About this Book

"In many ways our relationship with popular culture has changed in the twenty-first century with virtually instant access to almost any film, TV show, album, or track we can think of via various streaming services. However, it is also a climate where many consumers have started to reassess physical formats like vinyl and finding value in them. As such, the book considers the aesthetics of vinyl records, a format that is seen to be both technologically defunct as a sound carrier but also the biggest selling, most popular physical format that has continued to grow. Veronica Skrimsjö considers record collecting and vinyl consumption in the 21st century and in the context of the vinyl revival focusing on 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 twenty-first century. 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 the consumption. The personal also helps make the content more relatable, which is crucial as old stereotypes helped distance the collector for the everyday consumer. Readers will benefit from a different perspective on record collecting and consumptions as the book highlights active, creative consumption, and provides indepth, innovative analysis of how gender inequality is constructed within this context. The work is aimed at both an academic and a general readership, and as such strikes a more informal tone"--