Prices for albums are too high for consumers, quality control on the records themselves are hit or miss, musicians(especially in the underground) are not able to meet demands due to the limited amount of record pressing plants as well as first priority favoritism for the big name artists (Adele and Taylor come to mind)

what do yall think

here's an example for yall

the retail price for the recent reissue of All Eyez On Me is $80 (ik it's cheaper on Amazon, but other places list it for the retail price)

yeah i’ve always wanted a vinyl collection but it doesn’t seem worth it atm for more reasons than one. they’re fragile and mad expensive for no reason

i'd say it was reasonable to get in like 10 years ago, which is when i started collecting. nowadays with all the bullshit variants, artificial scarcity for certain albums, it really isn't worth it

vinyl sound quality is amazing though

i’ll wait for hologram vinyl where i’m holding pretend vinyl in my hands. i’m not paying for 180g that price

Incredibley volatile market just like the rare fish market

hopefully when this era dies down, s*** will be much cheaper. i'm predicting a CD comeback in the next 5 years or so just because of the current state of the economy and it's so much easier to distribute CDs

speaking of hologram vinyl

i still think this is pretty cool

If you're getting a vinyl the album should realistically be at least 10 years old. What business do you have buying the vinyl of some Taylor Swift or whoever album you haven't even heard yet? Funny thing is some folks who ordered KSG or Frank Ocean single vinyls might not get them delivered for ten years

It was a small market 10 years ago and isn't exactly about listening to music as much as just being a collectable now. Yes I know the quality is better but we all tell ourselves that to justify our collections lol. I can understand why the prices are higher now than back in the day because of inflation + less manufacturers like you mentioned. I think as demand increases more money can be invested into production on a bigger scale. We're in the period where the infrastructure needs to build itself up again now that it's relevant after the CD and MP3 almost killed it off. I could see prices going lower by 2030 if it ever goes back to stores and isn't made to order like most big releases now but first we need to see how far it will go. The next trend could be cassettes or cd and we'll be stuck with vinyls no one wants

i ordered KSG directly from the site and as soon as i saw it in record stores around October, i cancelled that s*** so quickly

that whole Frank Ocean s*** is still crazy to me

I'd love to buy all my favorite albums on vinyl but prices like this suck. We just have to be selective about what we buy but also keep buying to show there's still demand. If you really need this in your collection I'd suggest a bootleg or keep hunting for a good deal until prices go down or they do a restock. This album is so popular it's more likely to get one in the future for the anniversary

they tried with cassettes a couple years ago, but that s*** plummeted so fast. the only way to buy a deck now is 2nd hand, and if you want a new portable player there's only a select few and they're cheap af quality

I'd love to collect vinyl but I can't bring myself into pouring so much money in it

oh yeah for sure. Black Friday sales, end of the year sales at Barnes and Noble have been very clutch for me when it comes to slightly older albums. Independent shops sadly never have deals

Pretty steep but I usually figure a new, weighty vinyl record is gonna cost you $20, so its not super shocking that they multiplied it by 4

i got friends that are in the same boat. i tell them to never get into it (especially nowadays) because of the amount of money you'd need to invest into it. you could always get high-quality gear 2nd hand at thrift stores for mad cheap, and if you're into older music then a lot of albums are cheap too depending on the artist

I agree OP but also alternatively CDs fulfill the same practical purpose at a significantly reduced price. If people prefer the aesthetics of a vinyl they’re going to pay premium, but there are alternative ways of owning physical copies of the albums you want

for me, the average price for a 1-2 LP record ($20-$25) hasnt changed but the wait for them to be pressed has gone up dramatically

for comparison, Speakerboxxx/The Love Below which is also 4 LPs is priced around $40

Tupac tax

you're right. sometimes i've had to settle for CDs just because the vinyl is too expensive or because it was never pressed in the first place

They took forever with some of those singles, but they sent some orders twice so in the end, it doesn't bother me.

I don't understand the frustration of waiting a long time for something to deliver as long as it eventually comes