book Record Store Days: From Vinyl to Digital and Back Again, by the end, Virgin dedicated a large portion of their space not to music but to toys, accessories and clothing. Rhino.com similarly places merchandise items alongside traditional music products. Yet unlike Virgin, Rhino’s merchandise inventory actually fosters music listening.

While Rhino’s previous website featured some merchandise items, the new website offers a much richer, varied merch catalogue. From vinyl slipmats emblazoned with turntable arms and the Rhino logo to USB flash drives modeled after mixtapes, Rhino’s clothing and accessory offerings encourage you to enjoy the music that Rhino sells. Sure, not all of Rhino’s merchandise fulfills this function. For instance, it is quite difficult to spin Rhino’s gorgeous Joy Division limited edition box set on a T-shirt. Nonetheless, even the clothing items contain music-centric slogans and images in-line with Rhino’s irreverent brand. Rhino’s shirts, totes, one-off art pillows and slip mats – many of which are exclusive to Rhino.com - are made for people who love music, with playful designs such as a T-shirt that reads “Ask me about my BIG 12 INCH records.”

An interview with Jason Turner, Rhino's Senior Vice President of Web Properties, revealed some of the brains behind Rhino’s merchandise operation. The current Rhino branded merchandise line was envisioned by Rhino’s Creative Director of Direct to Consumers, Matthew Cogswell. Since then, Director of Online Merchandising Heather Lewis has headed up future product/line development and curation of Rhino merchandise, interfacing with marketing and other Rhino departments to keep Rhino’s merchandise aesthetic in close concert with their prominent online presence and overall brand.

Give Me the Rarities

Rhino has had a fortunate tendency to put the music lover first. Case in point is their Rhino Handmade imprint. Rhino Handmade was established in 1999 with the release of Wild Man Fischer’s The Fischer King. As Turner puts it: “Rhino Handmade was started to create and unearth incredible and collectable music pieces dedicated to truly passionate music fans.” Rhino.com’s re-launch has reinvigorated Rhino Handmade, as the imprint has begun to offer more frequent releases than ever before. Moreover, the new Rhino.com gives fans a direct pathway to future Handmade releases as Turner credits fan e-mails and forum responses for helping to determine the upcoming Aretha Franklin quad release in August and a still hush-hush boxset coming this November  (hint: joyous home).

Although the Handmade releases may initially seem a bit expensive, one must remember that most Handmade items are limited to around 3000 units and frequently feature elaborate packaging such as the mini road case replica of the upcoming 4-disc Delaney and Bonnie & Friends On tour With Eric Clapton set and the foil wrapped Vanilla Fudge retrospective Box of Fudge.

Your (Online) Neighborhood Hangout

The new Rhino.com is a vivid example of how record stores and record labels alike should approach the digital age. Rhino has found a way both to accept high quality digital music (through their lossless offerings) and extend physical media. By appealing to both casual music fans and fanatics, Rhino has created a well-rounded business. Through highly visible ads placed on prominent music websites such as Pitchfork and All Music, Rhino has reinforced their brand’s place online. Furthermore, their emphasis on merchandising and cleverly branded accessories encourages customer loyalty without sacrificing Rhino’s image. Rhino may technically be a “major label,” but rather than succumb to the boardroom stereotype, Rhino continues with the same passion and independence of the original Rhino Records store on Westwood Blvd.