I’ve been buying a lot of vinyl (of course I have) lately and although I don’t have a record player (yet), when I see a good deal, I grab it. There are a few artists that I’ve followed for almost 20 years like Conor Oberst and while I’ve ordered albums from him and Bon Over and a few classics like Sinatra, I keep thinking that these artists are investing in vinyl because it’s just smart.
I bought the new Bon Iver and Conor Oberst albums digitally in iTunes and then I ordered the vinyl records from their web-stores so now I’m into each artist for $30 to have their music in two different formats. Luckily, some of my favorite artists also offers a combo where a vinyl purchase will include a digital download for $5 more which seems fair and undercuts iTunes pricing by 50%.
However, despite the high cost of vinyl, a lot of artists are making a nice profit selling these and many are releasing special edition dyed records in limited pressings for even more money.
I think this is good for artists. I don’t go to concerts and haven’t seen a live-show in any way in about 4 years. I think the last concert I went to was in 2011 when Conor played in New Hampshire.
My point is, I don’t mind buying vinyl because it’s a bit extra in the pockets of artists I like. Additionally, my favorite artists put out albums every 3 years at most so it’s not as if I’m dropping $50 a year to keep up with their music.