2020 - Pressed to be 'collectible'

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by dkurtis, Nov 27, 2020.

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  1. dkurtis

    dkurtis sonoftheFather Thread Starter

    2020, the year Corona became more than a Mexican beer, the truth took a back seat to politics, and the record collecting hobby was commandeered by businessmen. Those of us who lived through the 1980s have seen it all before, but then it was comic books, Beanie Babies, and sports cards. The expensive holographic cards and strictly limited collectible editions are all worthless today - why? - because a child's hobby became a business.

    Fast forward to 2020. This year we have seen Abkco press a 900 limited-run, hand-poured, RSD Let it Bleed pressing for a list price of $100. It was an immediate collectible demanding $500 - $600 dollars on eBay and Discogs. You ask why - because it could. There was no audio improvement, fancy box packaging, or bonus cuts - only splotchy colored vinyl. Three Man Records is releasing 333 limited yellow dice pressings of McCartney 3 in December. Improved audio? Nope, yellow-dice vinyl. Why? because they can and we will buy it. In the following interview with Steven Wilson, he states that he will be releasing (one) an ‘ULTRA DELUXE MUSIC PRODUCT ON OBSOLETE MEDIA’ for $13,300 ...... saying hopefully people will see the joke. Yes, I did say ONE. He further states, "But it’s obviously something that music never really kind of dallied with, until recently, this idea of the high concept, high design package made for only a very select, elite few and priced accordingly. And part of me also really dislikes it, so it’s kind of a little bit of a love/hate thing I’ve got going on with the whole world of the deluxe edition box sets".

    Steven Wilson to release an ‘Ultra Deluxe’ box set limited to one unit | superdeluxeedition

    Many of you will say that this has been going on for years as 'Strictly limited' and 'RSD exclusives', but I would suggest that there is something in the air this year that feels different. There is a cold chill - like we have lived through this before.
     
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  2. R79

    R79 Forum Resident

    Location:
    39629
    Didnt the Wu-Tang clan already do this?
     
  3. danasgoodstuff

    danasgoodstuff Forum Resident

    Location:
    Portland, OR
    Pressed to be collectible is as much an oxymoron as a car being a factory custom.
     
  4. Al Gator

    Al Gator You can call me Al

    It doesn't bother me at all. In many ways, music is the most available of all the arts. You can enjoy all kinds of music, in excellent quality, for not a lot of money. And for me it's about the music.

    If the rich folks want to buy a limited edition of Let It Bleed for hundreds of dollars, they're welcome to it. While they stare at that vinyl, I'll love the music from my normal CD edition. Along with incredibly cheap classical box sets, and even streaming whenever I dive into that ocean.
     
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  5. ghoulsurgery

    ghoulsurgery House Ghost

    Location:
    New Jersey
    Fewer and fewer people are paying for music every year. Artists and labels have to do something to bring in revenue. Not that The Rolling Stones need the money, but niche/limited/gimmick/etc releases bring the cash in. It’s at every level of music, from limited lathe cut vinyl pressings of noise rock to 8 variants of the new Taylor Swift LP. If people will buy it, they will offer it.
     
  6. thnkgreen

    thnkgreen Sprezzatura!

    Location:
    NC, USA
    The worst part is that, regarding limited run cd’s, the liner notes are not readable by more music fans/students. Case in point, the Marvin Gaye ‘Once In A Lifetime’ album, of which Hip-O select only pressed 5000. Qobuz has the music available for streaming, but no liner notes. Same with the 40th anniversary edition of ‘Trouble Man’, which sells for over $200. With these foolish practices, the music industry is inviting piracy as your average consumer will not be paying such ridiculous priices, especially in our current economy. I was fortunate enough to make contact with Andy Flory, a musicologist who actually wrote the liners for ‘Trouble Man’ and posted them on his personal site for free. He agreed with my sentiments and said that he had asked the record label to consider another pressing of the TM album but they were not interested. Oh well.
     
  7. dkurtis

    dkurtis sonoftheFather Thread Starter

    The RSD Let it Bleed pressing would be very easy to bootleg. Do you think Abkco or the Stones will care - No. They have made their money.
     
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  8. d*r*j*

    d*r*j* Forum Resident

    I'm not that much of a RollingStones fan, but I do have a copy of Let It Bleed dsd version on black... It sounds okay. Why would anybody care that collectors are willing to pay $500 for a variant of this lp? I saw a mock up of the vinyl that did look amazing, but the in hand copies look kind of lazy.
     
