Because it turns out that your old CDs might be worth rather more than you think. The delivery company Fastline Digital has, for some reason, compiled a report into the most valuable second-hand CDs currently on the market. The results are enough to make you clamber up into the attic and dust off your obsolete music.
Below are five rare CDs that are on sale or recently sold for a fairly ludicrous amount of money. Most are still available to buy, if you happen to have a hefty whack of cash kicking about.
Suppose it makes sense that deceased geniuses like David Bowie and Michael Jackson would have rare, expensive CDs in their name, but isn’t it weird that Coldplay and Eminem are on the list too? Like, they’re both great acts, but would you pay thousands of pounds for bits of plastic with their names on? Somebody would – because this lot are going for an eye-watering amount.
Michael Jackson, ‘Smile’
Released: 1997
Worth: £1,200
WTF? A CD single for £1200. Cool! According to the Jacko collector site mjjcollectors.com, the price tag applies only to copies of the Austrian edition. The release was cancelled, with all copies supposedly destroyed, but a few crept into circulation. There are quite a few fakes out there, and the site offers a handy guide to help you distinguish these from the real thing.
Coldplay, ‘The Safety EP’
Released: 1998
Worth: £2,000
WTF? Yeah, weird one. Especially since the EP only contains three songs, ‘Bigger Stronger’, ‘No More Keeping My Feet On The Ground’ and ‘Such A Rush’. The band self-released it with a limited run of 500 and this Discogs write-up claims that “most of these copies were given to record company executives and friends & family and only a few remain in circulation”.
The Rolling Stones, ‘Steel Wheels Japan Tour’
Released: 1990
Worth: £2,000
WTF? This one went for the above amount earlier this month, belying the fact that the CD bears a sticker that reads, “Not For Sale”. A career-spanning compilation of performances from the band’s 1989 Japanese tour, it was only available in Japan for promotional purpose and also contains a seven-page booklet of press material. You can have a small family car or this CD – all depends on how much you love your family.
David Bowie, ‘Sound + Vision’
Released: 1989
Worth: £4,099
WTF: That’s the price copy went for on eBay in December 2013, anyway. To be fair, at least you’d kind of feel like you were getting your money’s worth here. Only 350 copies of the compilation were made. It contains 49 tracks – a mix of studio and live records – and one video (‘Ashes To Ashes’), while the aforementioned eBay listing says it’s accompanied by a 72-page booklet and comes in “a basswood and birch box”. Bargain!
Eminem, ‘Slim Shady EP’
Released: 1997
Worth: £9,837
WTF: No, seriously, WTF? That’s a grand a track! And some of them are skits! That means you’re paying a grand for ‘Mommy’, a 39-second track. Not a bargain. Only 500 copies of this CD were made, and only half of those actually sold. The record’s gone down in history because it saw Em find his violent musical persona, catching the ear of Jimmy Iovine of Interscope. This piece is yours on Discogs for a very unreasonable price.