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Record collecting is the hobby of collecting sound recordings, usually of music, but sometimes poetry, reading, historical speeches, and ambient noises. Although the typical focus is on
vinyl record A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts ne ...
s, all formats of recorded music can be collected.


Scope of a record collection

The scope of a record collection may include a focus on any of the following categories: * genres (or subgenres) *artists (or producers). Some collectors may attempt to collect every release by a favorite artist. * recording labels (or sublabels) * periods (or music scenes) * formats, e.g. 78s, 7"s, LPs, EPs,
Mono Mono may refer to: Common meanings * Infectious mononucleosis, "the kissing disease" * Monaural, monophonic sound reproduction, often shortened to mono * Mono-, a numerical prefix representing anything single Music Performers * Mono (Japanes ...
,
Reel-to-reel Reel-to-reel audio tape recording, also called open-reel recording, is magnetic tape audio recording in which the recording tape is spooled between reels. To prepare for use, the ''supply reel'' (or ''feed reel'') containing the tape is pla ...
, Cassettes, 45s, SPs, CDs, etc. * specialisms, e.g. unusual physical specimens (odd shapes, colors, sizes, speeds) regardless of recorded content, records having original "stock" generic sleeves identifying the label, variations in the record's label design as issued by particular companies, or imported copies. Demand is usually highest for the "original" or earliest pressings of records, often identified by variations in the label or cover. Avid collectors develop specialized knowledge about such details.


Pressings

One collectible record format is known as a ''test pressing.'' Five to 10 initial copies are often pressed for the purpose of checking the mix or levels on a record, or to ensure that the die is cutting properly. Though usually meant for the artist, producer, pressing plant, or record label to keep as reference, they are sometimes placed in special packaging (such as a photocopy of the real record sleeve) and given out to friends or devoted fans. First pressings of original commercial releases usually have higher values among collectors than later pressings. Also collectible are 45s with picture sleeves, and original editions of LPs (and other formats) which often have inserts and other features not on subsequent editions, or tracks or cover art later withdrawn or altered. Subsequent pressings often have the same label and catalog number but can be differentiated from the first pressings by the cover, colour of the label, matrix numbers on the disc itself, etc.


Errors

Records that have been Mispressed and have incorrect content or have Misprinted labels or covers may be more valuable, especially if a very limited number was released to the public.


Promos, reissues and bootlegs

Promotional or "promo" copies are free records, cassettes or CDs sent to radio stations, music journalists, and music critics to announce a new release coming soon from the record company. They are identified by the label, which typically takes the form of plain text listing the name of the recording and its associated credits, as well as markings specifying it as "Promotional", "Audition," "Demonstration" and/or "Not for Sale." Record and cassette promo copies typically come in the form of
white label A white label record is a vinyl record with white labels attached. There are several variations each with a different purpose. Variations include test pressings, white label promos, and plain white labels. Test pressings Test pressings, usua ...
discs and clear cassettes, respectively, while CD copies typically come in the form of
CD-R CD-R (Compact disc-recordable) is a digital optical disc storage format. A CD-R disc is a compact disc that can be written once and read arbitrarily many times. CD-R discs (CD-Rs) are readable by most CD readers manufactured prior to the in ...
s with black-on-transparent labels. Because many commercial cassette releases use identical clear plastic and white print, promo copies are oftentimes distinguished solely by text on the J-card specifying them as such. Promo copies of best-selling records can have a slightly lower or higher value than "stock" first pressings. Occasionally promo copies were pressed for records that were never released; include other songs or features not found on the official commercial release (e.g.
Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.Talkin ...
' 1988 album ''
Naked Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. The loss of body hair was one of the physical characteristics that marked the biological evolution of modern humans from their hominin ancestors. Adaptations related to h ...
''). Reissues of popular records can be released by the same label many years later with the same catalog number and cover art, but are often undertaken by a different label, some of which (such as
Rhino Records A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...
) specialize in reissues and have access to certain labels' catalogs and "vaults" of unreleased master recordings. " Bootlegs" are illegitimate releases. They vary in value and in sound and pressing quality, and come in several categories. Bootleg LPs, tapes and CDs often feature recordings from live performances or tracks not commercially released (including those never intended for release that were stolen or illegitimately acquired). Some bootleg 45s are re-releases of rare or valuable singles – exact copies of rare records, with the original label graphics and numbers - known in the industry as "counterfeits."


