“So they’re a bit expensive”

I’ve heard that line a few times since we opened the doors of Sounds Delicious in September 2023, so I thought it time to investigate…..

In the realm of music, few formats have endured the test of time like vinyl records. Despite the advent of digital streaming and the convenience of MP3s, vinyl has experienced a remarkable turnaround in recent years, captivating audiophiles and collectors alike. I think it’s the “tangible asset” that the LP brings to the music lover and collector, rather than the “sound of the airwaves” business model of Spotify and iTunes. The appeal for me, is that they force you to listen to an album the way the artist intended......carefully thought out track listings played in sequential order. A start, a middle and an end. 

The cost of new records are in the eyes of some “a bit expensive”, but I think that depends on your perspective. Physical sales of LP records are resurgent……back to the levels of 1990 (but by then their sales were in terminal decline, ousted from many hearts and minds by the portability of the Compact Disc. When CD’s were introduced, they were blindingly expensive compared to the cost of LPs and cassettes. Only the move by supermarkets to start selling CDs in the 1990s brought about a price war and the £10 disc selling price for the Top 40 Chart albums.

The shift to purchasing CDs with the weekly shop instead of a trip to the dedicated music retailers lead to a rapid decline of record stores across the country….. independent stores that were once a rite of passage for the teens of Britain began disappearing one by one as their core sales products were sold as loss leader by the supermarket giants, depriving the record store owner of their life blood sales of selling music to the average Joe. Yes they still had the more specialist lines and new releases, but the moment any album made it to the charts, there it was in the supermarket trolley alongside the weekly shop.

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Do you remember the old C90 music cassettes?

The perfectly sized media to capture an entire LP on each side, (with just a enough breathing room to capture the needle drop whilst we sat there poised to hit the pause button. The process of capturing an album on the more portable format was a skill developed early in many a teenager’s bedroom, (before we even contemplated mastering the long lost art of a mix tape).

An LP record can hold an average of 22 minutes per side so the C90 at 45 minutes recording length per side was ideal. However with the introduction of the CD, 74 minutes per disc was now possible. Artists could add extra content to a single easy to reproduce piece of media……extra content on vinyl however means extra discs are required, and with that certainly comes an increase in costs. It’s not a new phenomenon. Back in the 70s and 80s a “double album” cost way more than any single album ever did…..so how do the prices match up?

Back in 1983, the year I bought my first album I decided to make some price comparisons then and now with a side by side comparison of the UK average prices

Item: Average UK House Price

1983: £25,000 Now £295,000

11 x fold increase

Item : Pint of beer 

1983 £0.60 per pint 2023: £6.00 per pint 

10 x fold increase

Item: Single album LP

1983: £3.99 Now: £25.00 

6 x fold increase

Item: Average UK Salary 

1983: £8,500 Now: £35,000 

4 x fold increase

So it appears the bigger question isn’t why are LPs so expensive now, but why haven’t our earnings increased at the same rate as houses and beer prices have over the last 40 years?! That's a question which probably needs to be addressed by every Conservative party voter across the country over the last 40 years......they destroyed our Unions and in doing so, they destroyed our earnings 

While the monetary value of vinyl records may fluctuate over time, their enduring appeal lies in their ability to evoke emotions, preserve musical heritage, and serve as timeless artifacts of human creativity. As we celebrate the rich history and enduring legacy of vinyl, one thing remains clear: the needle will continue to drop, and the music will play on.