Vinyl records have been around for a long time. We know them for being the medium through which audio like music was stored. Over the years vinyl has been a collector’s item.
This is partly because there are few plants out there producing vinyl. And vinyl was once the “gold standard” at some point.
Most people looking to spend money in getting vinyl often wonder whether buying vinyl is something actually wise or a complete waste of money.
In this post I’m going to discuss this so you understand vinyl better and have an educated edge the next time you encounter an interesting vinyl record.
With that said, is vinyl a waste of money?
It depends. If you want to buy vinyl because you like the listening experience that comes with playing audio via a record player then it’s definitely not a waste of money. On the other hand, If you’re looking at vinyl as an investment; it could be a waste of money because today’s disruptive technologies such as streaming have rendered things like vinyl records obsolete.
These days, vinyl is mainly for collectors. So it all depends like I’ve already mentioned.
Why you want the vinyl
Back in the day, vinyl was the standard way of storing music and musicians embraced this, just as much as the people that listened to the music.
People born from that era are more likely to hold on to their old vinyl records as well as buy more. This is because vinyl records sound different.
Analog tape machines were the mode of recording back then which made records sound a lot warmer and saturated with various kinds of harmonics.
Record players also sound different from modern day sound systems. This is why many people hold on to their record players and vinyl.
So it’s worth it to ask yourself why you want to buy the vinyl.
If you’re looking at it as a great way to relive the old days, then great!
Go for it.
If you’re considering it a good investment, well, not so much.
Why vinyl is not a good investment
Innovation
Disruptive music technologies have continously phased out older technologies.
Back in the day, you had to acquire a record player and buy your vinyl to listen to music.
These days, we carry the music in our pockets, on our phones.
This kind of innovation, has shifted the focus from analog to digital. And let’s face it, everything around us is practically tech.
Your phone, your laptop etc..
Not worth the time
Economically, a good investment is one that allows us to buy and sell products and turn a profit.
The most likely profitable vinyl records are the vintage originals that were pressed back in the day.
Those are the ones that could probably sell for good amounts of money.
If you can source these old records, get them at a good price and resell them. You can make good money and obviously bank on this as a good investment.
However, finding old vintage records that are highly sought after is not as easy as you would think.
Which means they can be very pricey when you find them due to their shortage in supply.
If you have the money to buy them, great. You can do that.
But the next step is obviously getting them sold, which is not very easy today because there are a few people that play vinyl.
Final Thought’s
Vinyl is great and unique which is why there are still many vinyl pressing plants out there carrying out business.
Spending money on vinyl for your own listening pleasure is not a waste of money because it fulfills a certain need for you.
It would be a waste of money If you bought vinyl for no apparent reason.
Furthermore, if you’re a person considering getting into buying and selling of vinyl. You need to do your research and figure out the market before you even spend a single penny on a vinyl record.
You need to first know what the market is in demand for because if you have demand, you can obviously sell your products a lot more easily.
Once you determine what vinyl records are in demand, you can then go ahead and start looking for a reliable source or sources.
Finding the source has to be then followed by agreeing on a price at which you’ll purchase from the said source.
Once that’s done you can go ahead get into business provided that you know your market can pay higher than what you’re paying your source.
Finding vintage records is not easy and can turn out to be a waste of time if you don’t find the records you need.
Furthermore, new technology basically has all music packed on computers which anyone can easily access via the Internet. So this greatly diminishes demand for vinyl.
