How Taylor Swift fans are helping drive up the value of vinyl

A new generation of vinyl collectors is increasing the value of recent classic records by musicians such as Taylor Swift, Radiohead and The White Stripes. Some of the most sought after discs sell for hundreds or even thousands of pounds.

Record sales are booming, with no fewer than 5.5 million albums sold last year. But it’s not just the old classics that command the highest prices – like The Beatles, Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd. So-called Millennials and Generation Z youth—anyone born between 1981 and 2012—are embracing the vinyl frenzy that was once the domain of nostalgic music lovers.

They are interested in new hits and recent classics as well as old favourites. The best-selling vinyl record of the 21st century is Midnights by singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It was only released last October and has sold over 80,000 copies to date.

Les Hare, who has owned Kingbee Records’ vinyl store in Manchester for 35 years, says: ‘Many of our customers weren’t even born when my record store first opened, but they are an important part of the vinyl renaissance.

“Streaming over the internet is a great way to discover new music. But many more people now own a record player and realize that there is something tangible about vinyl that is hard to resist.

‘Vinyl also usually offers better sound quality than streaming and increasingly outdated CDs.’

How to make money collecting

A growing number of albums are seeing their value increase. You can check the retrieved prices on the marketplace of the Discogs website.

In addition to popularity and scarcity, an album’s value is affected by its condition and when it was pressed. Reissues may not command as high a price as copies pressed when an album was first released.

Discogs also has details on the various pressings of records made over the years. For tips and ideas on what to buy, the monthly Record Collector magazine offers insight and useful information. It also publishes an industry bible Rare Record Price Guide for £35. Be wary of buying blindly from the internet, as condition is essential – and better to see the vinyl in person if possible.

Vinyl has been professionally graded, but descriptions are misleading. For example, “good” is actually a heavily scratched disc and even “very good” can have scratches and crackles and splatters here and there.

Investors are usually most interested in buying “near mint” or “mint” – double the value of a “very good” record. The rating is applied to the condition of the disc and the cover art.

Limited edition reissues, colored vinyls, picture discs and box sets are often highly sought after and therefore often command the highest prices.

To find out when a disc was released, check the record company logo and release code on the disc and sleeve. There is also a ‘matrix run-out’ code on the inner groove that can help identify when and where a record has been pressed.

New classics

Vinyl sales have been rising for 15 years, but Les Hare believe they need to do more.

“As interest in vinyl continues to grow, we can expect more reissues and limited editions,” he says.

“This could only increase demand in the vinyl market and should also generate interest in different genres.”

He adds that dance music on vinyl is also doing very well at the moment.

‘Musicians like Joey Negro are inspired by ’70s disco and are reinventing the music for new generations. His 2016 Remixed With Love albums can sell for £100 or more,” says Hare.

Recent valuable vinyl releases

the white stripes, Lafayette blues

A rare seven-inch white vinyl disc with photo inserts issued in 1998 on the Italy Records label. The B-side is the single Sugar Never Tasted So Good. This single originally cost just £5. Now £300

Taylor Swift, 1989

The original standard album was released in 2014 and is worth around £60. But a reissue, released by Big Machine Records in 2018 and limited to 5,000 copies, is now worth £500. The album is named after the year Swift was born. Now £500

Radiohead, OK computer

A three-disc set with a cassette readable by a ZX Spectrum computer, was a 20th anniversary special package released in 2017 by Parlophone Capitol. The set was released for a then pricey £100. Now £260

Pulp, different class

The limited edition 1995 Island Records release featured not only the classic family wedding album image, but also a dozen alternatives that you could fold into the sleeve to create a different image. The plate originally cost £15. Now £250

PJ Harvey, Dry

The 1992 release of this iconic record on the independent Too Pure label is PJ Harvey’s debut studio album. It helped launch the previously unknown singer-songwriter’s career. The numbered plate originally cost £10. Now £250

Eric Prydz, Opus

Swedish DJ specializing in electronic music released this limited edition box set of four records in 2016 on Virgin EMI Records. It contains the popular hit Call On Me. Originally sold for £60. Now £1,800

Cake, Box set

This 2014 alternative rock group release by Upbeat Records included five colored albums in each package and was limited to a total of 900 vinyl box copies. They originally retailed for £75. Now £800