It was the buzz of the concert poster and music memorabilia world for it’s first few years. In 2003, Minnestota millionaire Bill Sagan purchased the archives of Bill Graham Presents, including copywrites, for over $5,000,000. What ensued over the next few years was a heavy handed interpretation of those copywrites, which gave Sagans newfounded company, Wofgangs Vault, a pretty bad name among dealers and collectors and even musicians who had been in the business for many, many years. There were and still are a number of lawsuits surrounding this company.
The main effect I felt in regards to Wolfgangs was that within that same year they bought out two of my colleagues, Legends Concert Posters out of Portland Oregon and New York City’s Psychedelic Solution. I had been trading, purchasing, and selling to these businesses while building my archives and website. It was a little unsettling to have them both gobbled up withing such a short time span. At the same time, I’m happy for Jacaeber Kastor of Psychedelic Solutions. Jacaeber had worked for many years, starting with nothing, and built his collections and business from what I felt was a true love and respect for material itself. I understand he was paid well for his efforts, and so in that way, Wolfgangs did him a service that is to be respected: they paid him for his efforts. I’m not sure how Dave Cutter did with Legends though I think some of Wolfgangs interest may have been in his URL, www.concertposters.com. They have also bought out numerous other stashes including the archives of Hawaii’s Tom Moffat Productions.
I’m always trying to look for the positives in any situation and there are quite a few in this case.
From an archivists point a view, it’s great to have the Bill Graham Presents archives searchable via Wolgangs website. On ConcertPosterArt.com, I list my collection items as well as items which are currently for sale. While those looking just to purchase may find it somewhat of a hinderance, the music researchers and biographers have really appreciated it and found the information useful. Currently, Wolfgangs is only listing items it has for sale, but it’s still a massive collection to browse. They also have some detailed printing information and specifications, which now matches up with the reserach of one of my mentors and idols, Eric King, author of the Collectors Guide to Psychedelic Rock Posters.
Another positive is that there is once again a “Big House” in the concert poster world, which really I think sets an air of importance to the field and the memorabilia itself. It says something about a segment of the collecting world when someone drops 5 million.
There has been alot of huff about Wolfgangs Vault’s pricing, which is really no ones business thier own. Though I’ve never purchased from them, I find their pricing to be like most collectibles/antiquities businesses I deal with, which is to say that there are some great deals in there, you just have to know what they are when you see them. While their pricing structure definately represents the high end of the spectrum, that position has to be held by someone. From my point of view, at least they aren’t undervaluing the material.
All in all, it is what it is…my only question is: Where’s my buyout offer?
This post brought to you by the fine folks at:
http://www.ConcertPosterArt.com
“Over 4000 Original Concert Posters, Flyers and Vintage Ads”
So I’ve had this idea for an article for some time regarding the effect of eBay on the collectibles marketplace, music memorabilia in particular. Thinking there were some main points I wanted to make, it ought to be fairly simple yet interesting to others as I have been selling on eBay for over 10 years (view my eBay listings) and began buying, selling and trading in the pre-web days. As i got into it, it became clear just how vast the subject truly is. See The eBay Effect.
