The book explores record collecting and vinyl consumption in the 21st century within the context of the vinyl revival. The book highlights gender, and how gender disparity is expressed in vinyl communities.
Veronica Skrimsjö considers vinyl consumerism and collecting and how the collector identifies themselves within the socio-political environment of the Global North, with a particular focus on gender. The book includes considerations of Record Store Day, DIY, and DI-together cultures, as well as the historic context needed to evaluate record collecting in the 21st century.
The work is aimed at both an academic and a general readership and as such strikes a more informal tone. Personal experiences are emphasised throughout because vinyl consumers are not a homogenous group, and it is only via personal experiences that we can understand the complexity of consumption. The personal experience also helps make the content more relatable, which is crucial as old stereotypes helped distance the collector from the everyday consumer. Readers will benefit from a different perspective on record collecting and consumptions as the book highlights active, creative consumption and provides an in-depth, innovative analysis of how gender inequality is constructed within this context.
Preface
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1: Introduction: Record Collecting & Ownership
Histories & Contexts: The Album Replacement Cycle
The High Fidelity Stereotype
Overview of the Book
Key Concepts
Chapter 2: Decoding Vinyl & the Cultural Pulse
Listening & Collecting
Fandom, Audience & Consumption
Representations of Gender
Social Media & Online Resources
Chapter 3: Voices in Vinyl: Unpacking Gender Narratives
Premise
Women in Vinyl
Ethnographies
Winnie, Liv & Everly
Cora, Selma & Billie
Chapter 4: Analogue Echoes: Vinyl as Cultural Artefact
Physical Formats in the 21st Century
Vinyl as an Artefact
Record Store Day
Auto-ethnography
Chapter 5: Cult Collectors: Vertigos Swirl Era & the Barton Collection
Introduction
Case Study: Vertigo Records
Case Study: Ritchie Barton Collection
Chapter 6: Bengans: Record Shops, Retail & Cultural Sites in the 21st
Century
Second-Hand Trade
Bengans
Chapter 7: Popular Music as Cultural Heritage
Heritage & Archiving
Do-It-Yourself
Do-It-Together
Chapter 8: Conclusion
Conclusion
Appendix A: Top 40 Selling Cassettes 2022
Appendix B: Vertigo Swirl Catalogue
Index
Veronica Skrimsjö is Lecturer at the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts (LIPA), Liverpool, United Kingdom.
