[78-L] Did The English Take Better Care Of Their Records? [FWD]

[Mike Harkin]

And classical was an even larger percentage.  A Gramophone reader in 1936 mentioned that he got 50 shillings for going down a mine six days a week.  12" red label HMV's were
6/- or 6/6, which meant a 4 disc set cost half aweek's wages.  Don't recall what aveerage wage was in the US around then, or when the Biggies reduced their 12" classical from $2
to $1, but I'm sure you got more shellac for your buck on the west side of the pond than the east....
 
Mike in Plovdiv

--- On Sat, 6/5/10, Steven C. Barr <stevenc at interlinks.net> wrote:


From: Steven C. Barr <stevenc at interlinks.net>
Subject: Re: [78-L] Did The English Take Better Care Of Their Records?
To: "78-L Mail List" <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
Date: Saturday, June 5, 2010, 3:37 AM


--------------------------------------------------
From: "David Lennick" <dlennick at sympatico.ca>
> A lot of them were probably imported to North America because the 
> originals were long out of print. I turn up nice HMVs and Parlophones in 
> radio station collection and at jazz conventions. Of course the ones you 
> really want to get are the Australian laminated pressings, which are 
> extraordinary..even of run-of-the-mill 12" Deccas like the Paul Whitemans.
>
Keep in mind that records were comparatively MORE expensive (in terms of
percentage of typical income) than they were in North America!

In 1933, after ARC dropped the price of its cheapest labels to 25 centsw
(and Sears sold its cheapest records for about 19 cents each!), many
people were making $1/day...or LESS! That means a pop record cost
at least 1/5 of the buyer's income (up to two day's income for a
classical record?!).

I don't have the requisite figures for the UK at that time...but I would
guess a record cost MORE in terms of the average income?

Steven C. Barr 

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