Blasé Musical Elitism (Record Collector)

Member Name: blackjane

Product:	Record Collector
Date:	06/12/00 (90 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lots of information

Disadvantages: Drab; Outdated Artists; The Internet is now much more convenient

Record Collector {Updated}

[Background: It is a sad fact, now that the internet has finally come into its own as the main resource for record collectors to track down rarities, that the likes of Record Collector magazine will undoubedly begin to struggle to keep its limited readership]

Record Collector is not your run of the mill music magazine. Far from trying to compete with the likes of Q or Mojo, it aims fairly and squarely, not surprisingly, at that rather limited subsection of the general public who like to seek out weird and wonderful records, tapes and CDs.

In the days before the use of the internet was widespread, I was an avid buyer and reader of Record Collector. I used to thrive on the numerous listings that appeared in the back of this magazine, and which usually make up almost a quarter of each issue.

These days I rarely buy this magazine as I am able to gain access to endless listings of rare (and some not so rare) music items via my PC, so the need to manually look through endless printed listings has not surprisingly lost its appeal.

It is a shame that Record Collector has failed to move with the times, with the look of the magazine having not changed dramatically in the last decade. Admittedly, the cover is now in colour, but even this is a relatively new phenomenon. The remainder of the magazine remains in drab black and white, with most articles in a font small enough to require you to reach for the nearest magnifying glass.

Although they have always been able to offer some very well researched articles on the life works of many popular music artists, the majority of acts who are covered are either too obscure or too outdated. Admittedly, many artists remain very collectable long after they have stopped recording, but due to this strategy the target market for this type of magazine must be shrinking all the time.

The publishers have shunned, rightly or wrongly, the popular masses in f
avour of the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Queen and Pink Floyd. Occasionally a token article will look at releases from the likes of Boyzone or Steps, but these fleeting references towards popularism are too few and far between to give the magazine any widespread appeal. The nonchalant attitude towards development, or rather the lack of it, may ultimately be the downfall of this magazine.

I can only foresee a bleak future for Record Collector magazine in the light of competition from the internet, especially when the vast on-line resources are effectively becoming free, versus a cover price of £2.95 in your local newagents.

{Update - 06/12/2000}

Record Collector also operate a website now at www.rcsetsale.com. This is useful, as it means that I never have to buy this magazine again, as the only useful part of it is now available via the internet. It just goes to prove my earlier point really!

However, the one reason I would still pick up this magazine from the newsagent's shelves, although only briefly, is to find out when the next local record fairs are taking place. Apart from this, I strongly believe this is indeed one dog that has definitely had its day.

{An Original Dooyoo opinion © Blackjane 2000}

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