View Full Version : Vinyl is back.....Again!
How many times does the vinyl revival get played as a news story? Many of us who love the medium have already seen the price rocket in recent years which means I only buy if it is a fantastic album which now is about 2 a year! The rest I buy from discogs for many reasons not least price and originality. Only once have I had an issue buying second hand which is far less than I can say for new vinyl.
Anyhoo here is another vinyl revival article to kick off the year but I suspect most of us know the story now before we even read it?
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/dec/31/vinyl-labels-mainstream-music-price
AJSki2fly
31-12-2023, 16:31
He makes some good points in the article.
Unfortunately as more new records have been produced it seems the quality control is not all that it could be. I have had to return a couple of ne albums back to Amazon last years, one off-centre pressing and the other was just a bad pressing and very noisy that IMO should have never left the factory.
I have also noticed that sellers are also starting to push prices rather unfairly. The new Peter Gabriel I/O is a good example, I pre-ordered from What Records and got the Bright Side version for £29.00 and the Dark Side for £32.99, I have no idea why there is a difference in price between the two versions. Burningshed.com are £33.49 for either version, if you look on Amazon you will see prices vary from £39.99 to £52.15, HMV are charging £39.99 of either copy, Juno £34.99 for either version, RoughTrade £37.99 for either. So just what is the actual recommended retail price for this release, your guess is as good as mine. But I think it is fair to assume that there is quite a bit of profiteering going on, this seems to be par for the course nowadays.
The big record shop chains all went bust first time around - HMV, Virgin, Our Price, Andy's, Tower...
This time maybe they are making sure they are profitable?
The record companies or whoever is pushing up the price will simply loose me at a customer if they take the piss. I have already turned down buying a fair number of records this year when I have seen what they are selling for.
I have hundreds of great albums already and it would need to be a truly great album before I buy. Sadly this is very often not the case today as there is so much mediocre stuff being produced.
My last album purchase was a second hand mint early pressing of Kraftwerk Trans Europe Express. Stunning recording and sound and fantastic quality. Oh and the music wasn't bad too!:)
Wakefield Turntables
31-12-2023, 16:45
For me it's more about getting to know a label. My latest fetish is DECCA, especially the SXL's!!! I'm really digging the Phase 4 releases and respect them for what they are, usually very well recorded music with some legendary musicians and producers. I'm getting to partner specific cartridges with specific lables. The older lower output Shure carts M55E sound amazing even with .7 stylii, imagine them with a JICO special. My Tonepoets go very well with my SPU's. I'm also researching older RCA Living Stereo releases amongst a few others. I could easily go into Wakefield and spend £10-20 and come back with 5-15 new albums every week to try out. Far cheaper than splurging £30-50 on just one so-so release.
supply and demand might play a part in the prices. Nothing like as many pressing plants as there used to be.
If you can sell the whole run at fifty quid each you'd be daft to charge thirty.
That's not profiteering it's just how it works.
rmcin626
31-12-2023, 17:32
He makes some good points in the article.
Unfortunately as more new records have been produced it seems the quality control is not all that it could be. I have had to return a couple of ne albums back to Amazon last years, one off-centre pressing and the other was just a bad pressing and very noisy that IMO should have never left the factory.
I have also noticed that sellers are also starting to push prices rather unfairly. The new Peter Gabriel I/O is a good example, I pre-ordered from What Records and got the Bright Side version for £29.00 and the Dark Side for £32.99, I have no idea why there is a difference in price between the two versions. Burningshed.com are £33.49 for either version, if you look on Amazon you will see prices vary from £39.99 to £52.15, HMV are charging £39.99 of either copy, Juno £34.99 for either version, RoughTrade £37.99 for either. So just what is the actual recommended retail price for this release, your guess is as good as mine. But I think it is fair to assume that there is quite a bit of profiteering going on, this seems to be par for the course nowadays.
If you are buying new from a retailer you need to do quite a bit of research, as to price variations as you have pointed out.
After reading a post on Steve Hoffman, I started following David Hughes of Revolution Records, which has been interesting, he gives you details of future releases with the opportunity to reserve a copy and you pay once its been released , the have only I have bought so far was a Steely Dan Gaucho which was just under £32 incl. 24 tracked postage.
still goty lots of the stuff but no system now to play it. thought about a btooth one just for occasional use, but yes prices have been high and continually increasing as far as they think the market will take. if salers slow then you see some outlets selling a bit cheaper
So what price do you chaps think is a fair price for a slab of the black stuff at todays prices.
