DCC Archive Stan Ricker returns back to Mofi

http://stereophile.com/shownews.cgi?1236

 

I'M HARD NOW! DAMN, THE RETURN OF RICKER AND MOFI VINYL! YES, YES, YES!

 

No, I don't think MFSL would have the clout and the capital that they once knew, at least very soon.

Great to hear Stan is back on the cutter. Once I see some good titles, my nipples will stick out, DEFINATELY!

 

Hi,

Nothin' left to do but

Let It Rock,
Jeffrey

 

It's not going to happen for a looong time. First, the new MoFi will have to acctually start releasing stuff. Then, some kind of consensus on quality will have to develop. After that, only time will tell on the titles the new MoFi can secure. After that, someone is sure to come up with a reason why the old MoFi is better than the new. By the time eBay prices come down, we may all have lost our hearing.

 

Awesome to see Stan back!

Getting serious for a moment, there is absolutely no way that the ebay prices will come down on MFSL cd and vinyl at least not until DCC releases some of the artists such as Pink Floyd or Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Then and only then we'll see the old MFSL's come crashing down to reality.

 

Well, they've done their home work and realized (through EBAY) the existing market, and the best thing for lowering prices is competition. So we pay a little more, we get more in return. Nothin' wrong with that...

 

Sorry boys, but I for one DON'T want the prices to drop. No way. I like knowing what I got years ago is going up in value like an investment. And c'mon guys, it's not all that much. Hell, $30 gets you a nice mofi vinly of Dark side or Abbey Road. Only the sealed stuff flys up. And why would the rebirth of mofi bring prices down on titles that they don't release now? The only way the value drops is if they rerelease any old title. No, for me it's an incentive to take care of my vinyl. Don't you guys want to invest in something that goes up in value?? I like the line above about values "crashing down to reality." Sorry, but "reality" is what the market is willing to bear. And remember, that vinyl compound is lonnnnggg gone. JVC has the formula and won't release it.

 

It amazes me what people will pay for a CD on Ebay. A personal favorite, Procol Harum's Broken Barricades recently went for $203.50 and it wasn't even sealed. I found my copy 3 years ago in a cut out bin still sealed for $8.99 (along with the PH "Live" MOFI for the same price). Talk about right place & right time. Do I love this CD ? Very much so. I would definitely put it in my top 5. Would I ever pay that much money for it ? Not even if Robin Trower was going to personally deliver it to my house. (Well maybe...) It just goes to show you that our "Gold" is only worth what someone else is willing to pay for them and my "Gold" ain't for sale.

Happy Listening - ED

 

Now if only those new old stock tubes would drop in price.

Sorry... that was off topic.

[ January 09, 2002: Message edited by: Drew ]

 

Crazy. I found my "Broken Barricades" used (not sealed) and $2 off, so it was even cheaper than yours.

 

How many of you guys have kids? For those that do ask them how often they listen to The Beatles or Pink Floyd or Steely Dan. Dark Side and Katy Lied are two of the most expensive MoFi titles in sealed condition. I don't think my teen would have ever heard of Steely Dan had she not listened with me when she was young enough to sit in the same room with me. I don't think of MoFi vinyl as a long term investment. Most of the people I know that are willing to spend hundreds on an album are all in the 35-60 age range. I'm 37 in 30 years if I want to sell my sealed copy of Katy Lied who is going to buy it? I know my kid won't want when I die and most of her friends have never listend to vinyl. It doesn't matter how rare something is if nobody wants it.

 

Unfortunately, this is very likely exactly right on. :-(

Realistically, it's hard to believe that very many people will care about "our favorite classic music in the original formats" in, say, 20-30 years.

Sad, huh?

 

Patrick, I see you and I not only share similar music tastes, but also good findings of great music at even better prices. Shop On !

Best, ED

 

My 7 year old loves The Beatles and knows practically every song by heart. Great music will always have an audience.

As to whether vinyl will have any collectors value in 30 years, the answer is obviously and clearly no, nor will any CD, SACD or DVD-A.

Clearly the advent of mega hard drives is imminent, and the industry is already rolling out, albeit very expensive right now as are all new technologies, hard drive based music servers with huge storage capacity for download of high resolution files.

Neither vinyl, not any disc based technology will be anything but an antiquity in 30 years!

