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The cost of LP's and CD's - an observation

Back just before CD's, Albums were usually around $6-8.00, cutout less, double albums a bit more. When CD's first came out they were 'premium' items and cost $10-15.00, slowly the prices for CD's came down and records slowly all went down to a buck or two then disappeared. Now it's reversed, CD's are a few bucks, new Albums are usually around $15 to 25.00. (I didn't figure out the inflation rate, someone else can add that in) . And those cutouts can now be worth a small fortune. I just thought this reversal was interesting. Of course with Streaming, music of any quality is very cheap.


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Showing 2 responses by kijanki

kijanki's avatar
kijanki
4,394 posts
 
One thing that should be considered is longevity.  CDs backed-up on HD can last forever (can be restored), while LPs will develop over time more noise and pops (that I cannot tolerate).  Of course one can make analog tape copy or digitize LP, but original media cannot be recreated from it.

Also, according to RIAA, copying CDs (for non-commercial use) on Audio CD-Rs is perfectly legal, since royalties are paid (included in the price of Audio CD-R).  CD I copy from my friend doesn't have box/booklet but it cost about $0.25   It is not only the way to save money, but mostly to legally obtain CDs that are impossible to buy.
kijanki's avatar
kijanki
4,394 posts
 
And I remember the price of a CD being raised to $18.99. I believe Tower records initiated this with the record labels. That’s when I stopped buying new discs.
I buy used CDs on Amazon and rip them to HD.  Ripping program can "renew" pretty much all CDs, while used scratched LP cannot be repaired.  That makes cost of CDs way lower.
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