My last record purchase was back in the early 1980s and I bought Pink Floyd The Final Cut for £7.99.
Here is an interesting articles that does some of the homework
https://vinyl-club.com/history/how-much-did-vinyl-records-cost-in-the-80s/
For me it's more about getting to know a label. My latest fetish is DECCA, especially the SXL's!!! I'm really digging the Phase 4 releases and respect them for what they are, usually very well recorded music with some legendary musicians and producers. I'm getting to partner specific cartridges with specific lables. The older lower output Shure carts M55E sound amazing even with .7 stylii, imagine them with a JICO special. My Tonepoets go very well with my SPU's. I'm also researching older RCA Living Stereo releases amongst a few others. I could easily go into Wakefield and spend £10-20 and come back with 5-15 new albums every week to try out. Far cheaper than splurging £30-50 on just one so-so release.
That's as maybe, but the Decca Phase 4 recordings were deliberately distorted in a attempt to compensate for tracking and tracing errors during replay.
Wakefield Turntables
31-12-2023, 19:38
That's as maybe, but the Decca Phase 4 recordings were deliberately distorted in a attempt to compensate for tracking and tracing errors during replay.
Yes but I like them and they sound great on my system!
Pigmy Pony
05-01-2024, 15:35
The big record shop chains all went bust first time around - HMV, Virgin, Our Price, Andy's, Tower...
This time maybe they are making sure they are profitable?
Well they'll be in for a disappointment when every bugger votes with their feet.
I went into HMV's Preston shop just before Christmas, and one of the first things that caught my eye was Bowie's Young Americans album, for which I paid £20 a couple of years ago off the Amazon. HMV were asking £49.99! I've just looked on their website and that is also their online price. But if your order is more than £20 you get free delivery, so whoopyfuckindoo.
As of about 12 months ago my vinyl acquisitions are pretty much limited to birthday/Christmas gifts, most of my purchases are CD. We just have to wait now for those with more money than sense to lose interest, then the vinyl bubble will burst. Can't wait.
Well they'll be in for a disappointment when every bugger votes with their feet.
I went into HMV's Preston shop just before Christmas, and one of the first things that caught my eye was Bowie's Young Americans album, for which I paid £20 a couple of years ago off the Amazon. HMV were asking £49.99! I've just looked on their website and that is also their online price. But if your order is more than £20 you get free delivery, so whoopyfuckindoo.
As of about 12 months ago my vinyl acquisitions are pretty much limited to birthday/Christmas gifts, most of my purchases are CD. We just have to wait now for those with more money than sense to lose interest, then the vinyl bubble will burst. Can't wait.
I think it is definitely going to burst at the prices they are pushing. I only bought 3 albums last year and only one of those was new!
Not only the price but the sound quality of new pressings is not as it was; neither is the flatness of the vinyl record. The only thing that has improved are the record covers.
Pigmy Pony
05-01-2024, 16:35
There are a few bargains to be had, but whether it is something you wanted is pot luck. I got lucky with Zappa's Waka/Jawaka, which is selling on Amazon for just £15. Or rather it was Anita's dad who got lucky, he bought it me for Christmas. If I'd known I'd have chosen something more expensive and bought the Zappa one myself :D
It is perfectly flat with no vinyl noise btw.
For me this new found Vinyl revival has drastically increased my CD purchases.
Why pay £40 plus for a digital recording on Vinyl when it's available on CD for £10 or less.
For me this new found Vinyl revival has drastically increased my CD purchases.
Why pay £40 plus for a digital recording on Vinyl when it's available on CD for £10 or less.
I am sure they sound exactly the same?;)
Why pay £40 plus for a digital recording on Vinyl when it's available on CD for £10 or less.
I agree, the cost of new vinyl is absurd. I rarely buy vinyl these days.
CD sales are also rising.
Vinyl now in the luxury market price-wise, I see CD going the same way over next ten years as physical media becomes the elite way to listen to music - streaming services have no cachet.
I have a feeling the only way they can "give" away music free on streaming is by screwing those who actually want to buy and own a copy of it.
But the industry will get greedy and they will suddenly find their sales falling - again!
I have a feeling the only way they can "give" away music free on streaming is by screwing those who actually want to buy and own a copy of it.
