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Records Becoming Popular Again in Japan

ranf1970

ranf1970

Life without music would be a mistake.
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Hey AKers,

My wife brought to my attention this article that was in the Nikkei (sorry it is all in Japanese):

http://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXBZO45266740S2A820C1HP0A00/

Apparently, vinyl is making a come back in Japan too. Like here, digital downloads is still the norm, but bands are also trying to get their music pressed on records too (partly to go against the norm).

Is vinyl making a worldwide comeback? Will the SL-1200 MK2 make a return? :scratch2:

Who knows, this might bring some newer pressings and I'm sure the QC is much better there than here. Now to just start saving money to buy the Japanese pressings... :music:
 
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According to my friend who owns a long-standing record store, he was shipping lots of rare collectable Jazz to Japan for a while, also classical, and a healthy market for american rock and alternative U.S. pressings. Prices were way up for collectible jazz for a while.

When the economy wavered, so did his sales over-seas- the downturn in the economy had an affect on Japan, too. Prices he was getting dropped severely, and the market demand shrunk.

My point? I think the Japanese market has always been strong for vinyl- I have found some rare pressings there in excellent shape and the quality is almost always good.

The turntable market seems it's remained healthy too- remember, they were still purchasing the expensive Yamaha GT-2000 direct drive record player well into the 90's. HiFiDo gets $450-$475 for unrestored (but good condition/working) SME 3009s. For hard to repair or no-longer-available turntable circuits for some of the top of the line record players of the late 70's and early 80's, there are Japanese techs that have built circuits and re-engineered these ICs to make them work again.

I think the market never really dried up there- lots of great pressings and imports.
 
I've been selling vinyl on eBay since 2000,and a sizeable chunk of my records have always gone to Japan.But in the last year or so,the big ticket records I have sold.$150,and up,go to China.
 
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