Page 2 of 3
Re: Overpriced reggae?
Posted: Thu May 12, 2011 11:01 am
by Lost Shoe
kalcidis wrote:No, they are not. They've never profited from the second hand market...
Quite naturally for all second hand markets with all products - and in this case well allright!
Re: Overpriced reggae?
Posted: Thu May 12, 2011 11:03 am
by Lost Shoe
And again it must be said, that nothing is overpriced, what makes the buyer happy
Re: Overpriced reggae?
Posted: Thu May 12, 2011 11:24 am
by Pug
Is £100 overpriced? For me absolutely, but for others not. I won't pay more than 10-15$ anymore for a used LP or 12", it's just not worth it for me or my wallet. Patience is key when buying second hand stuff, at least it's worked for me over the years.
Re: Overpriced reggae?
Posted: Thu May 12, 2011 1:50 pm
by =Nilo82=
Pug wrote:Patience is key when buying second hand stuff
Amen!
One thought concerning the reissue market: Yes, sadly we had to see a decline in reissue companies the last 2 or 3 years. But some companies like Soul Jazz had just a limited license and now time's up.
Probably it's just a crazy idea, but what if we, the oldschool jamaican music nerds, unite and try to reissue
some stuff instead of mourning? Companies have to make profit, we just have to break even.
Think about it..
Re: Overpriced reggae?
Posted: Thu May 12, 2011 3:23 pm
by blakbeltjonez
Lost Shoe wrote:kalcidis wrote :No, they are not. They've never profited from the second hand market...
Quite naturally for all second hand markets with all products - and in this case well allright!
lol.... 95% of artists didn't see much of anything when the tunes were originally released, either. money all went to whoever funded the record - the producer.
there are only a couple few records that i would think about paying $75-100 for, and that would be a stretch. i've been buying reggae records for almost 25 years and i get bent out of shape when i see really-not-rare records with stupid price tags (i.e., Studio One tunes that have been repressed a million times...whoo, someone thinks it's worth big loot...... never see, come see!).
but, i passed on an awful lot of records that i kick myself over these days because my tastes were different back then when i was pretty young (mostly dancehall), so that's my punishment.
i prefer to be patient - it's more fun that way for me, anyway. i love getting a great record that everyone else seemingly missed for next to nothing, although sometimes it can take a while.
Re: Overpriced reggae?
Posted: Thu May 12, 2011 5:37 pm
by davek
*** Probably it's just a crazy idea, but what if we, the oldschool jamaican music nerds, unite and try to reissue
some stuff instead of mourning? ***
If all the jamaican music nerds pooled together to become sellers, who would be left to be the buyers?
You really would have to approach it as a "losing money" proposition, and it's simply a bonus if you break even.
Re: Overpriced reggae?
Posted: Fri May 13, 2011 4:56 am
by Iron_Spire
Dubmart wrote:
It's a shame that illegal downloading etc., has had such a negative impact on reissue labels as there are plenty of worthy records that it's just not economical to reissue.
I severely doubt illegal downloading has much to do with the scarcity of reggae re-issues. For one thing, the physical cost of manufacturing a disc can't be more than a few cents. And the recordings already exist, all they have to do is transfer them and package it.
The market size is a factor, but no matter how small a market there is profit to be made for anyone willing to cater to it.
Although it's nice to have a collectors market for original pressings, as far as the music itself goes I would rather see it shamelessly downloaded than lost to a generation forever. The artists never intended their legacy to be a few scarce copies that in between collecting dust in a basement - are selling for hundreds in an auction so some rich geek can have a listen.
If I was going to download something (which I would never do!) it would only be for something that I could not otherwise acquire, and I would replace it with a boughten copy whenever I could.
Re: Overpriced reggae?
Posted: Fri May 13, 2011 10:13 am
by Dubmart
Iron_Spire wrote:Dubmart wrote :
It's a shame that illegal downloading etc., has had such a negative impact on reissue labels as there are plenty of worthy records that it's just not economical to reissue.
I severely doubt illegal downloading has much to do with the scarcity of reggae re-issues. For one thing, the physical cost of manufacturing a disc can't be more than a few cents. And the recordings already exist, all they have to do is transfer them and package it.
The market size is a factor, but no matter how small a market there is profit to be made for anyone willing to cater to it.
Although it's nice to have a collectors market for original pressings, as far as the music itself goes I would rather see it shamelessly downloaded than lost to a generation forever. The artists never intended their legacy to be a few scarce copies that in between collecting dust in a basement - are selling for hundreds in an auction so some rich geek can have a listen.
If I was going to download something (which I would never do!) it would only be for something that I could not otherwise acquire, and I would replace it with a boughten copy whenever I could.
Unless you are bootlegging then putting out a reissue costs plenty of money, especially if you do it properly, you have to pay for transfers, mastering, restoration if necessary, manufacturing the records and CDs, a graphic designer to design labels, sleeves, booklets, someone to write sleeve notes, have someone spend time researching all the credits etc. and checking they are correct, pay for promos and a publiscist, then there's the rights holders, you have to pay publishing plus whatever you've agreed with the owner of the material. You can spend thousands of Pounds on a reissue CD/LP before it's even released and then you won't get paid by the distributor for another six months, every lost sale due to an illegal download does make a difference.
There is another way of doing it, just get any old copy of a record, copy it badly to your computer, send some low res mp3 files to the cheapest pressing plant you can find, along with a really bad scan of the sleeve, don't forget to not pay any rights holders, and then you may make some money.
Re: Overpriced reggae?
Posted: Fri May 13, 2011 11:37 am
by Lost Shoe
Dubmart is hitting the nail right on point.
And while illegal downloads surely foul the reissue market, the whole music industry suffer from the download culture. And even the music itself.
Re: Overpriced reggae?
Posted: Fri May 13, 2011 3:18 pm
by Franco Nero
I've been a reggae fan for decades but just recently started seriously collecting vinyl. I agree with the idea that patience is a virtue when it comes to getting a good deal. I've seen original pressings go for 3 figures and then turn up on eBay a few months later for buy-it-now $40.
But one thought about downloads: I buy a lot of repress and original -- all vinyl -- but I also download, essentially just to get the stuff on my iPod. Downloads have not dented my appetite for the music and I put in a couple of big orders a month at EBreggae no matter what. It's a tired excuse that I've heard a lot from whiny, entitled music fans, but in many cases, something I download leads me to seek it out on vinyl. I doubt I'm alone in this.
Pity about the money not making it's way to the artists but speaking as a musician, the music "industry" was never geared for artists to make money in the first place which is a g-dam shame!