Dear new vinyl enthusiasts,
I’d like to start by saying welcome to the wonderful world of records. It’s one of my greatest joys and I hope you find the same happiness in your digging ventures, listening, and collecting that I have. I won’t bore you with explaining analog and digital realms and why your new hobby is so sonically pleasing. The fact that you’re enjoying the sounds from your turntable to your speakers is evidence enough of the frequencies traveled in the analog soundscape. That said, us veteran vinyl junkies need to clue you in on how you’re affecting our real estate. Please bear with me through the good, the bad, and the ugly.
The other day I learned about the r/vinyl subreddit. While scrolling through I found several posts with pictures of ABBA, Fleetwood Mac, and Black Sabbath albums laid out in well-arranged displays accompanied by gleeful writings of members’ days of digging with groans about how the new venture has emptied their pockets. While all the artists mentioned have put out excellent material I was left scratching my head. How did these albums break your pockets? Unless your budget was $5 or the records were in mint condition, you overpaid.
These are all what us skilled crate diggers refer to as “dollar bin gems”. Meaning if you’re paying more than a dollar for them you’ve been hoodwinked, swindled, scammed. The record store owners have spotted you coming a mile away. They’ve carefully arranged their troops by way of $5 orange tags on the lower shelves of their inventory. They’ve attacked by smiling and putting your money in their pockets. They’ve replenished the battlefield by changing the rules of engagement and moving these lower level used findings to the upper shelves. We already battle-scarred vinyl veterans wounds from our ignorant early days have been reopened by the skyrocketing prices you’re naively paying. We’ve become your collateral damage.
The first argument I usually hear from green diggers is they’re willing to pay for the art. I understand that rationale but grasp that your albums are being purchased second hand. The artists that contributed to the creation aren’t being compensated by your generous spending. You’re pricing existing customers out of a market we created and backing your inquisition with a false utopian ideal.
Imagine record stores as a deteriorating neighborhood with a great art scene. The rent is cheap, that’s why artists live there. Then hipsters start moving in to take pride in what they have no hand in. The rent goes up and the corporations move in to support their consumerism. The artists can’t afford the rising rent and don’t care for the American Apparel clothes. We have no choice but to relocate. It’s called gentrification and now you’re doing it to our records but there’s nowhere for us to go. With gentrification also comes frozen yogurt and craft beer shops so there is a silver lining.
Existing record companies who mostly focused on digital media have noticed the surge in vinyl sales. We’re starting to see new releases and reissues in our chosen form of consumption. This is great and I can only hope artists revert to analog recording methods reestablishing our coveted warm signal paths. Thanks for making them take notice. It gives hope that we can coexist. Please just research market prices before fulfilling your need to support the record store owners’ arts, and don’t jump in front of me when I’m digging in a crate.
Peace & Happy Digging
Def Wax
Def Wax 