History


Background

Record collecting has been around probably nearly as long as recorded sound. In its earliest years,
phonograph A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...
s and the recordings that were played on them (first wax
phonograph cylinder Phonograph cylinders are the earliest commercial medium for recording and reproducing sound. Commonly known simply as "records" in their era of greatest popularity (c. 1896–1916), these hollow cylindrical objects have an audio recording engra ...
s, and later flat
shellac Shellac () is a resin secreted by the female lac bug on trees in the forests of India and Thailand. It is processed and sold as dry flakes and dissolved in alcohol to make liquid shellac, which is used as a brush-on colorant, food glaze and ...
discs) were mostly owned by the rich, out of the reach of the middle or lower classes. By the 1920s, improvements in the manufacturing processes, both in players and recordings, allowed prices for the machines to drop. While entertainment options in a middle to upper-class home in the 1890s would likely consist of a piano, smaller instruments, and a library of sheet music, by the 1910s and later these options expanded to include a radio and a library of recorded sound. After the phonograph cylinder became obsolete, the record was the uncontested sound medium for decades. The number of available recordings mushroomed and the number of companies pressing records increased These were 78–
rpm Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...
, originally one-sided, then later double-sided, ten-inch shellac discs, with about two to four minutes of recording time on each side. Growth in the recorded sound industries was stunted by the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
and
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, when the recording industries in some countries were affected by a restricted supply of raw materials. By the time World War II ended, the economy of these countries began to grow again.
Classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...
(which was a large portion of 78–rpm releases) was slowly edged into a minority status by the influx of
popular Popularity or social status is the quality of being well liked, admired or well known to a particular group. Popular may also refer to: In sociology * Popular culture * Popular fiction * Popular music * Popular science * Populace, the total ...
and new music, which was less costly and thus more profitable to record.


Early collecting

Music journalist Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...
Amanda Petrusich Amanda Petrusich (born c. 1980) is an American music journalist. She is a staff writer at ''The New Yorker'' and the author of three books: ''Pink Moon'' (2007), '' It Still Moves: Lost Songs, Lost Highways, and the Search for the Next American M ...
has reported that retrospective 78 collecting began in the 1940s, focusing on rare early Dixieland jazz recordings. In several articles and in her book ''
Do Not Sell At Any Price ''Do Not Sell At Any Price: The Wild, Obsessive Hunt for the World's Rarest 78rpm Records'' is a 2014 book by American music journalist Amanda Petrusich. Development and publication ''Do Not Sell At Any Price'' grew out of research for a piece Pe ...
'', she writes about 78rpm record collectors such as James McKune, an influential collector of jazz from the late 1930s and of country blues.


1950s

The introduction of both the 33 rpm, 12-inch LP record and the 45–rpm, 7-inch record, coming into the market in 1948/1949, provided advances in both storage and quality. These records featured vinyl ( polyvinyl chloride or
polystyrene Polystyrene (PS) is a synthetic polymer made from monomers of the aromatic hydrocarbon styrene. Polystyrene can be solid or foamed. General-purpose polystyrene is clear, hard, and brittle. It is an inexpensive resin per unit weight. It is a ...
), replacing the previous shellac materials. Further groups of small
labels A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed dir ...
came into existence with the dawning of the
rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...
era in the early-to-middle 1950s, and the growth of a market among post-war teenagers with disposable income to spend on 45–rpm singles. Rock and roll was much less costly and more profitable to produce than the
big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s an ...
jazz and professional singer/song-craftsman music that it replaced in popularity. Ronald D. Cohen relates that the hillbilly-focused Disc Collector magazine was formed in 1951. Various important online library catalogues list copies of Burke's Register of Record Collectors, which existed from 1957 at the latest. In the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, rare 78–rpms were traded, usually American rock and roll, musicians and record labels such as
Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the " ...
Chuck Berry, and
Sun Records Sun Records is an American independent record label founded by producer Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee in February 1952. Sun was the first label to record Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny C ...
. Labels such as London-American (now
London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...
),
RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...
and
Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerous ...
were priced at a premium. One of the earliest UK record collectors was Mike Adams, who was first known for trading in 1958 on Merseyside. He later became a DJ on the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
and broadcast on collecting records for many years. He wrote several books on collecting including ''Apple Beatle Collectables''. In the UK, labels considered collectible, such as
Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...
,
Sun Records Sun Records is an American independent record label founded by producer Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee in February 1952. Sun was the first label to record Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny C ...
,
Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...
, and
Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 192 ...
(
EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...
), turned into mainstream major record labels later on in the 1960s. In the US, New York's Times Square store is widely acknowledged for feeding the doowop revival of the early sixties, attention focusing on them from 1959.


