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Re:Vinyl set to outsell CDs for first time since 1986 by chucksmash on Sunday September 08, 2019 @05:57PM (#20913695)
It's pretty clear if you think it through a bit.

You can buy Pet Sounds, a classic album recorded in 1966, on vinyl:

- Distribution: you can buy it from Amazon, the same distribution channel as more modern media

- Price: for $18 (very small premium over digital media in absolute terms)

- Condition: in perfect, newly manufactured condition

- Substitutability: a functionally perfect substitute good for the artifact manufactured in 1966 (even available in original mono!)

- Supply: from a growing supply of records (record company always reissuing classics!)

- Maintenance: with the same maintenance requirements as an LP of a 2019 album

Consider the equivalent for a classic car, say a 1966 Corvette:

I want a 1966 Corvette. "Old Corvettes have a soul that new Corvettes lack, there's just some ineffable quality I prefer, y'know?", yadda yadda yadda

- Distribution: Can I walk into a Chevy dealership and buy a 1966 Corvette? Nope!

- Price: Can I buy a mint condition 1966 Corvette for substantially the same price as a 2019 Corvette? Nope! DDG says perfect 1966 Corvette value would be $82k, 2019 Corvette would be $55k and I suspect the difference would be even greater tbh. $30k+ price difference!

- Condition: Can I buy a newly manufactured 1966 Corvette at all? Nope!

- Substitutability: the 1966 Corvette is substantially different from the 2019 Corvette

- Supply: the number of well-maintained 1966 Corvettes is constrained. They aren't making any more!

- Maintenance: Entirely different beasts. No common parts.

So if I want a conversation piece in my living room, I can buy a $100 record player and spend $8 more for the LP

Re:Vinyl set to outsell CDs for first time since 1986 by SomeOldThrow on Sunday September 08, 2019 @10:04PM (#20914647)
Well sure, if you’re just getting vinyl as conspicuous consumption, it’s a bad investment. I recommend against that. There are perfectly rational material reasons to prefer vinyl that don’t involve a midlife crisis or greenhouse gases. Anyone who spends $55k on a car clearly has very different values than most people.