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 7-inch vinyl “These Days” have sold on eBay at prices that rank them among the most expensive 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 in February 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). Blonded sent “These Days” 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, and 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. seller wrote in the item’s description that he received the vinyl through “someone in the industry.” Photos from their listing are displayed below.
The package includes a download card for the studio version of “These Days,” although the code does not work on blonded.co. The vinyl’s center label marks the release date as February 25, 2020—the same day Blonded emailed “Little Demon” customers about a replacement. The B-side of the vinyl is blank, unlike Ocean’s other 7-inch singles, which featured remixed versions of their A-sides. The record is stored within a white paper sleeve, inside a black cardstock outer jacket. In the jacket’s back-bottom-right corner is a UPC-A barcode with the numbers “81001931088.”
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