1960s

With the
folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...
boom in the late 1950s to early 1960s, there was suddenly a demand for
archival An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or ...
material. Record collectors fanned out in some countries, searching small towns, dusty barns and mountain cabins for older discs. Initially, the most-desired items were pre-World War II shellac discs containing "
race records Race records were 78-rpm phonograph records marketed to African Americans between the 1920s and 1940s.Oliver, Paul. "Race record." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. 13 Feb. 2015. They primarily contained race music, comprising various Afri ...
" (that is,
blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
,
country blues Country blues (also folk blues, rural blues, backwoods blues, or downhome blues) is one of the earliest forms of blues music. The mainly solo vocal with acoustic fingerstyle guitar accompaniment developed in the rural Southern United States in t ...
and
hillbilly music Hillbilly is a term (often derogatory) for people who dwell in rural, mountainous areas in the United States, primarily in southern Appalachia and the Ozarks. The term was later used to refer to people from other rural and mountainous areas we ...
), the precursors to then-current rock and roll and
country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...
styles. Later generations of record collectors found their passion in digging up obscure 45s in the genre of
doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a genre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chica ...
, or LPs from the late 1960s "
garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...
" and "
psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of ...
" genres. The pop music scene changed with the rise in popularity of
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
between 1962 and 1964. In their wake, thousands of musical bands inspired by their fresh, lively take on rock music with a sharp British sensibility, picked up guitars, and many released records. Many of these acolytes released 45–rpm records in small batches to sell at local concerts and to their friends and families. Due to their relatively small pressings, these obscure local records became highly prized and valuable. One of the famous "collector's items" in record collecting is not a record at all, but merely an
album cover An album cover (also referred to as album art) is the front packaging art of a commercially released studio album or other audio recordings. The term can refer to either the printed paperboard covers typically used to package sets of and 78-r ...
. The Beatles themselves accidentally contributed what is probably one of the most well-known and valuable "collector's pieces" of the rock and roll era: " The Butcher Cover". This is an informal title for an album cover for the album '' Yesterday and Today''. Until 1967, the Beatles' LP releases in the UK were substantially different from their LP releases in the USA. These American albums were shorter, had different songs, album titles and artwork. Another Holy Grail for some collectors is Bob Dylan's ''
The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan ''The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'' is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on May 27, 1963 by Columbia Records. Whereas his self-titled debut album ''Bob Dylan'' had contained only two original songs, this album ...
'', the 1963 pressing that has four songs that were deleted from subsequent pressings, known to fetch up to $35,000 in stereo and $16,500 in mono in excellent condition.


1970s

In the 1970s, the record collecting hobby was aided by the establishment of record collecting publications such as '' Goldmine'', ''DISCoveries'', and ''Stormy Weather'', and in the UK, ''
Record Collector ''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine. It was founded in 1980 and distributes worldwide. History The early years The first standalone issue of ''Record Collector'' was published in March 1980, though its history stretches ba ...
''. Price guide books were published, codifying exactly how much certain "rare items" were supposed to be worth. The "grading" of records based upon condition became more standardized across the hobby with the publication of these price guides.


1980s & 90s

The Blues Brothers John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd were record collectors, and they paid tribute to blues and soul musicians With the introduction of the compact disc in the middle 1980s, there began a stratification in the hobby; commonly found vinyl specimens that had been pressed in the hundreds of thousands or even millions of copies became relatively worthless, while the rarest of specimens became ever more valuable. These rare items included 45–rpm discs in the genres of blues,
rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...
, soul, doo wop, jazz,
progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...
, and psychedelic rock. Other rare and highly valued items include pieces from highly collectible artists such as
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
,
Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...
, James Brown,
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
,
Janis Joplin Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer and musician. One of the most successful and widely known Rock music, rock stars of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and "electric" stage ...
,
Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
,
The Doors The Doors were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential ro ...
, and
The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...
. Some are pressings from nations where they were pressed in very small quantities (such as the Sex Pistols' South African release of "God Save The Queen"). Thanks to the Hip Hop artists such at
A Tribe Called Quest A Tribe Called Quest was an American hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985,Q-Tip
,
DJ Premier Christopher Edward Martin (born March 21, 1966), known professionally as DJ Premier (also known as Preemo), is an American record producer and DJ. He is considered one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time. He was half of the hip hop duo ...
,
Monie Love Simone Johnson or Simone Gooden (born 2 July 1970), better known by her stage name Monie Love, is a British rapper, actress and radio personality from London. Best known for her singles during the late–1980s through the 1990s, Monie Love curre ...
and others, sampling older records that are household classics for
Generation X Generation X (or Gen X for short) is the Western world, Western demographic Cohort (statistics), cohort following the baby boomers and preceding the millennials. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1960s as starting birth years a ...
from genres such as Funk, Jazz curated a dynamic where these records are repackaged & rebirthed for
Generation Y Millennials, also known as Generation Y or Gen Y, are the Western demographic cohort following Generation X and preceding Generation Z. Researchers and popular media use the early 1980s as starting birth years and the mid-1990s to early 2000s ...
.


