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Music Collections

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Posted on June 15, 2016 at 08:09:02
layman
Audiophile

Posts: 559
Location: Washington, D.C.
Joined: August 8, 2007
 At what point does a music collection become too large?

Conversely, when is a music collection not big enough?

I have 5000 CDs, 1100 SACDs and 250 LPs.

They take up 1/2 of storage space in my place. I have bookshelves full. Kitchen cabinets full. I am running out of room.

Yet, I feel the collection is not quite complete. There are holes; missing areas of repertoire and discography that I would like to fill before I stop.

Many of my favorite musicians have died in the last twelve years (Claudio Abbado, Colin Davis, Lena Horne, Paco de Lucia, Prince, David Bowie, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Tina Marie, Pierre Boulez, Michael Jackson, Shirley Horn, Cezaria Evora....) and to my horror, I discovered that I was missing a lot of their music. I redoubled my efforts to fill those discography gaps.

I fear this is all quixotic though. I feel like if I ever do finish collecting, that I will somehow regret the effort.

 

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I'll never be finished, posted on June 15, 2016 at 08:38:19
Quint
Dealer

Posts: 3657
Joined: June 21, 2003
 There's just sooo much music out there waiting to be discovered, even in genres we know well. If there's a square inch of real estate left in my room--and, like you, there's not much, as I have close to 9,000 CDs--I'll likely fill it with a disc or box set!

I'll stop buying music when I'm physically, mentally, or financially unable to buy it. And, even then, I'll try to charm someone into buying it for me!
This is a public service announcement . . . WITH GUITARS!!!

 

This is personal, posted on June 15, 2016 at 08:44:07
M3 lover
Audiophile

Posts: 6604
Location: SW Mich
Joined: May 29, 2005
Contributor
  Since: July 4, 2007
 Of course each of us must answer for ourselves.

For me it is answered by how much of my accumulation I may be able to listen to and enjoy. At my age, with 3,000 LPs, 3-400 CDs, and yes, even 100+ personally recorded cassettes I don't believe I'll be able to listen to it all. Plus in all honesty my tastes changed over the years so some recordings bought 20, 30, 40 years ago are no longer of interest.

So I set a goal to reduce my number of LPs by half. I expect that will bring it to a point where I can enjoy listening to anything I've kept. I'm not sure yet how many CDs I'll keep but I don't need/listen to all that I have. Regarding the cassettes, they include some good music but I've not listened to them for years so why should I keep any?

But then I consider myself a music lover, not a collector. I think that is part of the answer as well.

"The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing, if you can fake that you've got it made." Groucho

 

Your collection is small!, posted on June 15, 2016 at 08:59:22
Mike K
Audiophile

Posts: 13975
Location: 97701
Joined: September 23, 1999
 I know at least 3 people who have 30,000+ cds, one of them also has at
least 5000 lps, and all of them are still buying. They cannot possibly
listen to all their music in a lifetime. If they have listened to each
disc/lp at least once in their lifetimes, I'd be surprised.

There have been reports over the years of people who have in excess of
100,000 pieces (cd, lp, tape, etc) in their personal collections. This
is insane.

Many people love music. But you do not need to buy it in physical form.
There are music services such as pandora and siriusxm you can utilize.

When your collection gets to a certain point, it owns you. My advice
to you is: get a life. You are a hoarder. Seek help. Get outside
and listen to the music of the wind and the birds and the water. It's
superior.

Lack of skill dictates economy of style. - Joey Ramone

 

It ebbs, it flows..., posted on June 15, 2016 at 09:04:03
musetap
Audiophile

Posts: 31879
Location: San Francisco
Joined: July 8, 2003
Contributor
  Since: January 28, 2004
 If you can't move around and the floor is warping it may be too large.

Conversely, if you can move around freely and the floor is solid it may not be big enough.

So you loose interest in Elliot Smith and go Bach gaga; product out, even more product in.

A collection needs to stay flexible and we need to be resilient along with it.

