Alternative Investments: Rock Posters and Memorabilia

Markets, or commodities, are only as valuable as people are willing to pay for them. Those of us who lived in the ‘golden age’ of rock n roll are coming to retirement, and originally posters of greats such as The Clash, Sex Pistols etc are rising in price. It is not a coincidence these two events are happening together

Record Mecca is a site set up to cater for this market and its owner Jeff Gold is clear that investment into good quality posters is a sound investment and one that should gain in value and he should know as a former executive of Warner Brothers record division.

As in any type of investment, there is no ladder to the top or get rich quick scheme. However the traditional investment vehicles are as bad as they ever have been, with interest rates at historic lows, savings and ISA’s are actually losing money with inflation eating into cash pots, investors are on the look out for more unconventional vehicles for their cash.

Until 2008 the main investment that most people were considering was property. At dinner parties up and down the country people were discussing the money they had made in property. People came to believe that property could only go one way and that was up – the classic delusion in an asset boom. Most people now realise property is not the get rich quick certainty it was previously and so are looking for other investments.

It does not help that we no longer certain that we are set for recovery. The trauma of 2008 could be repeated as we seem to be heading back to recession with the problems that Eurozone countries are experiencing. So now is probably not the time to be looking at financial investments either but instead to consider investment alternatives.

So now may be the right time to think about new investment strategies. One problem though is that a number of alternative investments such as Gold have already seen very substantial rises and it may be too late to get into the market and be certain of good returns.

The rock memorabilia market however still offers you the opportunity to get involved without spending a fortune and still make a good return. If you can pick the right product then the returns can be fantastic Recently for instance a Beatles poster from their 1965 American tour sold for nearly $70,000.

As the traditional investment markets contract, new markets are seeing growth, memorabilia markets are at the forefront of this group, with rock one of the fastest growing of all. Now is the time to be in the first wave and acquire not just some great investments and, more importantly, preserving your own slice of music history.

The market for Rock posters has been around for some time. Indeed the Hard Rock Caf (which celebrates its 40th birthday this year) gets a large part of its appeal from the selection of genuine Rock Memorabilia which it puts on the walls of its restaurants. What gives the current market such potential is the impact of the Internet in creating a worldwide market to buy and sell on a daily basis. This massive expansion of the market is driving prices up.

Like all investments you have to do your homework because no markets just go up in a straight line. There will always be growth and decline. At the moment the market is doing well however so this may be the time to get involved and see if you can enjoy yourself grabbing some bargains and then seeing them go up in value whilst at the same time preserving important moments in rock history.

Marcus Selmon writes for Just Commercial Mortgages the UK’s No1 site for the latest commercial mortgage rates and commercial property finance news