'I, Me, Mine?': An Initial Consideration of (Popular Music Record) Collecting Aesthetics, Identities and Practices

Currently, there is very little academic literature dealing with the topic of record collecting, and, when the topic is broached, it appears to be done so with some level of suspicion towards the record collector. As such, the only depictions of record collectors in the public domain tend to be very stereotypical and demeaning. This work serves as a new starting point in how the record collector and the practices involved are viewed and understood by considering the roots of these stereotypes, which mainly stem from the work of the Frankfurt School theorists who lived during a time of great insecurity, both in regards to new methods of production for cultural artefacts and art, but also their physical lives. Once this has been achieved, a consideration of more realistic record collecting practices takes place through discussions with collectors themselves, an examination of a collectible record label (Vertigo Records), and a diachronic analysis of the theories that have contributed to a fallacious view of the record collector. The record collector consumes his/her records on an individual basis - both in terms of person to person, but also - and crucially - even record to record. Ultimately, it is argued that one cannot define consumption through (the artefact's) production, which most considerations of the record collector have mistakenly done.