IOW, there is no one proper answer that fits all.

"Once this was all Black Plasma and Imagination"-Michael McClure



 

It is a hobby. Not a job. Not a requirement. Do what you want, for yourself., posted on June 15, 2016 at 09:16:35
Smelly_Socks
 THere is no limit, and no minimum. Whatever you want to do.
True when one runs out of room.. But then you can rearrange it all..
I have my CDs in the hallways. They really do not 'take up room' in the hallways, as that wall space is unusable for anything else. So I have a 1,500 CD rack in the front door hallway. And a 1,000 CD rack in the hallway to the bathroom.
I keep the thousands of DVDs on shelving in the side corners behind the Magnepan speakers, acting in a dual role as sound diffusers and storage.
My LPs, all 4,000 of them are on one wall in the bedroom, where they too are basically out of the way.

So I would suggest thinking about ways to discretely 'hide in plain sight' your collection.
Then you are not actually looking at it all the time.
From where I usually sit in my living room... I cannot see a single item of recorded music or movie.

 

"Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime isn't enough for music", posted on June 15, 2016 at 09:34:39
Chris from Lafayette
Audiophile

Posts: 26480
Location: SF Bay Area
Joined: February 17, 2004
Contributor
  Since: February 6, 2012
 So said Rachmaninoff - and I'm sure a lot of us would agree.

In my case, I'm in the SLOW process of transferring CD's to computer (in uncompressed AIFF format). I hit the 2,000 mark a couple of weeks ago, and I still have plenty to go. My plan was to sell the CD's back to the local stores in this area - stores which, in days of yore, used to pay as much as $5 per disc for some titles. But on my last visit, I got less than $1 per disc. The guy apologized, but I guess that's the way the used market is these days - so I'm kind of stymied with my plan. I just don't want my kids to have to deal with all this "stuff" (i.e., thousands of CD's) when I'm no longer around. As for SACD's, DVD-audios, blu-ray audios, etc. . . . I'm still keeping those around in disc form for now.

 

RE: Music Collections, posted on June 15, 2016 at 09:56:01
mbnx01
Audiophile

Posts: 7956
Location: Eagle, Idaho
Joined: October 22, 2004
 You might want to look into medication. Seriously.





'A lie is halfway around the world before the truth gets its boots on'. -Mark Twain

 

RE: "Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime isn't enough for music", posted on June 15, 2016 at 10:30:49
layman
Audiophile

Posts: 559
Location: Washington, D.C.
Joined: August 8, 2007
 That is a lovely quote from Rachmaninoff. Thank you for sharing that.

That's awesome that you have so much of your collection digitized. Do you ever miss the liner notes? The artwork? The artist photos?

I go to a lot of concerts. I keep the programs as souvenirs. I have quite a collection of those as well.

 

RE: It is a hobby....., posted on June 15, 2016 at 10:36:20
layman
Audiophile

Posts: 559
Location: Washington, D.C.
Joined: August 8, 2007
 That's genius the way that you have utilized storage space so efficiently and discretely, but when it comes to "hiding in plain sight," are you hiding the collection from yourself or from others?

 

Isn't that illegal?, posted on June 15, 2016 at 11:13:03
jbrrp1
Audiophile

Posts: 483
Location: Minnesota
Joined: April 24, 2007
 You know, selling off the CD's but keeping the recordings on your HD for your use and enjoyment. Maybe it is how I justify my hoarder self, but I cannot bring myself to do that, even though all digital media is played off of HD instead of the CD.

 

Are you a listener or a collector?, posted on June 15, 2016 at 12:00:09
Feanor
Audiophile

Posts: 9873
Location: London, Ontario
Joined: June 17, 2003
Contributor
  Since: March 12, 2004
 With over 6000 recordings, listening 2 hours listening daily it will take you over 8 years to listen to them all. Obviously there are going to be some you never or almost never listen to.

If you are a collector it doesn't matter whether you listen; if you are listener, then you should get rid of those you basically never listen to. If you are somewhere between a listener or a collector, I have no advice to give.


