Unreleased “These Days” vinyl sells for $25,000
“These Days” graphic lettering by Nejc Prah; remade by EchoOfNazareth.
Two sealed copies of Frank Ocean’s unreleased “These Days” 7-inch vinyl have sold on eBay at eyewatering prices, ranking them among the highest-priced 7-inch singles ever sold on the site, according to data on popsike.com. The eBay listings came four months after the song leaked online in May 2023 and over three years after its intended release on February 25, 2020, before it was shelved due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
In early 2020, Blonded sent an email to customers of the “Little Demon” 7-inch vinyl, stating that their November 2019 orders would be replaced with another unreleased 7-inch single or refunded upon request. “These Days” was sent to fewer than 10 customers before Ocean quickly backtracked amid the rapid spread of the coronavirus. The few customers who had already received “These Days” were contacted by Blonded and offered a copy of the 2017 Endless LP in exchange for the return of the 7-inch single; all orders for “Little Demon” were later refunded. Two customers—who played the vinyl they received before returning it—verified the song’s existence with blonded.blog in 2020, and the track that later leaked in May 2023 is identical to the version pressed on the 7-inch single.
On September 2, 2023, the first “These Days” 7-inch vinyl sold at auction on eBay for $12,800, receiving 111 bids. Based on the listing’s description, the U.S.-based seller set up the auction on August 28 after seeing someone else list their 7-inch vinyl for sale on the site the day prior.
On September 3, the other copy listed on eBay sold as a Buy It Now item for $25,000. The U.S.-based seller wrote in the item’s description that he received the vinyl through “someone in the industry.” Photos from their listing are shown below.
The release includes a download card for the studio version of “These Days,” although the code does not work on blonded.co. The B-side of vinyl is blank, unlike Ocean’s other 7-inch singles, which featured remixed versions of their A-sides. The back of the black outer jacket also features a UPC-A barcode in the bottom-right corner, with the code “81001931088.”
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