COLLECTING RARE FILM MUSIC ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK LPS!
PART II: GRADING DESCRIPTIONS AND HOW THEY AFFECT SOUNDTRACK LP VALUES.
What determines which soundtracks are the most valuable ones? Being 'Rare' doesn't necessarily mean a soundtrack LP is valuable (meaning worth a lot of money!). If no one wants a 'Rare' soundtrack LP, the absence of demand for it usually means it isn't worth a lot. In the rare original soundtrack LP here's what makes one valuable. First, and foremost, are the film composers from what we call the 'Golden Era of Film Music' (from the 1940s to 1960s). We didn't dictate who they were, the collector market we've been engaged in since 1972 did that through the purchase of hundreds of thousands of sales and what prices we were paid either through our auctions or set price sales of these rare soundtrack LPs, plus the input of other collectors and dealers worldwide whose opinions we respected. Here's the list of film composers who consistently garner the highest prices for their soundtrack LPs: MALCOLM ARNOLD, JOHN BARRY, ELMER BERNSTEIN, RICHARD RODNEY BENNETT, GEORGES DELERUE, GEORGE DUNING, JERRY FIELDING, HUGO FRIEDHOFER, ERNEST GOLD, JERRY GOLDSMITH, RON GOODWIN, DAVID GRUSIN, BERNARD HERRMANN, AKIRA IKUFUBE, MAURICE JARRE, BRONISLAU KAPER, ERICH WOLFGANG KORNGOLD, ANGELO FRANCESCO LAVAGNINO, HENRY MANCINI, ENNIO MORRICONE, MARIO NASCIMBENE, ALFRED NEWMAN, BRUNO NICOLAI, ALEX NORTH, ANDRE PREVIN, DAVID RAKSIN, LEONARD ROSENMAN, NINO ROTA, CARLO RUSTICHELLI, MASARU SATO, LALO SCHIFRIN, DAVID SHIRE, MAX STEINER, LEITH STEVENS, DIMITRI TIOMKIN, FRANZ WAXMAN, JOHN WILLIAMS AND VICTOR YOUNG. There are others that are gaining attention as possible additions to this list, but at this time, this group consistently composed memorable film music that registered with soundtrack LP collectors and their rarer LPs garnered higher prices.
To a lesser degree, soundtrack LP collectors also collect on the basis of the film's genre with science-fiction and horror film scores generating the best prices, and/or when a cult film star was prominently showcased on the soundtrack LP cover (examples, John Wayne, James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, Brigitte Bardot, Sophia Loren).
Other basis for valuable soundtrack LPs are the limited editions, private pressings, non-commercial releases. The oldest soundtrack LPs go back to the late 1940s, preceded by the fragile and noisey 78 rpm recordings which generally do not fare well with collectors (the rarity and expense of finding 78 rpm players is also a factor, not to mention that most collectors of soundtracks of this vintage have passed on now). The advent of 'High Fidelity' provided better sound on soundtrack LPs in the 1950s, and then when stereo made its entry in the late 1950s, the LP was the ultimate source of the musical experience, played in homes on tabletop players and huge console floor units made of wood. Later the 'component stereo system' provided better sound with audiophile turntables and expensive phono cartridges for even better fidelity.
Pictured above are a few prime examples of rare soundtrack LPs beginning with 1954's 'RAREST SOUNDTRACK LP' composed by MAX STEINER for 'THE CAINE MUTINY' which was released and then pulled off the market after just 2 weeks. It contains dialogue from the film, but we sold a VG condition with a slight cover edge tear to a client in Europe in 1989 for $10,000! We feel a mint copy would command $40,000 today! Next there's ELMER BERNSTEIN's score to 'GOD'S LITTLE ACRE' from the 1950s which is a sensual and cult film favorite and the film score is delightful! Then there's the 1945 film score to MIKLOS ROZSA's 'THE LOST WEEKEND' which wasn't released until the 1970s in a 'Limited Edition' by the Miklos Rozsa Film Music Society. Finally, another rarity is 1966's soundtrack LP scored by JERRY GOLDSMITH for a western remake of 'STAGECOACH'. The score is great and what is really unique is the album cover which is illustrated by the legendary NORMAN ROCKWELL! Cult star Ann-Margret is in the film which enhances its value. There are hundreds of similar examples of rare soundtrack LPs that garner very high prices due primarily to the film's composer.
PART II: GRADING DESCRIPTIONS AND HOW THEY AFFECT SOUNDTRACK LP VALUES.
We've always been hesitant in labeling any recordings as being FACTORY SEALED. In the 1950s and 1960s when records were 'Factory Sealed', you could tell because most of them used a very heavy plastic to seal the soundtrack LPs. In the 1970s, however, due to economics, the factory seal was in a much thinner plastic that could easily be torn. In addition, most enterprising distributors could 'reseal' the soundtrack LPs without much detection. So for that reason, unless we find the older heavy sealed soundtrack LPs, we don't describe our offerings as 'Factory Sealed' since we're not certain they are. So the description we use is MINT, which means the record has NEVER BEEN PLAYED. The record's value is the highest for its collectibility, except for one that can be verified as 'Factory Sealed'. The next grade down is ALMOST MINT or NEAR MINT condition. This would be a soundtrack LP which has been played a few times, retains what we describe as most of its original sheen or shine, has no scratches, and the spindle hole shows nearly no sign of wear. Surprisingly, after some experience, you can determine if a soundtrack LP has been played much by examining the spindle hole as there will be little lines around it or some paper separation there. As a rule, the dropoff of value from pristine MINT to NEAR MINT is anywhere from 15% to 25%. Following that is VG (Very Good) condition which will have a value dropoff anywhere from 25% to 50%. This is a soundtrack LP which has seen quite a bit of play, with some light scratches (very slight audibility, but not a lot) and no DEEP scratches (audible), but we don't include STICKS (where the record keeps replaying the same spot over and over) in this VG description. Below that is GOOD condition with a falloff of anywhere from 50% to 75%. Here there are DEEP SCRATCHES (audible) and the number of them determines how much falloff in value, this grade include BUBBLES in this grading area which are produced during the manufacturing process when the hot vinyl is being pressed and the LP 'boils' and some bubbles are created. Bubbles cause one or more things to occur--depending how big they are, you may hear a 'thumping' sound for several revolutions; or it may cause the needle to jump over the bubble; or it may sometime 'sticks' which are included in this grading area. At the bottom of the grading is POOR which is a record that you may want only because it is so rare and a better copy isn't available or affordable. It may be as much a purchase for the album cover due to its artistic value. Even if the soundtrack LP is in MINT condition, if the cover is damaged in some way with water damage, writing desecration, bends, frayed edges or corners, this will have detrimental effect on the value of the record. The falloff could be anywhere from 10% to 25%. This includes what we call 'Cutouts'. This is a procedure utilized when a record was discontinued and dealers returned them to the distributor. The manufacturer or a 'Cutout' distributor would use one of several processes to indicate the record was no long in print: small to large punch holes in the cover wherever they wouldn't damage the playing surface of the soundtrack LP including the center label area; corner diagnol saw cuts where a triangular piece of the cover has been removed; or an edge clip which is a fine piece of the cover has been removed approximately 1/2% in length--this latter process was the least damaging to the cover with the least value falloff.
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