Is it financially reckless to purchase original pressings of Blue Notes, Beatles albums, etc.?

The market for certain original lp pressings is on fire. For instance, many Blue Note and Beatles albums are commanding thousands of dollars on eBay.

Will these records be enduring investments that continue to appreciate in value over the centuries, or will they ultimately become irrelevant? I think the answer ultimately must depend on whether these records are truly timeless. It does seem that the market for these records is booming because the baby boomer generation is nostalgic towards its youth and has the financial means to conquer that pursuit. But, 50 years from now, and 150 years from now, when the relevant generations have passed, will these records become meaningless relics and the demand for them will perish? Or, do these records encapsulate such an important part of human history and present timeless sounds such that they will continue to appreciate in value?

Does anyone know of any literature on this topic and/or have opinions?


For those who have spent thousands and thousands of dollars on original pressings, do you have an expected exit point to sell the albums? Or, do you simply assume that you are not wasting thousands and thousands of dollars and your grandchildren won't have to give them to goodwill because the demand has plummeted? Or, do you simply not give a damn?

 

This whole hobby is financially reckless.

 

It is if you have a crystal ball and see them dropping. Remember Beanie Babies? They were huge and then they were almost worthless. I'm not suggesting the exact same thing for vinyl, but the bottom could drop on it and then the original Blue Notes, etc will be fetching much lower prices. Collectibles can go south fast sometimes.

 

I think original LPs and 45s are absolutely timeless. I mean, it's how the music was originally released. The original sound on the original format. It doesn't get any more truer than that. It doesn't get anymore real than that if you know what I mean.

Records literally last forever, even with playback.

As far as is it worth spending thousands of dollars on records? I think so. To have and cherish a tangible piece of history. And not just something to look at either, something that has a function. Sometimes pieces of history have no inherent usefulness, but records do. You can admire it by looking at them and playing them.

 

Right, Beanie Babies are a great example. But, surely a random stuffed animal design used to make money does not have the same potentially timeless value as artifacts that encapsulate both the nascent yet arguably pinnacle stages of now worldwide musical art forms. So, is it possible that some of these records will endure and continue to appreciate in value, like a stradivarius violin, etc.?

 

Depends on how much a certain pressing/label is fetishized- The Beatles original pressings of "Please Please Me" go for crazy money and will probably maintain their value- I imagine as physical media dies off or becomes more arcane to younger audiences most prices will dip from their peaks (yes I know about the "vinyl resurgence")

 

There's also the age factor to consider- those who might fetishize it are getting older and dying out, and that may also lower the value of these pressings by reducing demand.

 

I get what you're saying how it doesn't get any more real than the original sound on the original format. But, for instance, an early recording of say a John Phillip Sousa march from the early 20th century doesn't command the prices of a Beatles or 60's jazz album. I can't help but think this is because the generation interested in Sousa marches is now gone, and the Beatles market will similarly be gone in a few generations.

 

Many Beatles records are over-priced on Ebay .
As a collector myself, I buy what I want, at the price I am comfortable with. I don't buy for any kind of future investment; if it works out well later for myself or someone after I'm gone --- fine.

 

Entirely speculative. Buy things that give you joy and pleasure. If you're lucky, they'll go up in value.

 

I highly doubt the Beatles will be forgotten in a few generations. They helped shape the way we listen to music. They are too significant. Too great of an impact.

 

My record store owner tells me the value of Beatles merchandise is still high, and that they're always successful; unlike, say, Elvis - whose value has kind of died out. Now, one may say that this is because Elvis' original fanbase is older, but so are the original Beatle Fans. I think it's more a case where Elvis is not as viable to today's youth as The Beatles can still be, and are (and I say this as a big Elvis fan and collector).

 

Opinions?
I would say anyone would spends top dollar, doesn't give a damn.

An investor likes to buy low and sell high.

 

Yeah, that all makes a lot of sense. Now of course, there will still always be declines and resurgences in Beatles sales. But that is true of anything. My point is, they will never become insignificant or completely forgotten.

 

I know that jazz records that used to be expensive (Norgran, Clef, etc) have dropped and big band material has collapsed while Blue Note is ascendant - I expect when I kick my kids will be saying how do we dump this **** no one listens to any more? My original 1500's and 4000's will be worth little.... Kinda sad....

 

Elvis started 10 years before the Beatles. The same will happen to the Beatles. They both have sold millions of records. Their are plenty of records out there & not enough collectors.

 

I don't care. I buy what I want to listen to; sometimes I look for original or earlier pressings if I think the quality is better and the price is within my range. How they will hold up as an "investment" is irrelevant to me as I am not looking to sell them or for my family to benefit from any sale. I am not interested in buying records as an investment or even as a "collection". I'd rather put my money in more traditional financial investments.

 

That's true about Elvis.
His original fanbase isn't shelling out $200 for M- original copies of his 1956 releases, they're buying them on CD.

The popularity with soundtracks has died out big time. At one time, you could fetch $200 for a clean copy of Moby Dick or Long John Silver (both RCA 10" LP's), now they go cheap. We bought a 2000+ LP soundtrack collection in 2001, a few months before I left Florida. The only things that sold were the Italian tracks, the Blaxploitation tracks, and a few pieces here and there (mostly to DJ's for sampling like "Sweden..Heaven or Hell" for Ma Nah Ma Nah). Most of the older ST/Cast collectors I knew all sold off their collections since they're all elderly and don't want their wives selling off their collections cheap. We wound up dumping the rest of the collection cheap.

It's odd since a good number of mid-late 50's rock LP's are turning up in the thrifts here (Bill Haley, Elvis, Ricky Nelson, 4 Seasons, lots of Cameo/Parkway LP's) in place of the standard MOR thrift store fare like Mantovani.

Back at the store around 2000, a prime Cameo/Parkway LP would bring $25-30, now I see them selling for $15.
Now the original rockers are getting older and dumping their collections and creating a glut in the marketplace. When you have a glut and no demand for the records, the prices drop. I can still see jazz, rockabilly, psych, and garage still bring in the cash, but I can see some early rock and 50's teenage pop fare wane.

 

I don't think it will happen to The Beatles though, because somehow they seem more "fresh" every decade, and still appeal to new, younger people. But of course, you never know...

 

The question I ask myself is "if tomorrow I couldn't even sell this for a penny, would it still be worth the money I spent on it to me?" If the answer is no, I don't buy it. I think it's crazy to invest money in records with the assumption that you'll be able to sell them for a profit. Just buy what you want to listen to/look at and don't worry about the worth someone else attaches to your things.

 

Plenty of US 1950's originals that I paid $100 for in the early 2000's are worth about 25% of that, now.

Everything is a market. There will be a time when these multi thousand $ Blue Notes drop in value.

 

if my buying of vinyl was primarily about making money or saving LPs as an investment, i'd say yeah. thankfully my value driver is finding the best sounding pressings of my favorite albums and hopefully having a nice collection to pass on to someone who cares in the distant future.

 

Why are you asking what these records will be worth in 150 years? It doesn't matter and nobody knows.

 

Time is not on your side if you expect many of these items to maintain or increase in value. The generations of fans grow older and pass away. The same thing will happen with The Beatles, although it may be more drawn out, given their stature and reach. Sure, there will likely be certain items with prices that continue to defy gravity for however long. We see them for sale all the time, but that pool grows smaller every day. Bottom line - buy what you like and play the hell out of it, but don't expect most of this stuff to fund your retirement.

 

Collecting records as an investment is a bad idea. Imho.