A groovy way to make a buck. 
(collecting phonograph records)
Authors: Rachlin, Jill Citation: U.S. News & World Report, May 18, 1987 v102 p59(2) Full Text COPYRIGHT U.S. News and World Report Inc. 1987

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Everybody seems to know someone who owns the world's greatest record collection. And it's probably true, subjectively. Some collectors pride themselves on owning the clearest version of their favorite music, be it on 78-rpm shellac, in long-playing format or on compact disc. Others want records for their nostalgic value--like Bill Johnson, 73, of Phoenix, who owns more than 6,000 albums, mostly sound-track and original-cast recordings. Some collect pre-1940 Duke Ellington performances or albums and tapes of failed Broadway musicals. Though collectors invest thousands of dollars in records, most do it for love, not money.

This is just as well, since record collecting is not a passion that often pays off. The average used disc rarely commands more than $30. While a few vintage rock-and-roll albums can be worth up to thousands of dollars, only the rarest jazz recordings break out of the $200 range. Says Steve Smolian of Backnumber Records in Frederick, Md.: "You aren't going to buy your next house on the proceeds of what's in your attic--unless you want to live in a tent.'

The CD threat

Now, with the influx of compact discs, collectors wonder what will happen to the value of their records. Says Gerald Gibson, curator of the motion picture, broadcasting and recorded-sound division of the Library of Congress: "People will dump LP's the way they dumped 78s--it's history repeating itself. In both cases, only the most popular and biggest hit music is reissued. We still get one phone call a week from somebody wanting to sell or donate 78s.'

Yet, as was the case with 78s, the exceptional LP--of music no longer available or of original recordings by well-known artists--is apt to retain its value. Says Paul Mawhinney of Record-Rama Sound Archives in Pittsburgh: "For every CD released, there will probably be three by the same artist that are never released.'

But simply being old doesn't make a record valuable. Les Szarvas of Discontinued Records in Burbank, Calif., owns 2.5 million used records. Of these, he concedes, 99 percent are not in demand. "I don't know which 1 percent people will want,' Szarvas says, so he spreads a wide net when buying collections to resell.

One obvious bench mark is a record's condition. Dealers complain that they often hear that a record is "in excellent condition, considering its age.' To experts like Smolian, that's like comparing a baseball pitcher's speed at age 60 with what he threw at the peak of his career. Contends Smolian: "A small scratch may reduce the price by at least half for a first edition.' As owners of either 78-rpm or LP records well know, very few records are without blemish.

Covers count, too

The condition of both the cover and the sleeve affects the value, too. If you collect 45-rpm records, the illustrated sleeves are frequently worth as much as the record, since most people threw sleeves away. In the case of 45s, only first editions in superb condition are coveted. An original Beatles 45 that sold in the 1960s for about $1 is now worth $30.

Even the actual paper label pasted to the record can enhance its value. Dan Morgenstern of the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University points to Blue Note as an example. The earliest and most valuable Blue Note records bear labels that say "Lexington Avenue.' The firm later moved to West 63rd Street in New York City, and labels eventually read simply "New York.' Then Blue Note was absorbed by Liberty Records and finally by EMI. Each switch to another label lowered the value of the record by 10 percent, says Morgenstern.

Out-of-print records obviously carry special value. For example, the album "Straight Up' by the band Badfinger, issued on Apple Records for $4, is now worth $30 to $50. Or take "Jim Reeves,' the first album made by the country-and-Western singer, on the Abbott label. Reeves later switched to RCA Victor, and his maiden effort, priced at $3 in 1956, now sells for $500--if you can find a copy.

By the same token, original issues of a record are more valuable than later reissues of the same material. In 1956, band leader Stan Kenton recorded some of his classic 1940s jazz compositions for Capitol in the new stereo format. Called "Kenton in Hi Fi,' it now sells for $40 to $50 in mind condition. The same album reissued in the 1960s on Kenton's own Creative World label, and still in print, has little collector's value. Original versions are particularly important for works by such artists as Elvis Presley. The first five singles he made for Sun Records, like "Mystery Train' and "Blue Moon of Kentucky,' are now $400 to $500 apiece. The same songs reissued by RCA are worth $2 to $3.

An entire collection organized around one or two major themes is worth more than the sum of its individual records. Wendell Echols of Atlanta, who has been collecting since the 1930s, counts among his 20,000 jazz records some 6,500 by vocalists and an equal number by pianists. Philadelphian Frederick Williams owns more than 80,000 military-band records, and specializes in John Philip Sousa music. Says Williams: "If you're not concentrated on a subject or an artist, then you have an accumulation --not a collection.'

Quirk value

Some promotional copies of albums or unreleased versions of albums given to clients or radio stations are rare, too. In a period when Rolling Stones albums were issued in monaural, London Records remixed some songs in stereo for use by FM radio stations and sent out 300 copies in a simple brown-and-white cover. One is now worth $2,500.

Collectors of movie themes look for the unusual. The out-of-print sound track of the 1966 James Bond movie "Casino Royale,' issued by Colpix, sells for $50 to $75 in stereo, $30 to $50 in mono. A precious few copies of the sound track of the 1954 Humphrey Bogart film "The Caine Mutiny' were manufactured before an artistic dispute halted production. One in near mint condition might be worth $10,000.

The buying and selling of used records is a big business. If you want to sell your collection, you'll get less from a dealer than if you sell directly to another collector, but a dealer will save you the hassle of disgorging your records one or two at a time. You can also buy or sell through auctions or auction publications like Goldmine and Shellac Stack. Another way to buy is "junking'--bargain hunting in thrift shops and garage sales. To separate jewels from junk, consult such price guides as Rockin' Records, published in Tempe, Ariz., by Jerry Osborne, or American Premium Record Guide, by L. R. Docks, published by Books Americana in Florence, Ala. Prices quoted by these publications often reflect the highest bid by an avid collector and assume the record is in near mint condition.

Most record collectors discover the hobby is addictive--there's always one more to find. Observes New York City collector John Lissner: "I have records all over my 2 1/2-bedroom apartment--under beds, in linen closets, everywhere. Half of them I don't listen to. I just like the feeling that they are there.'

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