Labels getting carried away with vinyl pressings

Record companies and labels may have got a little carried away in the numbers they have pressed, says Kevin Buckle (Picture: Martin Bureau/Getty Images)

The good thing is that because these are well known titles that have either been priced too highly or been pressed in too large a number, they are price sensitive. In both cases dropping the price will lead to more sales. With those that have been overpriced to start with the customers are still there to buy if they feel the price is more reasonable. For those titles that have maybe sold well but not well enough there will be a second wave of customers who will buy if they think they are getting a bargain.

It is common for artists with a large fan base to sell well to start with, but within a few months sales will drop off dramatically and it will become clear to the record company that they are never going to shift all the stock they have left.

This doesn’t just apply to vinyl of course, and any list of drastically reduced CDs that we receive will often be headed by Abba and Adele. Box sets are another format that will often see crazy price reductions as they really are for the fans and to attract the more casual buyer they have to be a lot cheaper.

Much worse for the record companies are the albums that didn’t sell well on release, as most of the time it does not matter how low the price is customers will not be tempted. Artists that are very well established can sometimes get away with one dud album as, if fans have all the other albums and then see the album they didn’t buy for a few pounds, they will snap it up.

However this only really works in big numbers for CDs and folk may remember when some record shop counters were adorned with all the albums by major artists that had not sold well for a mere £3. For vinyl, while £20 may well be a sizeable reduction on the initial price, it is still £20 which is a decent amount of money to most people.

Thankfully the t-shirt market is more stable though, as we get more and more new designs in we are again struggling for space, as unlike music that may have a limited shelf life after release most shirts just keep selling.

Add in an ever increasing selection of cards, prints and posters and you can see why space is becoming a problem. Even the key rings, badges, patches, caps, beanies and mugs that we keep at the counter seem to multiply with every new delivery.

I have had offers to move, especially after the success of the recent Taylor Swift x Butcher Billy exhibition, but much as it might surprise some I really enjoy being in the Waverley Market and cannot see us ever leaving.