Running a boutique audiophile label is not easy, as Shane Buettner has learned in the 10 years since he founded Intervention Records. There are licensing agreements to be negotiated, artists to please, mastering engineers and pressing plants to be engaged, vinyl formulation and cover design to be arranged, plus marketplace changes and ever-increasing competition to be navigated. The label’s first release was Stealer’s Wheel’s debut, with standout pressings featuring Joe Jackson, Judee Sill, Matthew Sweet, the Flying Burrito Brothers, Peter Frampton, Everclear and others to follow. With so many labels jumping into the audiophile pool, has licensing recordings become harder? What dictates pricing? Do Buettner’s customers care more about 180-gram vinyl or tip-on jackets? And how did he land Intervention’s new Sun Records deal, with Kevin Gray-mastered 45 RPM releases from Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash on the way?
