Hi, American fan here. I have gotten really into collecting vinyls ever since getting a record player last year. Most artists in the US and Europe release their new albums on vinyl these days, including very small bands and artists. Most have even re-released their albums from the 90s and 00s (when vinyl production was at its lowest point). If you’re frugal you can still find most records for under $30 (USD) new if you look hard enough.
I’m a fan of many genres, including k-pop. It seems the only artists I can find standard priced vinyls for are Blackpink and BTS. I can’t even find any TWICE pre-2024 either. And most of these are exclusive to mega-corporate chains like Target, that usually sell their records broken due to poor shipping and storage practices. When I try to find records online, they sell for around $400 (Like Taeyeon’s INVU), but most don’t exist at all. So why is the k-pop market so dead with vinyl record production? It’s so frustrating because a group like Mamamoo would be perfect for the record player, where you just sit back and enjoy, not being able to skip tracks. I would have their whole color collection if it was on vinyl. You would also think that the k-pop companies would be all over vinyl production since it lends itself best to collector items and up-charges.
The baffling part is that Korea and Japan share many cultural similarities in the music space. And Japan has the strongest historical vinyl market in the world. After the West moved away from vinyl in the 80s, Japan stayed strong. Often times in the 90s or 00’s, the only way to get your favorite western artists vinyl was to see if your local record shop could order one from Japan.
So what gives? Why is the Korean market so averse to vinyl? Why are they so obsessed with CDs and cassettes when the rest of the world has largely shifted away from those mediums? Do you think vinyl will ever become popular in Korea?
submitted by /u/BigReebs
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