The Messed Up Truth About The 1980s Music Industry

In 1982, per Britannica, Phillips and Sony teamed up to release the compact disc –- more commonly known as the CD. According to PBS, record companies claimed CDs offered superior sound quality and durability when compared to vinyl. In his book "Entertainment Industry Economics," Harold L. Vogel notes that the quality of vinyl had become notoriously poor in the late '70s, which contributed to low album sales. Record companies hoped that the technologically advanced CD would inspire people to buy music again.

But when CDs first launched, they were only for the wealthy. According to Billboard, a CD player in 1982 was priced at $750, which is about $2,100 today. CDs themselves were around $15 each, according to PBS -– about $45 today. Despite CDs being relatively cheap to produce, record companies justified the high price, citing the audio superiority they provided and the added cost of building new manufacturing facilities. And, of course, a large percentage of the profit from each CD sale went directly to the record company, as per The New York Times. 

Still, it was hardly much incentive to swap out your entire vinyl collection. But in 1983, with the launch of more affordable players and the slow decrease of CD prices, that's exactly what started happening. Vinyl was in trouble. By 1984, cassette sales surpassed vinyl sales, as per Quartz. And in 1988, according to MTV, CDs outsold vinyl. As the '80s drew to a close, vinyl had become a rare sight at record stores.

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