Ep559: Rhino Records Co-Founder Richard Foos

Rhino Records co-founder Richard Foos reveals how a scrappy record shop invented reissue culture, chasing master tapes, getting arrested for selling bootleg records, memories of Frank Zappa, Darby Crash and more. Topics Include: Foos discusses being called originator of reissue culture, credits early employee's phrase. Started as a Los Angeles record shop in 1973. Recalls how scarce and cheap rare records were before collecting culture existed. Describes hunting records at warehouses, swap meets, and Salvation Army stores. Notes punk rock's DIY ethos sparked broader music fandom and collecting. Rhino's shop became a punk hangout; Darby Crash was banned for chaos. Explains how punk bands pressed 45s since albums were too costly. James Brown's out-of-print catalog became Rhino's breakthrough first major reissue. Details licensing process: major labels' passive licensing departments simply approved requests. Rhino insisted on original master tapes, never secondary sources or stampers. Engineer Bill Englott restored recordings purely, never altering original mixes. Some projects stalled without usable masters, like a punk box set. Nuggets compilation missed "96 Tears" for years due to licensing issues. Foos explains Rhino's sequencing philosophy: welcoming newcomers, not strict chronology. Doo-wop box set, initially unpopular internally, became Rhino's best-selling release. Discusses 20-25 year nostalgia cycles driving collectibility of past decades' music. Notes scarce 2000s vinyl pressings now make that era highly collectible. Rhino focused on best listening experience over rarities for rarity's sake. Foos recounts pre-Rhino bootlegging ties and friendship with bootleg artist Bill Stout. Reveals he was arrested for selling bootlegs during a warehouse sale. Discusses how record labels misunderstood fandom, limiting artist output and bootlegs. Reflects on vinyl's spiritual appeal despite many records never being played. Compares cassette-era scarcity to streaming's shifting availability of licensed content. Predicts streaming remains the future, praises YouTube's vast musical accessibility. Doubts catalog values will keep rising, questions which artists endure historically. Criticizes a post-Rhino "L.A. Nuggets" box set for prioritizing rarity over listenability. Recalls Kinky Friedman rejecting a hits compilation over disliking his originals. Explains publishing hurdles licensing music for Freaks and Geeks and WKRP DVDs. Describes working with Frank Zappa on Beat the Boots and elaborate packaging. Shares current work: Shout Factory, wife's Narrative Method, and a new podcast. High resolution version of this podcast is available at: www.Patreon.com/VinylGuide Apple: https://tinyurl.com/tvg-ios Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/tvg-spot Amazon Music: https://tinyurl.com/tvg-amazon Support the show at Patreon.com/VinylGuide