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Lucky Find: Flea Market Record Sells for $25,200
14 Sep
Summary
- Collector bought rare Velvet Underground acetate for 75 cents.
- Acetate contains early versions of songs from debut album.
- The record was sold for $25,200 after careful verification.
In 2002, a fortunate collector acquired an acetate of The Velvet Underground's secret 1966 recording session for just 75 cents at a New York flea market. This acetate, known as the 'Scepter Studios' acetate, contained nine early versions of songs destined for their influential 1967 debut album, The Velvet Underground & Nico.
Andy Warhol, managing the band at the time, orchestrated the secret recording session after hours at Scepter Studios. Engineer Norman Dolph recorded the material, aiming to preserve it before the band signed with a label, thus preventing potential interference with the music. Several record labels, including Columbia and Atlantic, rejected the recordings.
Four years after its discovery, the acetate was sold for $25,200 following a successful auction with strict buyer verification. The anonymous buyer treated the acetate as a financial stake in music history, choosing not to play the fragile disc due to its delicate nature.
In 2012, a remastered version of these sessions was included in the 45th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition of The Velvet Underground & Nico. This release utilized the other known surviving copy of the acetate, owned by drummer Maureen Tucker, making Warhol's hidden recordings accessible to millions.
