11-27-2017, 10:51 AM
This is a great thread and so interesting to see the diversity of what we collect. I overlap with some of you a bit. I wish I had kept tickets from concerts! But I do have a box with programs from going to the theater (including The Edinburgh Fringe). There are a lot of A List actors who I've seen perform on stage.
I have a large collection of 12" vinyl records, mostly 12" singles, mainly dance music from the 90s. When I was a student I paid the bills by working as a DJ in various nightclubs. On a technical level I wasn't the best DJ, but I was reliable (e.g. didn't turn up drunk or on drugs), and could fill a dancefloor. So I found myself being hired to warm up for famous DJs. Once you have a "residency" at a reasonable size nightclub, that gets you on the promo list for record companies. So I'd free records arriving by mail most days (to the point I seriously investigated getting a bigger mail box to fit 12" records!). Many were rubbish. But among them are promos of hit records. In some cases they were a different mix or arrangement to the version that got commercially released. Ironically a vinyl record stamped "Promo use only, not for re-sale" only makes it more valuable. I've seen some of these on ebay for $200, 300, even 400 dollars. I'm not selling because they remind me of fun times. There isn't much left of that era. Most of the nightclubs have gone. I have no flyers or tickets that mention my name, and only two photos of me DJing.
In the long term I want to find the really unique records, like tracks that never got a commercial release, and find a way of making them available without getting sued about copyright!
I have a large collection of 12" vinyl records, mostly 12" singles, mainly dance music from the 90s. When I was a student I paid the bills by working as a DJ in various nightclubs. On a technical level I wasn't the best DJ, but I was reliable (e.g. didn't turn up drunk or on drugs), and could fill a dancefloor. So I found myself being hired to warm up for famous DJs. Once you have a "residency" at a reasonable size nightclub, that gets you on the promo list for record companies. So I'd free records arriving by mail most days (to the point I seriously investigated getting a bigger mail box to fit 12" records!). Many were rubbish. But among them are promos of hit records. In some cases they were a different mix or arrangement to the version that got commercially released. Ironically a vinyl record stamped "Promo use only, not for re-sale" only makes it more valuable. I've seen some of these on ebay for $200, 300, even 400 dollars. I'm not selling because they remind me of fun times. There isn't much left of that era. Most of the nightclubs have gone. I have no flyers or tickets that mention my name, and only two photos of me DJing.
In the long term I want to find the really unique records, like tracks that never got a commercial release, and find a way of making them available without getting sued about copyright!