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  9. vinylontubes

    vinylontubes Forum Resident

    Location:
    Katy, TX
    RSD was started by offering exclusives. These weren't intended to be collectible. They were intended to be rewards. The fact that these are collectible isn't my concern. I rarely buy a record because it's rare or collectible. I honestly don't care if my pressing is prettier than a different pressing. Even on RSD, I've gone with the intent of buying very specific exclusive releases, only to walk away empty handed. One was a specific release of 700 on white vinyl. While I saddened I could get one of the 900, I also know that it isn't cost effective to only ever release 900 of these. So, I waited. 2 months later, I bought the release on black vinyl. I don't have any regrets that didn't have the white version. If there are any regrets, it's that I had to wait 2 months for the black pressing. While I think there is always going to be true exclusives for events like RSD, I do think the music industry is aware of the collectability issues. It isn't in the best interest of these items to be collectible. But, at this point, RSD is still a key marketing event that has sustained the interest of vinyl records. At this point it doesn't at all make any sense for the record label not to participate. But I've seen a few things over the years that allow RSD to have their exclusive without starving the market of these records. I've seen foil stamped numbered copies released later in the year. Others have been using the strategy of that exclusive color then a later black vinyl release. Even RSD is categorizing the records as true exclusives or what they call RSD First where there will be eventual pressing available after the event. So, long as the industry is aware of this situation, I think things are fine. Even with expensive copies of these records. Yeah some are ridiculously priced. But you don't have to buy them. That Rolling Stones album has been released a few times recently. And people are still buying them. There have been these Super Deluxe boxes of CD and vinyl over the years. For the most part I'm not interested in them. To each their own. But, if the record labels can find someone else who want that extra content, I'm fine with that. The record labels stop making records when they can't figure out how to be more profitable. It used be because they didn't have marketable artists who sold records. Today it's different. 90% of the record music business is from royalties from digital streaming. I want to continue to buy records. So, if it helps them stay in business, I'm fine with some records being sold as being more collectible and another copy.

    I do think some pressings of a particular album deserve market appreciation. But to me this should result from the buyer's wishes to purchase a better sounding copy. I own a 2nd pressing of Radiohead's OK Computer from 1998. Before the issue of OKNOTOK, this pressing was selling for upwards of $300. The now sell for about 1/2 that price. I'm actually very fine with this. I don't flip my records simply because I can make profits. That's not why I buy records. I'm more than glad that there newer pressings of this album, so people can own a more affordable copy. Most people don't know that their record is better than another pressing. This isn't part of their decision process. They just want a record. My OK Computer is still worth about $150 on the open market. And this is about right. It should be. It's rare as are almost all '90s issued records. And I think it sounds better than the OKNOTOK release. But I'm also glad that Chris Bellman, Kevin Gray and other engineers are also cutting new lacquers for older releases that sound incredible. Having bought record over the past 40 years, I've kind of gotten used to the thought that if there's vinyl pressing of an album, you might want to buy it before it's no longer available. This is something the collectible marketers know, as well. And they take advantage of it. But, it's not like they know something that I don't. So, it's completely fair. I could just as easily sell my copies.
     
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  10. I’d say the greed here is more Abkco.
     
  11. Danby Delight

    Danby Delight Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston
    I guess I don't see what I'm supposed to be upset about. Expensive limited editions are dumb. So I...don't buy them? What else am I supposed to do about them?
     
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  12. JohnQVD

    JohnQVD bought too many records this week

    Location:
    Buffalo, NY
    I was jaded about limited color variants two decades ago. This was a thing in the punk and hardcore scene since the ‘80s. Now everyone gets to experience it. The only thing that annoys me about the whole thing is that it’s often more difficult for me to just get a decent-sounding, well-made plain black vinyl LP. That’s all I want. I don’t want a noisy half & half colored monstrosity.

    Things should get re-pressed if there’s demand. So what if a label puts out an overpriced version of Let It Bleed and people are paying flippers way too much for it? It’s not hard to find a copy of Let It Bleed, so who cares. If it was the only version available, then I would be annoyed. But it isn’t.

    At the very least, the labels are now putting things out there that people want. There were a lot of stores getting stuck with a lot of shelf turds a few years ago that they either sold at a deep discount or are still on their shelves because they couldn’t sell them and can’t return them. At least this stuff is selling, which is supposed to be the point.
     
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  13. BSU

    BSU Forum Resident

    Location:
    Indianapolis
    It's amazing to me so many of you believe Abkco set the price of this album. That's like believing a venue sets the ticket prices.
     
  14. dkurtis

    dkurtis sonoftheFather Thread Starter

    You raise an interesting question as I have assumed they did.
     
  15. PoeRaider

    PoeRaider Forum Resident

    Well, at least Steven Wilson's ultra pressing of 1 copy for £10,000 has all proceeds going to a good cause. And reading that cover of the box, you gotta love his sense of humor.

    But yah the general trend towards artificial scarcity for increased prices is concerning. I guess with physical media dying and fewer people buying music at all, they are trying to get those who are left to foam at the mouth and get our adrenaline pumping. Buy it now, buy them all, don't miss out!

    That feeling you get on rsd when you log into your favorite online record store and wait for the clock to signal feeding time is not an accident. It's addictive to some, I just find it annoying. In fact when I couldn't find Uncle Tupelo anywhere today, I logged out and didnt buy anything at all.
     
