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Vinyl price insanity

Middlemex

pfm Member
So here is the weird thing -
Vinyl used to be the medium of choice, since we had litlte alternative, cassettes or defunct 8-track. That was before CDs.
When Cds came out they were more expensive than vinyl, which back in the 70s/80s, were often sold at Nice price of £2.99. A new LP at RRP in those days was maybe £5.59 or £6.49.

Now that we have a vinyl revival, things have gone crazy - especially for limited edition stuff. But even a new LP is in the £20s region. A CD is usually around £10, and then comes down in price.

But special LPs, eg Pink Floyd blue vinyl Division Bell sesl at £80 or more, since it is out of print, whereas the live PULSE box set is several hundred £s, whereas the Cd is around £15.

Totally nuts!
 
Discounting the special/limited/cash grab stuff, a normal LP release of a new album is about £18-20 ish give or take, adjusted for inflation from your £6 to today is about £18. We aren't a million miles off.
 
It is an interesting market. It is unwise to use 1980s vinyl as a benchmark, especially budget reissues such a Nice Price as a lot were pretty dreadful (especially Island and Virgin’s equivalents) usually lacking the gatefold sleeves, inserts etc of the original issue and often pressed on simply horrible reground vinyl (frequently with bits of crap pressed into the surface). Major label vinyl at the time was certainly viewed as inferior to the new CD technology which was very expensive (a tenner was a heck of a lot in the mid to late 80s). The indie labels tended to be a lot better producing decent vinyl with nice sleeves etc.

Vinyl is now viewed as a premium niche product and is priced accordingly, though in real terms is no more expensive than it was in the 50s to early 70s. CDs are in a strange place as after decades of being very cheap they now find themselves as an increasingly niche product as streaming is the bargain bucket end of the market now. They are becoming scarce, far too many new titles only being released on vinyl and streaming/download with no CD at all, which is a huge shame IMO.

FWIW I view the second hand CD market as the most interesting at present. It reminds me very much of how vinyl was in the ‘90s in that in most ways it is a ‘buyers market’, and it is similarly it is very rapidly splitting into ‘shite you can find anywhere for 50p’ and ‘good collectable stuff’. My suspicion is we are now at the bottom of the CD market or maybe just past it as increasing numbers are now hunting the really good stuff (early full-silver, ‘targets’, blue-face, various Japanese etc). It is getting harder to find bargains in the wild, though is still way easier than with vinyl. If it follows vinyl into the niche/nostalgia market mint examples first issues of even popular titles will start to climb again.
 
Just rip off marketing. CD`S were more expensive than albums when they came out, companies made millions, plus the new players for the discs etc. Now the need for companies to make more money, and; Bring back vinyl at nearly twice the price of CD`s. Oh yes, then there is the turntable to buy, the amp in use now needs a phono stage. Even crappy tapes are making a comeback!! For those who have stuck with vinyl through it all, fair play, for you people you are getting more choice of what to buy again. Though i do think the prices are way to high.
 
Just rip off marketing.

I’m perfectly happy to pay for good quality product, especially limited editions direct from the artists. I’ve likely spent a good couple of £k on new vinyl over the covid period which helps fund good art in the face of total ripoff streaming services that pay musos naff all. In the process I’ve ended up with a lot of vinyl that is now highly collectable and worth much more than I paid. Win win. If you care about new music then you need to fund the artists, and this is the best way in these times where gigs are far too risky or cancelled entirely.
 
I go to record fares and the vendors now want £3 to £5 for CDs
I can get them delivered to my door by Magpie for £1:75 to £2:99 for the same stuff
Or from poundland for £1
Makes it hard to support the vendors
 
I don't mind paying £20 for new records but draw the line at the £30+ being asked by some bands. Endless live performances and radio broadcasts don't deem to offer much either other than a way to wring cash out of fans.

While in theory I've made a tidy profit on my 90's purchases, I've no plans to sell any so it's just like house prices, I'm sure the government will find a way to tax them when I'm gone.
 
In about 93-94 I remember CDs in places like Virgin or HMV being £15-16, £12ish in independent shops. I’ve still got a number of albums on vinyl from that time which I bought because they were cheaper than CDs.

Taking inflation into account, £16 for a CD in 1994 £ was equivalent to over £32 today. For comparison the OP example of £6 for an LP in 1980 £ is the equivalent of a little over £26 today.

In that context, £20 for a vinyl album today isn’t actually all that bad, and a CD for a tenner is a bargain.
 
Bowie's Hunky Dory 8000 only pic disc reissue for £38 is pure greed in my book.

Edit - My mistake, some indies are selling it for £35;)

It's hard to find a first release of HD as it was a bit of a flop at first - it was a year before it began to sell enough to make the album charts - but those year on pressings can be had for less than £30. I have this one and it sounds wonderful.
 
Vinyl has gone up but CDs are much cheaper.

New CDs are definitely going back up. I’ve regularly had to pay >£10 for new releases which is vastly more than say five years ago. They are becoming a low-volume niche market now with many new pop titles not even having a CD issue as that demographic is far more likely to stream.
 
I go to record fares and the vendors now want £3 to £5 for CDs
I can get them delivered to my door by Magpie for £1:75 to £2:99 for the same stuff
Or from poundland for £1
Makes it hard to support the vendors

Excellent point, but the only problem with the Poundland's of the world is the lack of choice and element of pot luck. The last time I had a peek most of the shelf was taken up with copies of The Corrs 'Talk on Corners' and The Verve's 'Urban Hymns'.
 
New CDs are definitely going back up. I’ve regularly had to pay >£10 for new releases which is vastly more than say five years ago. They are becoming a low-volume niche market now with many new pop titles not even having a CD issue as that demographic is far more likely to stream.

Interesting. Though my understanding is it's a lot easier/cheaper to do a modest run of CDs than it is to do an equivalent vinyl run.

Agree that CDs are a niche product now. Outside of friends who are proper music nuts (or musicians) owning a CD player is becoming increasingly uncommon.
 
In about 93-94 I remember CDs in places like Virgin or HMV being £15-16, £12ish in independent shops. I’ve still got a number of albums on vinyl from that time which I bought because they were cheaper than CDs.

Taking inflation into account, £16 for a CD in 1994 £ was equivalent to over £32 today. For comparison the OP example of £6 for an LP in 1980 £ is the equivalent of a little over £26 today.

In that context, £20 for a vinyl album today isn’t actually all that bad, and a CD for a tenner is a bargain.

Spot on. I think I remember some of my CDs from that period even being £16.99 from HMV, I could never work out why they were more expensive.
 
New LP prices are absurd although I've been buying a fair bit the last couple of years since I've not been able to travel.

Truth be told, with these prices, CDs are a no brainer. I've absolutely no problems with CDs; in fact I probably prefer them for modern releases.
 


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