Booming demand for vinyl records could increase prices for music lovers

ATLANTA, Ga. (WANF/Gray News) - The cost of vinyl records is rising as they continue to be the most popular medium of physical music in the country, surpassing even CDs and tape cassettes, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.

Nikki Speake, the lead singer of the Atlanta-based band Nikki and the Phantom Callers, said she waited months for the vinyl records her band had pressed overseas.

She said the band was not sure if the new tariff rates would impact the cost of the seven boxes of vinyl they had ordered.

The band eventually learned they were exempt from tariff-related cost increases because of a little-known Berman Amendment, which exempts “informational material” like books, art and music from tariffs.

However, that was not the end of the band’s problems.

While tariffs are not causing the cost increases or shipping delays, the booming popularity of records may be the culprit.

The skyrocketing demand for records has led to higher costs for bands and stores along with supply issues for some producers of the recorders, according to Speake.

“People are asking, ‘When are you going to put it out? When is the tour coming?’” she said. “And I’m like, ‘Well, I don’t really know yet because I don’t have a physical product.’”

Artists will often base their gig and tour dates off their record releases, and Speake said the uncertainty for her band’s records held them up from their own shows.

The high demand also means fans of smaller bands can lose out if they are anticipating new music releases.

“Sometimes it gets backed up, and it’s also more expensive to have records pressed in the U.S.,” Michael Bentley, with Speake’s label Numbers Station Records, said. “What ends up happening is stuff like our small record gets pushed back a little bit by more important things, like maybe Paul McCartney’s record.”

With the increased demand, some record pressers are also raising prices. This has begun to impact stores.

Tobago Benito has owned DBS Sounds in Riverdale for over 30 years. He said he has started to see the high demand for records take effect on his business.

“We have seen the prices are creeping up. We’re not happy about it,” he said.

Benito also runs a collective of Black-owned record stores from around the country. He said the cost increases have impacted stores everywhere.

He also said he is seeing new customers eager to collect more vinyl records because of the boom.

“We are seeing more new customers than regulars, so that’s a good problem to have,” he said. “But the prices have been spiking for about six months to a year.”

The additional challenges with vinyl records are affecting music stores across the country, particularly those that are black-owned.

When he started his business in music three decades ago, Benito said there were around 400 to 500 Black-owned record stores in the country. Now, there are only around 65.

DBS Sounds has stayed nimble by hosting community events, record launches and fan events with artists from Jay-Z to Post Malone.