4 ms·

Vinyl is way more popular than old cars.

dTal 7y ago
What a weird thing to say. The analogy was vinyl : digital :: old cars : new cars. Obviously cars are way more expensive than music, so it doesn't make sense to directly compare their popularity in an absolute sense.
chucksmash 7y ago
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
- SomeOldThrow 7y ago
  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.

dTal 7y ago

What a weird thing to say. The analogy was vinyl : digital :: old cars : new cars. Obviously cars are way more expensive than music, so it doesn't make sense to directly compare their popularity in an absolute sense.

chucksmash 7y ago

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

SomeOldThrow 7y ago
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.