2000s

Even in the 21st century, as music fans have often opted for digital downloads over physical releases (and indeed started to collect these in the same way as vinyl), certain contemporary bands have a following of record collectors. This is prominent for instance in the
punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
and
alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...
genres. For example, the special edition of
NOFX NOFX () is an American punk rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1983. Vocalist/bassist Fat Mike, guitarist Eric Melvin and drummer Erik Sandin are original founding and longest-serving members of the band, who have appeared on every ...
's 1999 release, '' The Decline'', on transparent vinyl has already reached prices of $1500. Due to the
DIY "Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and sem ...
ethic and constrained budget of many punk bands and labels, releases by lesser-known bands tend to be in limited edition. Specific pressing runs of records are sometimes printed on different colored vinyl, have new or different songs, contain spelling or mixing errors, or may be in lower quantity than other pressings. All such factors increase a specific record's collectibility. For instance, in 1988,
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
hardcore Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film * ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott * ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...
band
Judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...
attempted to record their debut ''Bringin' It Down'' at
Chung King Studios Chung King Studios was a recording studio that operated in New York City under that name from 1986 to 2015. It was founded by producer John King and engineer Steve Ett with financial backing from the Etches brothers, occupying three different locat ...
. The bad experience and low quality result left the band so disappointed that they scrapped the session and re-recorded the LP elsewhere. The older sessions, however, were pressed onto 110 copies of white
vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl m ...
entitled ''Chung King Can Suck It!'' and sent to fans who had pre-ordered ''Bringin It Down'' to reward them for their patience, as re-recording caused a major delay in the release. Copies of the record have been sold for up to $6,800 on sites like
eBay eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became a ...
. Other music genres also have fervent adherents. For instance, fans of folk rock, psychedelia and other genres have become ever more interested in original short-run vinyl private pressings. Even when these have been reissued, the originals can continue to attract high prices. The first wave of classical collectors concentrated on early stereo orchestral recordings on labels such as the British
Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...
and
EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...
, and the American
Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...
Living Presence series and
RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...
Living Stereo series. Some of these records still sell at auction for hundreds of dollars. However, the focus of the top classical collectors has now shifted to earlier material, and rare European
monos Monos is an island in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is one of the "Bocas Islands", which lie in the '' Bocas del Dragón'' (''Dragons' Mouth'') between Trinidad and Venezuela. It is so named as the island was once home to noisy red h ...
from the 1950s by top artists have become highly sought after. The Far Eastern collectors who dominate this market tend to prefer
chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...
, and solo violin and cello. Others still focus on antique 78s. As of 2011 many pressing plants have been reactivated and new releases in vinyl are appearing on an increasing basis, causing what many have called a revival of the format. The volume of product (9.2 million units sold in 2014, 6 percent of total music sales) confirms a continuing niche interest in the format, while formats such as CDs fail to compete with digital downloads. Sales of cassette music tapes have also increased in recent years (2014-2019) with a cassette tape interest revival almost comparable to vinyl records.


