Guardian article: Why Elvis memorabilia is plummeting in value

I never really see younger people(20-30 year olds) who are interested in Beatles record collecting, spend hundreds or more on one rare Beatles record. I have seen them spend hundreds on a stack of records or a box set. I really don't think they can appreciate a rare label or cover variant of original Beatles records and are willing to pay a premium to own them. 30-40 years ago, first generation Beatles collectors then 20-30 years old. Were spending hundreds or more on rare Beatles items like it was a matter of life or death. Whether they could afford to or not. I don't think that kind of passion or obsession for collecting high end Beatles rarities has been passed on to today's younger collectors. The market will continue to be supported by those who created it in the first place and maybe a generation after. I don't think there's too many 40 year old record collectors willing to spend $10K on a rare Beatles 45 for example. But the love for their music has and will transcend the generations for many years to come.....hopefully!

 

Heard the Rudy Vallee market is taking a real hit.

 

One name is the future of collecting, serious artist, Nick Cave.

 

The 45s are much rarer (or at least more valuable) than the 78s.

 

Oh Please...

 

A note: Frank Sinatra did the "album-as-artistic-statement" before the Beatles did, with his 1950s Capitol albums. He did it within the realm of pop music too, as of course jazz musicians also preceded the Beatles on that count.

 

One thing not really brought up in all this is that I believe truly near mint first pressings of Fabs and early Elvis lps will hold their value. Sure, future generations may have their ipod soundcloud or whatnot and get it for free. I'm sure the vast majority will do this.

...but I also see that as time marches on, finding records that are beloved generation after generation looking pristine is going to get harder and harder, and like you have Kindle that hasn't stopped people from buying rare books so same principle applies. I don't see everyone just giving up on physical media.

 

And as much as some people would like to believe they never existed i think they've only grown in stature.

 

As did dozens of others. Artists took advantage of the thematic possibilities of the LP from the very beginning of the LP era.

 

Today's pop star still use the Beatles blueprint. Their image of 4 charming guys who make this great body of music still resonates with everybody. Until humans will have evolved into large cranium orbs, the Beatles will still be cool.

 

Outrageous even by the standards of this place!

 

Absolutely. Why wouldn't it?

 

That sounds like a statement from 1964; every charming boy wants to join a handsome beat quartet and go "oooooooh"!

 

At any of my local shops, the beatles bin has anywhere from 20-40+ LPs in it, most are under $10. Beatles records are simple to find, im not sure how anyone can say the market is not oversaturated with beatles albums. Maybe not the rare ones, but that's the same case with anyone's music.

 

Thr beatles were the first pop band to have 4 members? I learn something new every day.

 

Yeah, The Beatles were smart about not over saturating the market with themselves: That's why there was a ****load of Beatles items hitting the market in '64/'65... Wigs, dolls, model kits, record players, trading cards, board games and so on... The Beatles never went so far as to cheapen themselves/their image with memorabilia like Presley did...

 

Unfortunately for Elvis' legacy his image and lore overwhelmed his wonderful music long ago (as far as the general public is concerned.)

 

It would be great if Al Jolson, Eddie Cantor, and Gene Austin could weigh in on this topic.

 

Elvis did himself no favors not touring the world, associating with Las Vegas, grinding out films with subsequent toss off soundtracks, isolating within the Memphis Mafia bubble, sticking with a dated look.. etc.
Coming off the 68 comeback perhaps he should have dumped Parker no matter the cost.
Ironically he seems to fit today's America's Got Talent Idols and Bro Country than he did with the times they are a'changin'
Never write off an artist's legacy.
Maybe some content provider will sell an "Elvis was secretly James Bond" script that will be a world wide smash.

 

The Guardian is even less credible than Wikipedia. The writer's last article was titled "I built an affordable sex robot"

 

I tried to tell that to an old coworker of mine: I don't think it ever set in... I told him that and he was like "But it's The Beatles" and I was like "I don't care who it is, they sold millions of albums, so unless you have a numbered copy or one pressed on white vinyl, don't hold your breath thinking you hit pay dirt.." (It was a copy of "The Beatles"/AKA "The White Album" that he was always bragging up, having found it at a yard sale.)

 

The Guardian is a respected news outlet. It has credibility. That other article was written for Vice. If you know what Vice is you'd understand why the article is written the way it's written.

Just because people don't like the premise of an article, it doesn't mean the site/newspaper is no longer a credible source for news.

 

I don't think it's just Elvis collectibles that might be suffering. I've heard other comments about rock n roll from that era in general not being as in demand as it once was. Obviously that's a big generalisation because some stuff is still quite collectible and expensive. But I think in general there is truth to that.

Even the lower end of the Zeppelin collectible market has suffered. Many of the items I bought a long time ago have not gone up in value. Many have stalled or actually gone down and can be a difficult sell. There's still the cream of the crop e.g. concert posters but a lot of stuff isn't as desirable as it once was.

I think if you we were to track Beatles memorabilia prices (lps and non-lp stuff) we'd probably find a general decrease in price as well. I think it would be true about many bands.

 

The snobbery and close mindedness in this thread thinking the Beatles will use their superpowers from beyond the grave to remain relevant until the end of time is exactly why I cant stand Beatles fans.

 

My favorite part of this thread is the quick transition from an Elvis thread to a beatles thread.