Dmitri Shostakovich

 

RE: Are you a listener or a collector?, posted on June 15, 2016 at 12:59:39
layman
Audiophile

Posts: 559
Location: Washington, D.C.
Joined: August 8, 2007
 I am both.

I periodically get rid of recordings (usually those that are superfluous or that I don't like). I have gotten rid of 10% of the collection over the years.

 

3000-4000 LPs, over 1000 CDs..., posted on June 15, 2016 at 13:19:50
Ivan303
Audiophile

Posts: 48887
Location: Cadiere d'azur FRANCE - Santa Fe, NM
Joined: February 26, 2001
 And I mostly stream Lossless FLAC over the internet (TIDAL, QOBUZ and ClassicsOnlineHD.

Go figure.




First they came for the dumb-asses
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a dumb-ass

 

Probably so - although I've read other legal interpretations too [nt], posted on June 15, 2016 at 13:58:06
Chris from Lafayette
Audiophile

Posts: 26480
Location: SF Bay Area
Joined: February 17, 2004
Contributor
  Since: February 6, 2012

 

Medication...., posted on June 15, 2016 at 14:43:35
ASHRA
Audiophile

Posts: 4141
Location: Philly
Joined: March 28, 2004
 and large collections go together well in my opinion.

Still spinnin'...

;^)

 

Are you having fun?, posted on June 15, 2016 at 14:51:17
hawkmoon
Audiophile

Posts: 903
Location: cleveland
Joined: July 11, 2003
 Nt

 

You've already answered your own question..., posted on June 15, 2016 at 15:31:43
Jim Treanor
Audiophile

Posts: 2167
Location: Pacific Northwest
Joined: June 1, 2003
 "I feel the collection is not quite complete."

And there's a good chance that it will never be...unless you reach a point where you don't care about music at all.

This may not be true for you, but for me collecting is at least as much curiosity-driven exploration as it is having-it-in-my-hands (or on-my-shelves) possession. And while I'm not a packrat by nature, I rarely throw (or, more accurately, give) away my recorded music, whatever its thrust or genre--though an execrable performance or sloppy production values may consign an occasional disc or tape to the trash can.

What I listen to may depend on how I feel when I get up in the morning or after a barely-digestible dinner. At that point I may reach for something I haven't listened to in years...and I sure as hell don't want to have to kick myself for having tossed or otherwise disposed of the only recording Goldilocks-right for that moment because I thought it was taking up space.

But that's just me.

Jim

 

I tried to unload my records at a record shoppe, posted on June 15, 2016 at 15:43:40
jedrider
Audiophile

Posts: 15168
Location: No. California
Joined: December 26, 2003
 He didn't take any of my records, so I bought some more!

 

TERRIBLE time... ABYSMAL time to sell CDs especially, to a shop..., posted on June 15, 2016 at 16:03:44
musetap
Audiophile

Posts: 31879
Location: San Francisco
Joined: July 8, 2003
Contributor
  Since: January 28, 2004



I've picked up 40 good to great CDs in NICE condition at sidewalk sales recently for an average of 75 cents each.
There are 4 I can sell on eBay and make my $ back. Five years ago if I could have bought CDs for the same price
I would have bought 10x as many and been able to get $3-4 each at a shop or even more in trade. Not anymore.

I passed on many good, formerly quite sellable CDs recently because they really have no resale value worth my
time and it wasn't music or artists I'm particularly interested in listening to.

It's a PRIME buyer's market for used CDs- BAD time to try and sell most of them.

"Once this was all Black Plasma and Imagination"-Michael McClure




 

RE: Music Collections, posted on June 15, 2016 at 17:34:21
The Dill
Audiophile

Posts: 2199
Location: Portland, Oregon
Joined: July 1, 2004
Contributor
  Since: February 3, 2016
 "At what point does a music collection become too large?"

I think that becomes apparent when it is time to move or time to liquidate an estate.

