JerryVan wrote: ↑Wed Nov 03, 2021 12:17 pm
Price is a factor only to a point. Desire is the main driver. People will find a way to pay for what they want. For instance, "young people" seem to be ever more interested in tattoos. The cost of some tattooes could easily buy a decent phonograph. I have seen twenty-somethings with tattoos of phonographs... but without owning an actual phonograph. "Ya' just gotta' wanna' "
This is actually interesting from a cultural perspective as well as a collector's.
People like tattoos of things that are important to them--I think at this point in history that the phonograph has become an icon representing music and records, even to people who get their music from other sources. In 2021 that wooden box on the sideboard is no longer "a 1909 Victor III with brass-belled horn," it's now "A Phonograph," or "A Gramophone", or "A Victrola" because the technical details are less relevant--To most young people, the phonograph is a stock property of cultural iconography. They show up in games, in movies, in soundtracks. The thing is I don't believe people understand just how many of them are still around!
As for attaracting young people to the hobby: There are a lot of reasons these aren't super popular, and one of them (which I haven't seen too many people bring up) is the size of homes. Most young folks rent tiny apartments that cost too much. It might work to put a Victrola X in there or a creatively designed off-brand but not a massive Orthophonic.
I think, though, that windup phonographs would catch on. This forum has a definite younger presence.