Collecting Culture

Always wanting more

I’ve been a collector my whole life, purposefully amassing various trinkets from rocks to trading cards. In fact, there are several full-series collections of Marvel Comics trading cards from the early ’90s collecting dust in my closet.

And though my days of swapping cardboard portraits of Daredevil and The Punisher are long gone, the urge to collect has never waned. I started collecting records in college – about four years ago – when my uncle gave me a first-press copy of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Street Survivors. That album’s first edition featured a cover depicting the band amid a blazing fire. Not long after its release, three members of the band were killed in a plane crash and the album was reissued without the flames on the cover.

I’ve never been the biggest Skynyrd fan, and I’ve never been a true audiophile. The appeal of vinyl, for me, went beyond the changes in how I listen to music (though I’ve come to appreciate the rewards of closer listening) and was something else entirely. Collecting vinyl records is a hobby that contributes to my own self-image.

I consider myself to be a lover and a connoisseur of music. I enjoy music that many others either do not enjoy or have never heard of. My love for inaccessible sounds (not at the exclusion of accessible ones, mind you) and my discerning listening habits are evidenced by my vinyl collection. Of course, whether I listen to the new Heavy Rock Hits series single by the Japanese band Boris on 7-inch platters, or as an mp3 doesn’t really change the fact that I enjoy the band’s music.

But listening to those limited-edition vinyl singles sure does make me feel more like a true fan.

A few weeks ago, Jason Potteiger wrote an excellent post on this very blog, identifying ways our generation interacts with brands. What seemed a recurring theme to me is that we want not only to interact with brands, but to identify with them. We want our stuff to say something about who owns it.

For me, buying records expresses my relationship to music. I look at other consumer-cultures that have popped up in my generation, and see the same ideas at work.

The shoes I wear are inconsequential. I have simple sneakers for every day wear and black dress shoes for when I need to look spiffy. But I am not a sneakerhead; I’m a record geek.

But for sneakerheads – the culture based around collectible sneakers – their shoes are their conversation starters. Less, “Have you heard the new Baroness LP?” More, “Have you seen the new Air Jordan 1 High Strap Premieres?”

Here, though, it’s not just small indie record labels reaping the benefits of collectors’ addictions. Top brands like Nike and Puma are reaching niche audiences who will pay top-dollar for a rare colorway.

Both through customization options and adding boutique-level lines, these companies are strengthening their brands in the eyes of taste-making connoisseurs – like, Kanye West, for example, and subsequently strengthening their brand in the eyes of the general populace.

Ultimately, though, I think what we’re seeing is not just the strength niche marketing can bear, but also the importance of brands to identify their roles in various cultures and sub-cultures; to constantly be asking not what niche customers inhabit, but what niche the brand inhabits.

Photo Credit: Unhindered by Talent