Two reasons. First, the cost of blank virgin reel-to-reel tapes is high at around 50 euros and a single album typically requires two tapes. Second, the cost of production is much higher, as tapes are being copied in real time, in small, hand-managed batches, using the highest quality equipment operated and maintained by highly qualified experts.

But when you consider the result in terms of the vastly superior sound quality that’s possible on reel-to-reel tape, then it becomes a question of not just cost, but value.