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  16. SoporJoe

    SoporJoe Forum Resident

    Location:
    British Columbia
    Complain endlessly! People here love that!
     
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  17. Neonbeam

    Neonbeam All Art Was Once Contemporary

    Location:
    Planet Earth
    Some girls guys round here really seem to have a serious problem with that "Let It Bleed" edition. Was anybody forced by anyone to buy it? :confused: Also that limited Third Man pressing. Jack White has been doing stuff like this for ages now. But good that you've finally noticed it as well.
    :cheers:
    I'm totally not seeing any new developments. Except for the fact that 2020 saw some well and carefully produced deluxe boxes like "Sign O The Times". If they continue in that vein it would be great! :righton:
     
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  18. davers

    davers Forum Resident

    I think of Hip-O Select a bit differently - for the past 20 years or so they've been reissuing stuff on CD that's been out of print for awhile. I view them as similar to the smaller specialty labels that try to make stuff available again with the realization there's demand, but from a fairly limited audience. It doesn't seem like they intentionally design their product to get snapped up in a single day like we're seeing with RSD stuff.
     
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  19. TheSeldomSeenKid

    TheSeldomSeenKid Forum Resident

    I recall that the Frank Ocean ‘Blonde’ Album on Vinyl was rare(think 1,000 copies), which was available on his website on 2016 BF for only 24 Hours, and see the lowest price on Discogs is $625(and that one is only graded VG+), so NM Copies are closer to $1,000. I would hate to accidentally drop such an expensive Vinyl Record, while handling it.

    I think his ‘Channel Orange’ Vinyl Releases in different Color Options, are all ‘Unofficial’ Releases though, so Discogs will not even all those versions to be sold on their website.

    Anyways, it was FranI Ocean, when I first became aware of someone selling a Rare Vinyl Option(and no Regular Vinyl Version) of a Specific Album, but that was just 4 years ago.
     
  20. Malinky

    Malinky Almost a Gentleman.

    Location:
    U.K.
    Well I just had to Google who the heck `Steven Wilson` is!
    So I guess I am not in the target demography for that particular purchase, and my bank account can rest easy.
     
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  21. InStepWithTheStars

    InStepWithTheStars It's a miracle, let it alter you

    Location:
    North Carolina
    Two poles:

    1. Everyone keeps saying Physical Media Is Dead™ so labels are bleeding the fans dry while they still have a chance. Of course, you have the option to not buy it.

    2. If you don't buy it and the sales numbers aren't there, they won't make any more, and then Physical Media Is Dead™.

    It's incredibly predatory of these companies to use these tactics for monetary gain. At least the money for the Steven Wilson set goes to charity.* Making things "limited" and "collectible" preys peoples' fear that they won't get a second chance, causing them to spend more than they want to on a product they potentially didn't even want. There are artists I follow whose new releases sell out quick and shoot up in value overnight, so I buy them all ASAP - and I probably haven't even listened to 75% of them. There's no reason Paul McCartney should be one of those artists. Yet it seems like every color variant of that new album is sold out. Don't they all have different bonus tracks too? That wasn't stated in the article but I seem to recall someone mentioning that.

    And 2020 is the year that greed was legitimized and predatory business tactics plagued the world? Really? I listened to Emotional Rescue last week, does that make it the worst album of the 2000s? I get that people are obsessed with building this up to be The Worst Year Ever® but this is getting ridiculous. Most of what people are complaining about is nothing new. Besides, is the future really going to be better than this? We need to celebrate and enjoy what we have while we still have it.

    * I do have to say, I vehemently disagree with the decision to release an exclusive song on that box set. Steven Wilson is one of the most prolific artists out there, but I have no doubt there's more than one obsessive completist collector of his work. It's not fair to make them have to hope and pray that whoever gets the box uploads the song to the Internet (and it might be a profiteer - or worse, an @$$hole - who gets it instead of one of the super-fans). If this had been on the $75 set or whatever the price is, that would be fine, but only one copy? Not cool. I speak from experience... you can't cure OCD by snapping your fingers.
     
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  22. DRM

    DRM Forum Resident

    Very bad trend and sad to see Paul McCartney being a chronic offender.
     
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  23. Neonbeam

    Neonbeam All Art Was Once Contemporary

    Location:
    Planet Earth
    Paul probably thinks it's "hip" to have an ultra limited vinyl pressing by a "happening" label from a guy who's a self proclaimed analogue guru and also in various "groovy" bands.:biglaugh:
     
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  24. blair207

    blair207 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Fife, Scotland
    It’s ok with me. I am not being argumentative when I say that I don’t discern any sonic benefits from vinyl. I have recently returned to vinyl and it’s partly for the the tactile nature of the medium. So collectible is just an extension of the attractive features of vinyl. I am not going to buy anything I think is overpriced though, I only buy to play.
     
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  25. DRM

    DRM Forum Resident

    Artificial scarcity is such a manipulation.
     
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