The rising cost of new Vinyl

Here's an interesting example i just found randomly looking for a pie chart that shows
the business expense breakdown, and happened across a real case for an album release.

Melissa Manchester is crowd sourcing a new record, look at her business expense categories,
manufacturing is a very small slice of the cost:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/melissa-manchester-you-gotta-love-the-life#/

 

Nah, I'm surprised with all of the baked in costs that they can afford to sell vinyl at all.

Seriously, I get the economies of scale. If only a couple thousand records are getting pressed, there are a lot of fixed costs to account for in setting a price. I'm not sure what the price point needs to be but small press runs are an issue.

 

Rainbo Records was used strictly as an example of MANUFACTURING COSTS , due to it's wide usage by major record labels. Other companies are comparable. I just received 2 different LP's pressed by RTI and they had so many defects that I have sent them back. I've also had poorly pressed LP's by QRP and URP.

 

So how much for a re-issue as I was talking about?

 

But, what it comes down to is why one LP would currently sell for under $20. and another with identical packaging would sell for $30.-40., including brand new first time release AND re-issues as I was referring to? How do you explain that? I'm not used to working for free so I wouldn't think that they would sell records for below their cost.

 

From my own personal experience, 1000 units is about where you begin to get past breaking even - and my experience is limited to self-released projects (no distributor, record label etc.). And that's only if everything goes smoothly and you can sell off your stock quickly. (in other words, theoretically).

As I said earlier, nobody's getting rich from selling vinyl in 2015. (except maybe Keith Richards and Neil Young, who regard vinyl as a premium "fashion statement")

 

Do all artists have to give Barry Manilow a cut of every record?

 

Maybe there is investment recovery built into some of these selling prices.

 

As I stated, manufacturing costs NOT including licensing fees. Of course there are other costs to consider. With re-issues the original production costs have already been paid and are included in the licensing fee. If you want to have someone re-master or re-mix a recording, those costs have to be added on also. So, explain why one new, remixed or re-mastered LP can be sold, at a profit, for under $20. and another similar album is $30.-40.? AND, a new CD version of that release can cost $10.?

 

Which would be included in the selling price of most anything. Who is going to give something away or sell below their cost? That would be foolish, although retailers like WalMart might have loss-leaders hoping that you would upgrade or buy something else also. Maybe it comes down to who is more greedy. Also note, many times the selling prices go down after a period of time. Gone are the days of overproduction of records, so you don't have the bargain bins of cut-outs like what used to be very common into the 80's. The total cost of production does NOT go down with the first pressing run and when you sell some of that pressing run a year later for half-price, you don't get a partial refund on your investment do you? Say the producer spent $100K making a recording and getting it to market, do you think that he would give you $50K back, just to be a good guy? Heck no. If there is a profit, he sure as heck going to take his share. Production costs are recouped first and then everything else comes secondary, if the production costs are repaid.

 

I'd rather find something used on the various internet websites, than buy the new lps.

 

Much of the price difference can be down to mark up. Record companies set a different wholesale price in different markets. There are differences in amount spent on packaging and different pressing costs due to getting a premium quality pressing for one release and not another. However I think the main difference is mark up both wholesale and retail. I can get the same disc from a US Amazon UK seller for half the price Amazon or UK retailers charge. Purely people taking different margins at the retail end.

 

You mean Caitlin.

 

As I alluded to, greed.
Oftentimes, there are different prices for different similar items, even from the same record company.

 

Not always - different tax regimes, import costs, retailer fixed cost (on-line is far less) and size of run come into play. However wholesale price and recommended retail price can be pretty arbitrary and inflated according to an artist's popularity on the vinyl format. (Warner Neil Young titles). Record companies and retailers are in business to maximise profit not for charity. Few survive that are in the business purely for the love of it.

 

manufacuring cost of the product is a small fraction of the cost of doing business.
If you're truly interested, do your own research.

 

Yes they do, I've been there when the 'guys' who are 'regulars' are just eying the back doors waiting for the back room person to come out with the new product. I've talked to these guys and they mostly are retired and doing this as part of their 'living'. So they know what times new product comes out. And I'd bet there are some who have 'deal's with the manager to go through stuff before it's put out on the floor......PLUS Goodwill has been putting stuff on Amazon and eBay, both CD's and Vinyl. So what's left is almost nothing. I would think that any Beatles or Stones or Zeppelin LP's NEVER make it to the floor.
the beave

 

Isn't vinyl just still right at 1 percent of sales ( after massive growth)

The record companies probably spend more time worrying about which brand of toilet paper is cheaper than the quality, value to any of the vinyl specifics

 

You are visiting the wrong universes.
Give me a dusty box that was just taken out of storage and put in a garage sale to look through and pick the gems out of that are often original pressings in fantastic condition any day over going to the mall to some store that is paying insane rent and is decorated to the hilt and smells like some smell therapy oil to pay an absurd amount of money for an inferior format.
I have found some amazing gems that way, and still do. On a regular basis.
I find them so often that I very often pass them by because I already have multiple copies or simply am sick of taking care of the mass of vinyl I already have that I would far rather listen to the CD than.

 

There wasn't. I sold the bulk of my vinyl off at exactly the right time, right before the used vinyl market hit the bottom of the pit.
I knew a lot of vendors ( I bought and sold with vendors, I knew quite a few of them) who went out of business.
The demand for used vinyl just plain tanked. You couldn't give vinyl away, it was like CDs are now.
Which, that was really a bad situation for vinyl because people started treating used vinyl the way CDs get treated now, as if they were almost worthless. Which of course means that a lot of what would be now very desirable and collectable albums were damaged.

 

I think the main difference in the two "sides" here are between those that have run/owned/worked closely in a business versus those that have little to no knowledge of what it takes to run a successful business...

...and for that reason I'm out.

 

Yes, and then there are those who have lived through everything, done everything, know everything, bought and sold everything. How do you reason with fiction? I'm out too.

 

Regardless of format, music -esp if its two decades or more old, should be cheaper. Its been paid for many times over and after manufacturing costs whatever amount it is, the profit margins will be high.

 

Thanks Sunshine. You love to quote people out of context and bend their words to justify your "stand"
The information that you have shared or commented on is not fact. It doesn't prove your point of view. You are interpreting info to come to your best guess. None of that convinced me. Your rebuttal will likely be something along the line of "you can lead a horse to water", or imply no matter what the sane people (and your sitting as judge of who's sane) say some don't listen. Believe me I've listen to you post after post after post... I just don't agree.

It's common sense. $30 is as high as I go.

 

Officially it's 6% of album sales. But those Neilson or soundscan numbers are deeply flawed since only amazon and a few big box stores report sales. Most new vinyl sales in Brick & Mortor/Mom & Pop music stores are NOT reported.

Measuring by pressing plant production estimates and the vinyl percentage is in the 20% of album sales. Contrary to recent media reports using flawed data, physical sales of new product(CD & LP) do out weigh digital sales/streaming.

http://www.analogplanet.com/content...can-92-million-be-correct#xYugPK15eZlUZdh3.97

It would surprise me if new/used vinyl sales are bigger than new/used CD sales if it were somehow possible to get those numbers.