Crate digging

A more intense method of record collecting, known as crate digging, involves thorough searching of record bins to find a recording of interest. This practice is associated with and holds a particular prestige for
hip hop producer Hip hop production is the creation of hip hop music in a recording studio. While the term encompasses all aspects of hip hop music creation, including recording the rapping of an MC, a turntablist or DJ providing a beat, playing samples and "s ...
s, who searched for rare records with sounds to
sample Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of s ...
for a newly created recording. In her account of the North American hip-hop crate diggers of the 1980s, media and culture theorist Elodie A. Roy writes, "As they trailed second-hand shops and car boot sales – depositories of unwanted capitalist surplus – diggers were bound to encounter realms of mainstream, mass-produced LP records now fallen out of grace and fashion. They primarily used them as raw material, seeking to create beats out of them." Speaking of crate digging's broader role in
hip hop culture Hip hop or hip-hop is a culture and art movement that was created by African Americans, Latino Americans and Caribbean Americans in the Bronx, New York City. Hip hop culture is characterized by four key elements: rapping, DJing and turntablis ...
, academic and ethnomusicologist Joseph G. Schloss says: While the practice of collecting in general was historically a
bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...
phenomenon tied to antiques and the
fine art In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...
s, the North American hip-hop crate-diggers of the 1980s helped give rise to what
material culture Material culture is the aspect of social reality grounded in the objects and architecture that surround people. It includes the usage, consumption, creation, and trade of objects as well as the behaviors, norms, and rituals that the objects creat ...
scholar Paul Martin calls the "popular collector" – generally interested in "obtainable, affordable and appealing" items and a consequence of
mass production Mass production, also known as flow production or continuous production, is the production of substantial amounts of standardized products in a constant flow, including and especially on assembly lines. Together with job production and batch ...
. With the rise of
digital media Digital media is any communication media that operate in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital media can be created, viewed, distributed, modified, listened to, and preserved on a digital electronics device. ' ...
in the following decades, this transitioned to the "digital" and "electronic" collector. Concurrently, the demise of physical music stores allowed for websites to emerge as domains for crate digging, including the music review database
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
, the streaming service
Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...
, and
Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...
, which began as a music database before developing into an online marketplace for physical music releases.


See also

*''
John Peel's Record Box ''John Peel's Record Box'' is a documentary film made by Elaine Shepherd, released on 14 November 2005 on Channel 4. It was nominated for Primetime Emmy Award. __TOC__ Contents The box contains a small private collection of the British radio ...
'' *
List of notable record collectors This article lists the owners of the largest private music collections, some of which have been donated to public institutions for their study and preservation. As of 2017, the largest record collection with over 6 million items belongs to Zero ...
*
List of the most valuable records The following is an attempt to list some of the most valuable records. Data is sourced from ''Record Collector'', eBay, Popsike, the Jerry Osborne Record Price Guides, and other sources. * Wu-Tang Clan's '' Once Upon a Time in Shaolin'' CD (of w ...
*''
Record Collectors Are Pretentious Assholes ''Record Collectors Are Pretentious Assholes'' is hardcore punk band Poison Idea's second EP. It was released in 1985 through Fatal Erection Records. The back cover of the album contained a picture of Elvis Presley with the words "The King" b ...
'' *''
Vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl m ...
'' *
Vinyl revival Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...
* Zero Freitas, a Brazilian businessman whose record collection is believed to be the largest in the world. *
Cassette tape The Compact Cassette or Musicassette (MC), also commonly called the tape cassette, cassette tape, audio cassette, or simply tape or cassette, is an analog magnetic tape recording format for audio recording and playback. Invented by Lou Ottens ...


References


Further reading

* Langridge, Derek. ''Your Jazz Collection''. London: C. Bingley, 1970. ''N.B''.: Concerns both private and library collections of jazz sound recordings and of literature about jazz. SBN 85157-100-X * Moses, Julian Morton. ''The Record Collector's Guide oAmerican- ssued Classical MusicCelebrity Discs''. New York: Concert Bureau, College of the City of New York, a. 1960 * Overton, C. David. ''The Gramophone Record Library''. London: Grafton & Co., 1951. 123 p. ''N.B''.: This book is aimed at sound recordings collections in libraries, but much of the advice may be of some use to the private collector. * Petrusich, Amanda. ''Do Not Sell at Any Price: The Wild Obsessive Hunt for the World's Rarest 78rpm Records.'' New York: Scribner, 2014. * Rees, Tony. ''Vox Record Hunter: A Collector's Guide to Rock and Pop''. London: Boxtree, 1995 , 601p. * Roach, Helen. ''Spoken Records''. 3rd ed. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1970. * Williams, Frederick P. ''Ideas on Beginning a 78's .e. flat sound discs that spin at or about 78 rpmRecord Collection''. Philadelphia, Penn.: Collector's Records, 1973. * Silke, John, ''Record Collecting in the Digital Age'', 2012. {{Authority control Audio storage