A few months ago, I got really into Trailer Park Boys, a Canadian mockumentary that follows the exploits of a group of lovable criminals. One of the main characters, Ricky, a dope grower, often comedically alters idioms and sayings; “trial and error” becomes “denial and error,” and he calls sweet and sour chicken “sweet n’ power chicken.” My favorite Rickyism is “supply and command,” because this little Freudian slip changes the meaning of the original phrase, “supply and demand,” by suggesting that those who manipulate and control the supply of a product have the power to regulate the demand for it.
This is particularly clear to me on the Discogs marketplace. Sellers with rare records have a monopoly over their wares and thus have the power to set exorbitant prices for hard-to-find items. Usually, this applies to old records, but it’s more troublesome when new record labels press a limited run of a fresh release. People start to foam at the mouth when they hear the words “white label,” “limited edition,” or “short supply,” and they rush to get their hands on a slab of vinyl.
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The allure of an ultra-limited edition super rare anonymous mysterious white label often grows stronger with age. Old, rare records can fetch hundreds or even thousands of dollars on the Discogs market, which is controversial because the artist who made the music will never see a dime of that cash. What makes a record worth up to $9,000? We put together a case study of some very pricey records in order to find out.
Moodymann/Theo Parrish, Small Black Church EP (KDJ 1995) $100 Small Black Church DJ Deeon, 2 High 2 Lift! EP (Dance Mania 1998) $119.99STABLO, “No. 9998” (STABLO 2011) $138.61
The STABLO series is a great case study in manipulative Discogs hype. It’s a familiar story: in 2010 and 2011, a series of mysterious white label DJ tools appeared, with no indication as to who made it, and people absolutely shat their pants over it and tripped over themselves trying to get a copy. The cheapest records in the STABLO series run at $30-40, and the most expensive ones max out around $140. According to Jamie Fry, who was later identified as the STABLO label head, he chose to keep the series anonymous in order to see if a record could be successful purely based on the music and not the artist’s persona or existing fame. The paradox here is that trying to remain mysterious is a calculated branding decision in and of itself, and that the mystique can stimulate record sales. In cases like this, it’s often not “all about the music”—it’s about the maddening, seductive secrecy that surrounds it.
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