Ep486: The State of Vinyl Collecting for 2025 w Billy Fields and Dillon Smith

Three vinyl nerds – Billy Fields from Warner Music Group, Dillon Smith of Noble Records and Nate Goyer of The Vinyl Guide - discuss the state of vinyl collecting in the year 2025 - trends, changes, evolution and thoughts and predictions on what's to come in the near future. Topics Include: Introduction of Billy Fields as vinyl expert at Warner Music Group Dillon Smith introduced as Noble Records owner Initial discussion of 2024 vinyl market trends Billy mentions focus on maintaining subscriptions with Third Man Records Discussion of discovering Lee Dorsey records through social media Impact of online discovery versus traditional record store hunting Dillon reflects on personal collection growth in 2024 Store inventory mix discussion: 70% used, 30% new Dillon describes efforts to prevent burnout through regular collection buying Changes in modern vinyl collections coming to market Impact of overpressed modern releases on secondary market UK vinyl market showing strongest growth internationally Release schedule alignment with digital affecting market success Taylor Swift's impact on vinyl sales globally Discussion of fewer bands in current charts versus solo artists Evolution of vinyl market since 2006-2008 Economic factors affecting entertainment spending during tough times Local UK pressing plants helping market stability Changes in used record collections coming to market Impact of deceased collectors' collections entering market Discussion of subscription service impact on used market Original pressings versus reissues value discussion Impact of Tone Poet series on Blue Note original prices Quality improvements in modern pressing techniques Availability of better playback equipment today Discussion of collecting original pressings versus reissues Dillon's perspective on psychopathic collector mentality Voice of America collection acquisition mentioned Discussion of historical pressing quantities versus modern numbers Billy's approach to collecting versus hunting original pressings Impact of audio system quality on listening preferences Youth market engagement with vinyl discussion Different collecting approaches between generations Modern retail challenges with Target/Walmart pricing Discussion of variant pressings and market saturation Impact of FOMO buying on market Sustainability in vinyl production discussion PET vinyl alternatives being developed Plant efficiency improvements and environmental considerations Declining genres discussion - 1950s rock and traditional pop Rising interest in country music records Discussion of 90s country potential on vinyl Garth Brooks box set marketing strategy failure Predictions for 2025 vinyl market Direct-to-consumer strategy concerns Sustainability developments in record pressing Personal collection management strategies Discussion of recent records giving participants "goosebumps" Discussion wrap up Video version available on the Noble Records YouTube channel Commercial free, high resolution verion of this podcast is available at: www.Patreon.com/VinylGuide Listen on Apple: https://apple.co/2Y6ORU0 Listen on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/36qhlc8