But the industry will get greedy and they will suddenly find their sales falling - again!
streaming is pretty close to free already. the only people who score is the really big record labels, of which there are only about 3 now, and the end user who gets a whole world of music for very little. the actual streaming companies, small labels and majority of smaller artists lose out
the small artists I know make all their money from ticket sales and merch (including CD and Vinyl) sold direct at the gig.
Most of us now a bit old and cynical but we may remember as teenagers we loved the bands we were into so owning their records and maybe some t-shirts and other stuff, was a big deal. That hasn't changed with younger generations - if you love a band you want the merch - including physical copies of the albums.
Still the same for me, if I love the band or artist and want to support them I buy their stuff. There are a few artists who I would pay almost any money for their music on vinyl. They are generally small so probably appreciate the support.
Funny isn't it how the big artists who don't need the cash and are rolling in it usually charge the highest price for their vinyl where as smaller artists are not so greedy!
I don't think I've bought a brand new vinyl record in this century, so I don't know!
rmcin626
06-01-2024, 12:47
I still purchase new releases on vinyl but nowhere near the numbers I used to. If I like the artist, the most recent being Durand Jones and the new Stones album, most of my purchases are reissues and again I’m quite picky about what I buy.
Audio Al 2
06-01-2024, 13:54
" Vinyl is back.....Again! "
I wasen't aware it went anywhere , Not in my life . I started in 1971 and am still going strong. :)
" Vinyl is back.....Again! "
I wasen't aware it went anywhere , Not in my life . I started in 1971 and am still going strong. :)
What did you do in the 1990s when new releases weren't even available on Vinyl? That was when I went digital - and I wasn't happy about it but there was no choice.
rmcin626
06-01-2024, 14:39
What did you do in the 1990s when new releases weren't even available on Vinyl? That was when I went digital - and I wasn't happy about it but there was no choice.
As some you may know I have been slowly sorting out my new listening room and today I started to unbox some of my cds, in the late 80’s and into the 90’s I was listening to a great deal Southern Soul, and none of those release have ever seen the light of day on vinyl, including UK labels like Kent, everything only came out of cd.
As some you may know I have been slowly sorting out my new listening room and today I started to unbox some of my cds, in the late 80’s and into the 90’s I was listening to a great deal Southern Soul, and none of those release have ever seen the light of day on vinyl, including UK labels like Kent, everything only came out of cd.
Worth taking another look Robin as stuff I never thought would come out on vinyl has appeared.
rmcin626
06-01-2024, 16:26
Worth taking another look Robin as stuff I never thought would come out on vinyl has appeared.
Good point James, I have looked for some but some are on very small labels and I Kent/Ace have released some older product on and Speakers Corner have issued a few
You have to always keep looking I find as they quietly release stuff and sudden you find it for sale on Amazon as I found out recently!:eek:
Pete The Cat
12-01-2024, 21:00
Decent article. There should be more like it and not the usual lazy retro-is-hip filler each time the sales figures are released.
I think I've made this point before, but IMHO prices since the "vinyl revival" have completely undemocratised vinyl compared with its heyday, when ordinary homes could have records and players.
I get the economics of lower production volume and higher margin but my £4.99 LP as a student in '82 would be equivalent to £20 today and yet as just one example Roxy Music's re-releases appeared in HMV last year for £34.99 each - merely single albums in original sleeve designs and nothing more. That's before you get to the "premium" priced limited coloured vinyl rubbish that can't be properly quality-checked at the plant as well as black vinyl can and so it has more surface faults. And RSD is just a flipper's bonanza - have a look at eBay the day afterwards and don't fall off your chair crying.
It's a disgrace - but consumers have played their part in keeping prices up because so many have been willing to pay.
Until last year, I reckon. I've reduced my new album intake since records simply aren't good value. I think others are feeling the same. We've been gouged. Hell, we've a cost of living crisis and this is a discretionary item. Using HMV as my anecdotal benchmark I notice that their bargain section is now 3 albums for £55, having been 2 albums for £50 a year ago, and it's now got a much wider choice than the old classics like Rumours. I've seen more retailers holding sales on Discogs and labels holding clearout sales on Bandcamp.
I don't think it will all crash one wet Tuesday morning, but I do think the market has started a pricing adjustment in order to sustain itself.
Pete
it's a luxury item - I saw today Burberry issuing a profit warning saying luxury goods sector has contracted markedly last six months.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.3 Copyright © 2026 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.