 

RE:....question..., posted on June 15, 2016 at 18:19:51
layman
Audiophile

Posts: 559
Location: Washington, D.C.
Joined: August 8, 2007
 "...and I sure as hell don't want to have to kick myself for having tossed..."

There have been a few recordings that I jettisoned, which I sorely regretted parting with later. Some that I found were no longer in print. Some that were important in tracing the complete development of an artist. Some that did not please on an older playback system but might on the current one. Some that I did not "understand" at the time but might have...had I given it more time.

Because of these regrets, I find myself parting with less and less as the years go by.

I know that physical media is now almost value-less due to the pre-eminence of downloading and streaming but I have a hard time surrendering control of my listening habits to a streaming service or content provider. Its against my nature.

Moreover, I can't help but think that in ten years time, what is now considered value-less will once again be considered value-able.

I used to be quite lackadaisical when it came to collecting. I thought that anything that I wanted would always be available whenever I wanted. I thought my favorite artists would live forever and continue producing music until the end of time but this has not turned out to be the case. So many recordings have gone out of print. The music business has contracted severely in the last ten years.

When Tower Records closed in 2006, I thought at the time that it was an ominous sign. By 2013 every record shop had closed in Washington DC. In 2014 the last big record shop in New York had also closed, something I never could have imagined happening in so large a city, but sure enough they are now all gone.

Much music now only continues to exist in collections.

 

RE: I'll never be finished, posted on June 15, 2016 at 19:20:03
bigshow
Audiophile

Posts: 472
Location: WI
Joined: December 3, 2012
 I didn't even know there were 1100 SACD's.
bigshow

 

RE:....question..., posted on June 15, 2016 at 20:05:28
Jim Treanor
Audiophile

Posts: 2167
Location: Pacific Northwest
Joined: June 1, 2003
 "Much music now only continues to exist in collections."

Not just the music, but the performances that in many instances make the media they're on worthwhile regardless of their here-today-gone-tomorrow monetary value.


Jim

 

I am getting old. My main concern is paring DOWN my colelctions so no one needs rent a dumpster to discard, posted on June 15, 2016 at 21:38:30
Smelly_Socks
 Having reaf plenty of stories of large (but mainly junk) record collections headed tot he dumpster, since no one in their right mind would even haul them away for free...
I really want what is left when I croak to be stuff someone could easily see is worth money. And actually IS worth money, instead of pie in the sky fantasy riches..
So I have been weeding my records for years now. Selling off stuff I really will never listen to again.

And if I decide I need it? too bad.
Hoarding is a disease I do not need to have anymore.
I am lucky I have two nice places, locally, I sell records to.

 

Follow the suggestion of Chris from Lafayette, posted on June 15, 2016 at 23:42:38
Frihed89
Audiophile

Posts: 15703
Location: Copenhagen
Joined: March 21, 2005
 CD playback on computer audio is getting better and better (and more complicated, although it doesn't have to be). I'm not sure about LPs.

Start with the CD's. Put the physical disks you've copied in safe storage. That will open up your storage space for analog...which never will be quite complete!

 

Yes - that's certainly the reverse of the coin - I've gotten some real bargains myself recently, posted on June 16, 2016 at 00:38:54
Chris from Lafayette
Audiophile

Posts: 26480
Location: SF Bay Area
Joined: February 17, 2004
Contributor
  Since: February 6, 2012
 And not just CD's - I bought some used SACD's for $5.99 too.

 

RE: Music Collections, posted on June 16, 2016 at 05:31:06
fstein
Audiophile

Posts: 2996
Location: fstein
Joined: May 18, 2006
 Rip all your CDs and take a tax writeoff by donating to a local school/conservatory/library.
Sell anything you haven't listened to in 3 years.
Do A-B comparisons while driving and sell the losers.
Move into an apartment - that will force your hand.
Consider whether you suffer from OCD (Obsessive-compulsive disorder)

 

RE: Music Collections, posted on June 16, 2016 at 05:31:56
fstein
Audiophile

Posts: 2996
Location: fstein
Joined: May 18, 2006
 And get TIDAL

 

When ..., posted on June 16, 2016 at 06:13:43
reelsmith.
Audiophile

Posts: 13134
Location: CT
Joined: June 7, 2005
Contributor
  Since: January 19, 2010
 At what point does a music collection become too large?

