Music: Record Prices (Contd.)

After three weeks of confusion, brought on when RCA Victor chopped its LP prices by about a third (TIME, Jan. 10), the record industry has settled into a recognizable pattern. Six important labels (Capitol, Columbia, Decca, London, Mercury, MGM) are meeting Victor’s prices of $3.98 a 12-inch disk, with exceptions for complete operas and other particularly expensive performances. Angel, Westminster, Vox and Cook all claim special qualities for their recordings, are hewing to the original $5.95 price line. Others have agreed on a $4.98 “suggested” price. Manhattan’s Sam Goody’s, the major record discount house, continued to discount the “suggestions,” advertised classical LPs for as much as 29% off. Billboard reported one significant change “deep [in] the country’s economy”: the pawnshop value has dropped from $1.25 to $1 a disk.