I think the conflict here is that the collecting
part of the vinyl hobby is directly affecting those of us who care more about the music part. Basically, record companies are capitalizing on the fact that enough people care enough about collecting, so they (the industry) are able to put out limited, color vinyl and charge more for it… and enough people (collectors) are willing to pay the premium. That dynamic screws over the music fans who would be happy to pay $20-$25 for a slab of black vinyl, with no frills, containing the music we want to listen to.
I get that some people are angry when they pay premium prices for something they thought was limited/exclusive and then see that release get widely distributed, but from my point of view the people who are willing to pay that premium for something that could/should otherwise be available for much less are very much part of the problem.
No one likes to be called out but that’s what this is. If enough people are willing to pay $180 for a dumb 5-single-sided-LP set of a single Tool, then that distorts the market and tells artists/record companies that they can get away with ridiculous, overpriced gimmicks. And that in turn screws over those of us who just want to buy music on vinyl and couldn’t care less about the color of the slab or whether it’s limited to 2000 copies. The whole concept of “limited” is stupid and greedy and selfish.
(I admit I’ve had a couple of beers before posting this so words are just pouring out. I apologize in advance for any offense taken.)
