Are record companies trying to sabotage the vinyl resurgence?
 

A record store owner recently expressed an opinion to me that, owning to the surge in price for vinyl in recent years, that the record companies are actually throwing a wrench into the vinyl renaissance. And when I see prices like $320 and $350 for each of the Tom Petty Complete LP boxes (at HMV in Canada), I have to wonder.
Thoughts?

Given that you can sell vinyl for a higher price than any other format, as well as the fact that the vinyl crowd purchases its music more often than others instead of just downloading it, I'm gonna go with no. However, that doesn't mean that companies won't do ultra limited releases or pointless collectible editions to try to wring more money out of vinyl buyers.

Don't quite understand what you mean by "throwing a wrench"? Surely, if they can charge much more for a product the record companies will be all about it, and given the damage downloading is doing to CD sales I would think they would want to, as Frown says, squeeze as much money out of vinyl buyers as possible. Also, given that those who buy vinyl are usually more concerned with quality and details (certain weight of pressings/gatefold sleeve etc) they are generally more predisposed towards paying more for their music, often in either the belief/assumption that they are getting a more quality product than they would on digital media, or to fill gaps in their physical collections.

Again though I ask, what do you think the record companies would be doing to upset this resurgence, and why?

Doubt it, just yesterday I read this article https://www.theguardian.com/music/20...rips-streaming

Also, the phrase is "throwing a spanner in the works", not a wrench...

No it isn't. I'm guessing "spanner" is some lame British thing.

^ Britain and America... two nations separated by a common language. ;)

Yes it is. I'm guessing "wrench" is some lame American thing.

put/throw a spanner in the works Meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary

Spanner
http://pngimg.com/upload/wrench_PNG1116.png

Difference between spanner and wrench: https://www.google.ie/url?sa=t&rct=j...JfmHPs1hUe-JoQ

It seems the phrase may also work with wrench, but any time I've heard it it's been throw a spanner in the works.

Also, up yours. :p:

http://s9.favim.com/orig/130721/anim...com-792304.gif

How bizarre that you've never heard an American idiom and that Americans don't recognize the Irish version.

Hey I've heard Batty plenty of ... oh. You said "idiom". My mistake! :)