When you have music that you have not listened to in a long time and are confident you will never listen to again.

Conversely, when is a music collection not big enough?

When you know of music you do not own that you would like to have.

Dean.




reelsmith's axiom: Its going to be used equipment when I sell it, so it may as well be used equipment when I buy it.


 

100%, posted on June 16, 2016 at 08:48:08
grantv
Manufacturer

Posts: 7728
Location: B.C.
Joined: January 15, 2002
 I don't have physical media anymore (well I do, but it's in boxes or cabinets somewhere), just PC data. Even still, I don't want to wade thru stuff I never listen to. If I don't need certain music, I purge. If I want certain music, I buy.

 

RE: SACD, posted on June 16, 2016 at 10:40:50
layman
Audiophile

Posts: 559
Location: Washington, D.C.
Joined: August 8, 2007
 Approx 10000 titles have been released in the SACD format so far. If I could, I would buy them all.

 

Not sure what the "other" legal interpretation would be, posted on June 16, 2016 at 11:44:10
mlsstl
Audiophile

Posts: 1079
Location: Midwest
Joined: September 1, 2015
 When you purchase a recording (whether LP, CD, download), you have essentially purchased the right to listen to that particular copy of the recording as often as you wish for as long you want to keep it.

When the song or album is sold, given or transferred to someone else, your "right" goes with it -- you don't have it anymore. Pretty simple and pretty clear. Amazon and others legally allow sellers to sell unwanted CDs, LPs and cassettes to other parties.

The DMCA complicated things a bit. It does allow you to make another copy of the music for your own (say to a USB stick to play in your car) but doesn't allow for the transfer for music files that aren't on a physical medium such as a commercial CD, cassette or LP/45. That's a drawback of downloads -- there is no way to legally transfer ownership to another party if you get sick of the music or don't want it in your collection anymore.

The reality is that people have been making technically illegal copies of music since tape recorders became commonly available in the 1950s. However, I'm not aware of a single case where an individual was legally pursued for letting a friend record his LP to a cassette or rip a copy of a CD. The people who have gotten in trouble are those who either tried to distribute on a large scale, made a business of distributing illicit copies, or in recent years, got tied up with Napster or similar file-sharing deals where a single upload could result in thousands (or millions) of copies.

While I've never heard of anyone being sued for keeping a server copy of a CD they've sold, and consider it highly improbable that would happen, as they say, there are no guarantees.

 

"At what point does a music collection become too large?", posted on June 16, 2016 at 11:55:39
Analog Scott
Audiophile

Posts: 9933
Joined: January 8, 2002
 When the owner decides so.

 

Yes - you're absolutely right, posted on June 16, 2016 at 18:27:24
Chris from Lafayette
Audiophile

Posts: 26480
Location: SF Bay Area
Joined: February 17, 2004
Contributor
  Since: February 6, 2012
 I was referring to other issues not so much concerned with the strict legality of copying, such as whether or not the original issuing company loses sales or revenue as a result of copying, or what should happen if the original CD is no longer in print. But as you state, it's all illegal, strictly speaking.

But AFAIK, most prosecutions have been directed toward folks who make illegal copies (i.e., multiple illegal copies) and then try to sell them at swap meets, garage sales, etc.

 

Never too large. 8^) (n/t), posted on June 16, 2016 at 18:52:26
FenderLover
 mt

 

RE: "At what point does a music collection become too large?", posted on June 16, 2016 at 20:56:30
genungo
 When it no longer fits inside the cave. Of course.

