Into the groove

Find out how an investment in rare vinyl could get your finances on the right track

IF YOU DO YOUR HOMEWORK, COLLECTING RARE VINYL COULD NET YOU RECORD-BREAKING PROFITS

UNTIL A DECADE AGO, rare record collecting was largely the diversion of a small but passionate group of collectors and dealers. The latter were shadowy figures who appeared to spend their waking hours in basements or warehouses in search of long-forgotten records. Then, almost overnight, everything changed with the advent of the worldwide web and the rise of eBay. The growth of digital downloads has fuelled the nostalgia for good old-fashioned long-plays (LPs), sending their prices to unprecedented levels at auction.

In a matter of a few years record dealing morphed from a back-street business to a multi-million pound industry with all the thrills of the stock market. Nowadays potential investors can choose between blue-chip bands or take a punt on speculative albums.

“If you are going to build a portfolio of vinyl antiques you need to balance your portfolio like the stock market,” says Ian Shirley, editor of Record Collector Guide, a bi-yearly price guide bible of records released in the UK. “You buy some blue-chip stock, bearing in mind you are going to pay the market price for a mint Beatles, Rolling Stones or The Who record.” Not surprisingly, The Beatles are the ultimate blue-chip investment. In May 2006 an acetate of the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album sold for $9,000 on eBay.

As well as changing hands in the virtual world, traditional auction houses are a natural outlet for the rare records business. Christies Entertainment Memorabilia auctions sell memorabilia from some of the most influential musicians and songwriters of the 20th century. Another player is Cooper Owen, a specialist with 25 years of experience in auctioning the rarest and most desirable music collectables such as The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Elvis Presley, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and The Sex Pistols, covering the earliest days of rock ’n’ roll and punk to the present day.

Even for a veteran like Shirley, the next part is tricky. “Now you need to speculate on where the market is going. Which albums and bands are going to be big in the future? It’s hard to predict. But if you get it right you stand to make a small killing.” The Sex Pistols were a short-lived, controversial band that made great albums with iconic artwork. Until only recently their records were very keenly priced but in the last few years they have gone careering through the roof quicker than Sid Vicious smashing up a hotel room, delivering constant price growth since they were first released in the 1970s.

“At the moment the Pistols are a stock everyone knows about. Has it peaked or will it go further? If you were going to invest from a purely financial point of view you would try and buy the rarest records in the best condition you can get,” Shirley advises. The canny prospector with £6,000 to invest might think about buying an ultra-rare acetate copy of Anarchy in the UK. One of the hallmarks of collecting is that stock comes with a story attached. Legend has it that Pistols manager Malcolm MacClaren would do the rounds of London venues with these test pressings in search of gigs for the band. Only a handful of copies are known to have survived, so in effect you aren’t just buying a record but a valuable slice of music history.

British jazz is another fantastic specialist investment, according to veteran record dealer Mark O’Shaughnessy of Resolution Records. “It captures a very productive and interesting strand in the whole jazz pantheon. The records are completely unique in their own arena – British jazz flags up a defining time in UK culture (the 1960s) and people continue to want more and more of that era.” Russian collectors are already keen to buy into this while the Chinese are fast becoming eBay regulars. The net effect is that ultra-rare albums like Tubby Hayes’ Down In The Village, the most in-demand British jazz album ever, has soared to £750 – an unimaginable sum a few years back.

Finding the blue-chip artists of tomorrow isn’t a simple business. Past experience suggests that they are likely to be bands which have outlived trends, have a good repertoire of music and a diverse catalogue of releases. For example, the band Nirvana ticks all the boxes. Their early releases are on the hugely collectible Sub Pop record label and already swap hands at £40 a go. With the cult of the late Kurt Cobain continuing to burn bright they are a sound investment. Oasis may have sold millions of records but they were canny enough to release one-sided promo singles limited to a few hundred copies. With a massive fan base these can only go up in price. Champagne Supernova indeed.

Another option is for investors to concentrate on a specific record label, especially small independent labels that offer a unique vision. The Manchester-based Factory Records is a wonderful example. Apart from launching iconic bands such as Joy Division, New Order and Happy Mondays, they were meticulous in their attention to the packaging. They developed a unique cataloguing system that gave a number not just to its musical releases but also to the artwork. All of this makes the label an attractive investment and Peter Saville’s cover artwork has already been the subject of a retrospective at London’s Design Museum.

Although vinyl collecting is a global business, often the best place to start is your local charity shop or car boot sale. Once you get a feel for the records you can step up to record fairs (the biggest of which takes place in Holland twice a year), specialist dealers and auctions. And in the unlikely event that prices should drop, at least you will have an enviable record collection to fall back on.

Michael Clifford is a DJ and Brazilian record specialist

TOP TIPS
  • Condition is king. Always try to buy mint condition.
  • Buy the rarest record you can within your budget.
  • Do your research and if in doubt, go to a reputable dealer for advice.
  • Look for unusual releases such as an acetate, demo or special issue.

Mark Hayward is a Consultant at Cooper Owen Auctions (see below)

WHERE TO BUY

Words: Michael Clifford

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