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A Nirvana Test Pressing Just Sold for Nearly $60,000 at Auction

MarketDash Editorial Team
6 days ago
One of only six known copies of Nirvana's first studio recording sold for $58,560, highlighting the booming market for Kurt Cobain memorabilia. The test pressing of "Love Buzz" from 1988 was the first Nirvana song ever played on radio.

If you think vintage vinyl is just for music nerds with too much spare time, consider this: someone just dropped nearly $60,000 on a Nirvana test pressing. Not a regular album, not even a limited-edition release—a test pressing. One of six known to exist.

The Rarest Nirvana Record You've Never Heard Of

The test pressing of Nirvana's cover of "Love Buzz" fetched $58,560 at Goldin Auctions on Nov. 12. Produced three years before "Nevermind" turned flannel shirts into a cultural statement, this recording represents the band's first studio work. Only 10 copies were ever made by the pressing plant as part of quality control for Seattle's indie label Sub Pop, and just six documented examples survive today.

Goldin Auctions didn't hold back in describing the artifact, calling it "a cornerstone of rock history" issued "three years before 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' would ignite a cultural revolution." They characterize it as marking "the true beginning of the band's recorded legacy." This specific copy is cataloged as "Test Pressing #6" on LoveBuzz7.com, the authoritative reference site tracking all known examples of the Love Buzz 7" single.

The First Time Anyone Heard Nirvana on the Radio

Here's where the story gets interesting. The copy came from Scott Vanderpool, a Sub Pop employee and volunteer DJ at the University of Washington's KCMU radio station. In a letter provided to Goldin Auctions, Vanderpool explained how he got his hands on this piece of history.

"I met (Sub Pop co-founder) Jon Poneman at KCMU, where all three of us were volunteer DJs," Vanderpool wrote. "It was handed to me by Jon seconds after it arrived in the mail from the pressing plant."

Vanderpool didn't let the record sit around collecting dust. The test pressing, dated November 1988, went straight on the air during his show "Audioasis." That makes it the first Nirvana song ever broadcast on radio, anywhere. "While I was working at Sub Pop, any test pressing that came in I immediately took to the radio station to play on that show," Vanderpool explained, "so your Nirvana test pressing has the distinction of being the first Nirvana studio recording played on the radio anywhere."

The record itself shows its age in charming ways. The label bears handwritten inscriptions in blue felt-tip pen—"Love Buzz" on the A-side and "Big Cheese" on the reverse—with light discoloration consistent with being nearly 36 years old. AMG graded the item E (Excellent) Open with a Media score of 8 out of 10.

Kurt Cobain's Stuff Sells

This sale fits into a broader pattern. As online rock magazine Loudwire puts it, Kurt Cobain memorabilia "can be a hot ticket on the auction marketplace," particularly when it comes to tangible items the late Nirvana frontman actually touched.

The numbers tell the story. A setlist Cobain wrote on a paper plate sold for $22,400—more than a sheet with all the Nirvana members' signatures, which went for $8,750. A signed Cobain painting fetched $17,500 in 2017, while his "Mr. Mustache" drawing sold for $18,750 the same year after just two bids.

Equipment carries value too. A Marshall speaker cabinet Cobain used onstage during the 1993 concert filmed for Nirvana's "Live and Loud" video sold for $19,200 in 2020. A 1993 amendment to Nirvana's recording contract, signed by Geffen Records and all three band members, brought $21,875 in 2019. And in 2014, a white Sonic Youth T-shirt Cobain wore during a 1994 performance sold for $25,000.

What makes the test pressing different is its place in the timeline—it's not just memorabilia from a famous band, but a artifact from before anyone knew Nirvana would become Nirvana. That first radio play happened when they were just another Seattle band trying to get noticed. The fact that someone paid nearly $60,000 for it says something about how we value not just fame, but the origin stories that came before it.

Back to News

A Nirvana Test Pressing Just Sold for Nearly $60,000 at Auction

MarketDash Editorial Team
6 days ago
One of only six known copies of Nirvana's first studio recording sold for $58,560, highlighting the booming market for Kurt Cobain memorabilia. The test pressing of "Love Buzz" from 1988 was the first Nirvana song ever played on radio.

If you think vintage vinyl is just for music nerds with too much spare time, consider this: someone just dropped nearly $60,000 on a Nirvana test pressing. Not a regular album, not even a limited-edition release—a test pressing. One of six known to exist.

The Rarest Nirvana Record You've Never Heard Of

The test pressing of Nirvana's cover of "Love Buzz" fetched $58,560 at Goldin Auctions on Nov. 12. Produced three years before "Nevermind" turned flannel shirts into a cultural statement, this recording represents the band's first studio work. Only 10 copies were ever made by the pressing plant as part of quality control for Seattle's indie label Sub Pop, and just six documented examples survive today.

Goldin Auctions didn't hold back in describing the artifact, calling it "a cornerstone of rock history" issued "three years before 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' would ignite a cultural revolution." They characterize it as marking "the true beginning of the band's recorded legacy." This specific copy is cataloged as "Test Pressing #6" on LoveBuzz7.com, the authoritative reference site tracking all known examples of the Love Buzz 7" single.

The First Time Anyone Heard Nirvana on the Radio

Here's where the story gets interesting. The copy came from Scott Vanderpool, a Sub Pop employee and volunteer DJ at the University of Washington's KCMU radio station. In a letter provided to Goldin Auctions, Vanderpool explained how he got his hands on this piece of history.

"I met (Sub Pop co-founder) Jon Poneman at KCMU, where all three of us were volunteer DJs," Vanderpool wrote. "It was handed to me by Jon seconds after it arrived in the mail from the pressing plant."

Vanderpool didn't let the record sit around collecting dust. The test pressing, dated November 1988, went straight on the air during his show "Audioasis." That makes it the first Nirvana song ever broadcast on radio, anywhere. "While I was working at Sub Pop, any test pressing that came in I immediately took to the radio station to play on that show," Vanderpool explained, "so your Nirvana test pressing has the distinction of being the first Nirvana studio recording played on the radio anywhere."

The record itself shows its age in charming ways. The label bears handwritten inscriptions in blue felt-tip pen—"Love Buzz" on the A-side and "Big Cheese" on the reverse—with light discoloration consistent with being nearly 36 years old. AMG graded the item E (Excellent) Open with a Media score of 8 out of 10.

Kurt Cobain's Stuff Sells

This sale fits into a broader pattern. As online rock magazine Loudwire puts it, Kurt Cobain memorabilia "can be a hot ticket on the auction marketplace," particularly when it comes to tangible items the late Nirvana frontman actually touched.

The numbers tell the story. A setlist Cobain wrote on a paper plate sold for $22,400—more than a sheet with all the Nirvana members' signatures, which went for $8,750. A signed Cobain painting fetched $17,500 in 2017, while his "Mr. Mustache" drawing sold for $18,750 the same year after just two bids.

Equipment carries value too. A Marshall speaker cabinet Cobain used onstage during the 1993 concert filmed for Nirvana's "Live and Loud" video sold for $19,200 in 2020. A 1993 amendment to Nirvana's recording contract, signed by Geffen Records and all three band members, brought $21,875 in 2019. And in 2014, a white Sonic Youth T-shirt Cobain wore during a 1994 performance sold for $25,000.

What makes the test pressing different is its place in the timeline—it's not just memorabilia from a famous band, but a artifact from before anyone knew Nirvana would become Nirvana. That first radio play happened when they were just another Seattle band trying to get noticed. The fact that someone paid nearly $60,000 for it says something about how we value not just fame, but the origin stories that came before it.