So, the answer is - buy it not for it's long term collectors value, but for it's musical enjoyment right now, for there is nothing today that will have value in the long term, except for whatever is still usable from your NOS tube stash!

 

You know Robert has a point.

The medium choice will always be replaced by the latest and greatest. And yes, computer file servers or whatever will be the future. But with that said, the art itself, the music, will always continue if it is loved by it's audience. Bands like The Beatles, Beach Boys, whoever are classics of this age, as Mozart, Chopin and Beethoven were of other centuries. Technolgy will always be invented and then discarded, as also music, but great music, no it lives!

Rick A.

 

Am I reading this correctly? Some of you think vinyl is going to "go away" in 20 or 30 years and be worth nothing as a collectible?

I think that's insane. I think there will *always* be a market for vinyl. If not for new pressings, then at least the old stuff. It's not just for audiophiles, either. For example, Beatles collectors might pick up LPs as just another collectible, like a lunch box or a plastic toy guitar. Then there's the whole issue of mixes that are otherwise unavailable, or titles that will never be reissued. That will help keep the vinyl market afloat as well.

What evidence is there to bear out that vinyl as a collectible is going down the tubes? I don't see it. That $3 Beatles LP you bought in Woolworth's in 1966 might be worth over $100 today. How about a mint copy of KISS - The Originals from the mid-70s?

Sure, there are a billion records pressed in the 70s and 80s that are still dime-a-dozen, and may well stay there. Doesn't change the collectibility of your 50s and 60s jazz, pop, rock, and classical titles. The market may be in a slump right now, but I think it has as much to do with the economy as anything else.

If anyone doesn't believe me, feel free to sell me your collection of soon-to-be worthless Beatles, Beach Boys, James Brown, Zappa, Byrds, Elvis, Stones, Dylan, etc etc etc. I'll gladly give you $1 each.

 

People collect stuff. There is a huge mania going on in pseudo-collectables--often numbered and certified and guaranteed to go down in value. I think we'll see these collector CD prices for a good five to ten years, minimum.

In that sense, I guess it might be comforting to think those outrageously expensive CDs might have an added value beyond the music they contain. Personally, I just want the music. I'll never buy another MoFi disc without an endorsement from a trusted source, but if there's a piece of music I want, I'll buy it. Why spend all kinds of money on equipment, and then skimp on music?

 

My grandmother was the president of the local Bing Crosby fan club. I think they had two copies of every Crosby record ever released. To here her talk about that man you would think he was the most popular artist that ever lived. She has since passed on, and I have yet to meet another big Crosby fan. I think the prices of Crosby records also reflect a lack of demand. Now I know The Beatles changed the world, but two of them are gone. So are a good number of their original fans. They have their younger converts, people realizing Beatlemania 40 years later. To that I say "GREAT" the music is some of the best to ever grace a groove. I used to listen to people say the same thing about Crosby. The music may survive( I think it will). But buying vinyl as an investment is a risky proposition. The demand for vinyl will probably always be there, the problem is when we assume that everyone else 30 years from now will still think what we like now is the greatest music to have ever been recorded. I know my grandmother thought Bing Crosby was the greatest. She also thought I liked him too. I have a closet full of Croby records I never listen to. I have no reason to think I'll be in any better touch with my grandkids.

 

I stand by my original post.

Check back with me in 10 or 20 years and we'll see who's right. For now, I have not seen Beatles prices, e.g., drop. About 8 years ago, I bought a NM UK mono "Beatles for Sale" for $20 from Reckless Records. At the time, they had multiple other UK Y/Bs in similar condition for the same price. Now, go check what a NM/NM UK mono Y/B brings on ebay today. Or check Goldmine.

I understand Steve's point, but I still disagree. Sure, something like Beanie Babies are probably not going to last. The 60s, however, are a cash cow, and I don't see that gray train going away anytime soon. Every new generation goes to college, stops washing, tries pot, plays hacky sack, gets laid, and thinks people had all the answers xx years ago. (I'll go to Frisco, buy a wig, and sleep on Owsley's floor.)

Not to open another can of worms, but it's interesting how the popular music of 40 years ago was not necessarily viewed as something that would last at the time. If it had been, I bet Steve's job would be a lot easier. Even into the early 70s, the catalog of someone like Hendrix was not worth that much until it was "re-discovered" and the notion of classic rock emerged.

Sincerely yours,
Capt'n Cynic