Debate on the future of vinyl reached fever pitch at the end of last year when rumours started surfacing that Panasonic was due to discontinue the iconic Technics range of turntables. Low international sales were supposedly to blame, dance disciples switching to newly accessible (and acceptable) CD decks and live software set-ups. Subsequent Panasonic responses flatly denied this but nonetheless re-iterated a decline in the “analogue market.” As result clubland continued to question whether it was approaching the end of an era; that questioning is still going on now.
So where does this leave the glorious tradition of record collecting? Vinyl is the preferred medium for hoarding dance aficionados all over the world; if analogue-related music sales are plummeting then isn’t the collecting cult losing serious momentum?
“Absolutely” laments Mark Grusane, co-founder of Chicago’s legendary record store and archivist paradise Mr Peabody Records. “It’s put a huge crack in the art of record collecting. But that’s not simply down to the internet revolution; it’s also because of global recession. When people have their pockets crunched they take the easy way out with music which, today, is downloads. It’s hard to teach the next generation of music lovers about the art of collecting – sleeve notes, labels, pressings, grading, cover art – when music is readily available as a digital file.”
Recession and recent digital development has killed off many small record shop businesses in the UK. Berwick Street, in Soho, London, has lost several of the institutional vinyl and collectors’ emporiums for which it was famed – Reckless Records, Mister CD, Selectadisc…. The latter, of course, was part of a much-loved chain with its HQ in Nottingham. Nottingham’s Selectadisc, first opened in 1966, was widely regarded as one of the country’s best record exchanges; owing to intense financial pressure the brand folded last year. It was a seismic moment for the industry.
Selectadisc’s very last owner Phil Barton noted the lack of customers under 30. Mister CD’s owner David Killington had much the same things to say but added rather significantly: “People over 35 are still buying CDs.” If the issue of record collecting preservation still needs to be addressed among clubland’s younger generation, and addressed urgently, then at least collecting traditions are still being practised by older hands. Or so it seems.
Ian Shirley, Editor of Record Collector magazine’s Rare Records Price Guide, agrees but also notes the ways in which technology has benefitted the collecting scene: “Our love of music is timeless and, as such, there will also be people that want to collect it. The market place is still thriving.”
Shirley continues: “Sure, some of the collectors’ fairs are a little quieter these days; certain DJs and buyers simply prefer the convenience of digital. But, at the same time, the internet has given rise to huge online auctions and trading portals like eBay. In many respects, it is easier for collectors to find music; the internet has given collectors the ability to trawl the globe quickly and conveniently.”
Shirley keeps a close eye on collecting trends day by day; it’s an intensely studious but utterly fascinating game. “We’re noticing some interesting collecting patterns at the moment” he says, “Classic hip-hop is really big right now and early 80s disco-boogie; 12 inch records can fetch £200 a pop. A lot of dance DJs still love hunting around and paying out that sort of money; club music is built around samples and record collecting gives them fresh ammunition.”
Birmingham-based store Hard To Find Records, which for many years now has enjoyed a glowing reputation as global resource for rare, deleted and upfront vinyl, continues to trade briskly but its Head Buyer, JB, accepts that there has been a need for Hard To Find to evolve: “We’ve just relaunched our showroom. We’ve got the dedicated vinyl and CD collectors’ room but also hi-tech retail spaces for the latest DJ equipment, for studio demonstrations, Ableton workshops and all sorts of musical demos. As a store we couldn’t rely on just record trading; we needed to move with the times and offer dance music lovers vinyl alongside other services.”
In terms of record trading, however, JB remains optimistic: “We’re getting a wide mix of vinyl and CD customers on a regular basis; people of all ages and from all over the place. Last week we had someone who’d flown over from Spain just to visit us. And we still get major DJs spending long afternoons in the vinyl room, hunting out exclusives; these guys refuse to play laptops! I don’t think collecting will fade out; but traders need to work with technology to make their businesses happen.”
Grusane has done just that but still believes some of the old ways are best. “We survive mostly because of overseas internet sales” he confides. “But physical stores like ours are important for strengthening the local music community, and for teaching new blood. As storeowners Mike [Cole] and I have noticed how the internet has encouraged musicians to think they can network and do everything on their own. People think internet forums can take the place of record stores as a base for collecting and networking; but that culture has weakened. We’re still getting the kids in, but stores like ours – we will continue to promote vinyl first as long as we can - just don’t exist like they use to.”
The internet has other potential pitfalls for collectors – a lack, according to Grusane, of information on publishers and label addresses; key clues for record hounds normally found on hard-copy sleeves. Popular marketplace eBay has also changed its pricing strategies for Postage & Packaging, meaning some traders will actually lose money when selling cuts.
It’s the current climate that has inspired the Peabody boys to re-enter the DJ and compilation arenas. “We have a style and taste unlike any other,” Grusane grins. “We want to showcase the rare and unplayed dance music we have access to as collectors; it’s about educating people but giving them beats to move to. We’ve also just released a compilation of rare pre-house disco and boogie, The Real Sound Of Chicago, through the Barely Breaking Even label – it’s another avenue for us to get great undiscovered music to a wider audience.”
He concludes: “Being a collector has its moments! We’ve been ambushed at shows by people trying to grab our tunes, and had our homes watched because the cops thought we were moving boxes of drugs, rather than twelves…. But we wouldn’t ever change what we do!”
You just can’t put a price on it...
Words: Ben Lovett
The Real Sound Of Chicago is out now on BBE Records.