 

RE: Yes - you're absolutely right, posted on June 17, 2016 at 00:48:58
JURB
Audiophile

Posts: 2056
Location: North Ohio
Joined: May 29, 2016
 "But AFAIK, most prosecutions have been directed toward folks who make illegal copies (i.e., multiple illegal copies) and then try to sell them at swap meets, garage sales, etc. "

It seems so, except for those Grandparents they coerced into signing all kinds of agreements after their grandkids downloaded a bunch of stuff on their PC.

Maybe it is different for others, but I am picky about my collection. I already have five damn harddrives or more, I am not even sure. In fact there are two INSIDE my laptop. However it comes down to what is on them. I am pretty much into 1960s, 1970s and SOME 1980s music. In the old days this went into public domain. In fact alot of it was already in public domain. Well if it is no longer in public domain, I am part of the public. Where is my check ?

In my collection you would be hard pressed to find things that are not 20 years old. Let the take me to court.

For example I bought Bob Segar - Double Live Bullet THREE TIMES. They got paid for that, ad if their contention is that it is what is on the media not the media that is the value, they owe me that. I bought it twice on LP and once on CD that I never got to hear. I stopped at a store on the way home and I am pretty sure that somehow it fell out the car door. Pickup truck actually. Never found it, and I looked. Damn did I look, I wanted to play it right now at maximum volume.

And then, we wore out LPs, if what we paid for was the license to listen to it, when the LP gets scratched or worn out they owe us a new copy for basic copying costs then.

I would love to argue this with them. A also got a lawyer with a "stein" at the end of his name who would love to help because he is also a downloader. Or was.

Most of my stuff came from gnutella, which is now populated by viruses and whatever. I have much better copies of most stuff than you can easily get now, like from youtube, though I do have the downloader and if they have whatever on it that prevents downloading I can do a hardware rip with Adobe Audition.

Bottom line though is that I pretty much have everything I want. I have maybe 10,000 songs and now I can't think of five that I want to download. And those are rarities that probably weren't recorded so wel so a youtube rip would be fine.

I have completely given up on CDs except for out on the garage because I can't seem to get the wifi to work out there with the (metal) doors closed and have access to my server.

Thing is, CDs store data, and you can make an image or whatever so you no longer need the physical media. Once you rip a CD it is technically illegal to sell it unless you delete the files but nobody does that and they are never going to be able to enforce it.

What's more, the music industry has become bloated and is run my moguls, and actually a political agenda. Very few people decide what gets on your car stereo or into the stores. Music on most stations is programmed out of NY by a company that promises greater advertising revenues.

I remember the days when local bands could send a demo tape to the local DJ and if it is any good at all it would get played. Try that now. That is why I do not have a radio.

I do not like how things have changed. Music is supposed to be by the People and whatever, I am not going into the Gettysburg Address here. There are probably five people in this country who decide what gets produced and what does not. That is not right. And all the while they are preaching diversity.

 

When you have to move it. nt, posted on June 17, 2016 at 06:34:50
rrsands
Audiophile

Posts: 2568
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Joined: July 11, 2001
 nt

 

RE: Music Collections, posted on June 17, 2016 at 07:26:41
kerr
Audiophile

Posts: 4376
Location: Central Indiana
Joined: November 10, 2003
 Never too large. The question I always get is "why do you have so much, you could never listen to it all very often".

My response is "True, but if I ever WANT to listen to anything specific, it's there".

 

Careful with that 3 year rule.., posted on June 17, 2016 at 07:47:52
3db
Audiophile

Posts: 1514
Joined: July 22, 2003
 I've started listening to albums again I haven't played in 20 years. I'm glad I kept them. There are albums that fit " I bought that!!!! What was I thinking?????" Those you can ditch . :)

 

Myself AND others. I wnat my living space to be open, not cluttered. nt, posted on June 18, 2016 at 13:43:13
Smelly_Socks
 .

 

RE: Music Collections, posted on June 19, 2016 at 14:19:32
fantja
Audiophile

Posts: 15524
Location: Alabama
Joined: September 11, 2010
 You guys have very nice (and large) collections! Personally, I will never stop buying CD/SACD (s)!

 

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