The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Hmm, gramophoneshane made a good point - the Fall Out series has done a lot of good for revitalising interest into music of the 78rpm era (although many people in my old accomodation block told me they were confused when they heard music coming from my room but no gun shots LOL)

Perhaps the internet has done our hobby a lot of good. I can say without a doubt that all the knowledge I know today comes from the net and boards such as this.

I just hope that declining phono club membership doesn't lead to a decline in big shows like the annual CAPS one (I think that's what it's called) in the US - as nice as it is to see pictures online and videos of the machine working, I would still dearly love to go round a room full of phonos to see and hear them in the flesh!

Curious thread. I wonder about this too. I am 26 and no know one my age (in person) who is interested in phonographs. I certainly bewilder friends who stop by, but thats about it. Many many people keep telling me the hobby is going to "bottom out when everyone dies" and the "market gets flooded when they liquidate their collections at auction". I don't know if its so true, and its kind of morbid to think about. One thing that is likely to happen is the common machines which were going for a lot more 5 years ago will continue to decrease in price. This is also ebay! Victor III's, II's and Edison Standards can't keep at the same level as they continue to show up on ebay and go for less and less. Rare machines are rare, and there will likely always be someone who pays for them at the asking price.

When I was about 16 I had a neighbor give me a Suitcase Home, under the condition I would never sell but only give it away one day to someone younger. So the point is, if you want someone to take loving, non-reselling, long term care of your precious machines, PM me! Ill hold the torch for 50 years or so, then pass it along. Its immoral to sell a gift!

I don'think we need to worry about the future of our hobby as has been demonstrated by this thread there is plenty of young blood already here. Also just look at you tube and the varying ages listed in their profiles - there are also many young enthusiastic collectors here on the board who haven't yet chipped in but who are under 25. I think the sea of gray demonstrated in a meeting of a gramophone group may just be showing the death throws of the old way of doing things. With so much online and instantanous ways of exchanging information and of "meeting" other like minded people why bother to wait for an annual of even bi-annual meeting or monthly magazine. To my mind its not the hobby that needs to worry but the organisers of these type of groups / magazines. They need to acknowledge change and embrace it or simply face a slow death. I hope the former turns out to be the way it goes as lots of knowledge could just die with the older members. Some are already moving in the right direction and I hope others follow suit and open up easier exchange of information.

On the point raised by USlakeside - yes I have had the same thing. Someone once gave me a record free of charge from their collection which whilst not expensive as not common either. It was one I had wanted for ages in in pre ebay days finding specific disks was no where near as easy. The condition imposed was that someday I do the same for a young record collecter starting out. I have already fulfilled that promise and would do so again to help spark a young collectors enthusiasm.

S-B-H

This is an interesting topic. I started collecting when i was 16 in 1971. I sold all my machines off in 1986 when my daughter was born and I needed money for a home. I just started to collect again four years ago. I am now 55 years old. In attending some of the Northwest Phono events I noticed that many of the collectors are older than me with only a handful that may be a little younger. One thing for sure is that in about 25 years you are going to see these collections come up for sale. Many of these collections number over 200 machines. If you consider the possible number of older collectors across North America we could be talking several thousands of machines coming on the market.What the heck will that do to prices?? I wish I was twenty years old now!!! Hang in there you younger collectors there is good news on the horizon.
Pete

I’m 53 years old and have (had) been collecting for the past 15 years. I was up to about 40 machines at one time, but have slowly sold off most all of my collection. I'm down to 4 Victor Credenzas right now and still have all of my records. As a collector, to me it was the thrill of the "hunt". I would drag a machine home...do the maintenance, play it a few times, then it would just sit. I still have an interest in them, though I do feel a sense of "been there done that" so I bring home only the machines that are extremely good deals. To me phonograph collecting seems to be a middle age hobby....and there will always be "middle aged" people around.

It would be interesting to know the age profile of this forum and compare it to MAPS, CAPS, CLPGS membership etcetera. I'm guessing that the average age of TMF members who consider themselves collectors, (having at least a couple of machines, no matter how modest)might be around 40?

CAPS and MAPs members might average about 10 years older and the CLPGS folks another 10 or 15 years older yet.

I agree the hobby is not dying. It's certainly changing though and forums like this are able to attract in integrate younger collectors more easily than the older societies which tend to rely more on newsletters and meetings. I also think they can coexist and complement eachother. I'm guessing that CAPs for example picks up some new younger members who first stumble into the hobby through forums like this...

Valecnik wrote: I also think they can coexist and complement eachother. I'm guessing that S-B-H INSERT: all existing groups for example picks up some new younger members who first stumble into the hobby through forums like this...

Yes, but I think they all need to woo the younger set harder or risk just dissapearing as their older members begin to move to the large phono ground in the sky!

S-B-H

It's nothing new. The same was said (via a letter) to the CLPGS 14 years ago by a certain individual who predicted the end of the old society if it didn't find young blood and entice new members to its ranks! What happened? Nothing. The grey got greyer (and thinner) and numbers are in decline. Is it terminal? I think so. But that's what people want evidently. If they didn't, it wouldn't happen. Power to the people!

flashpanblue wrote: I started collecting when i was 16 in 1971. I sold all my machines off in 1986 when my daughter was born and I needed money for a home. Pete

This is nothing unusual either, when collectors start at an early age.
For me, I started at 13, but by 18, I slowed right down due to getting my licence & having a car to maintain. I briefly started collecting again a couple years later, but stopped again when I got a married, a morgage & later my son. It wasn't until a couple years later when the morgage was substantially reduce, the house was renovated to our liking, and we'd got used to addition cost of a child, that I once again started adding to the collection.
This lasted a couple more years until we decided to sell and move to a huge house on acerage, so again my collecting went on hold.
After my divorce I added a few more machines to my collection, but other things took priority over collecting, like accommodation & upgrading the car to get to & from work. I'd never rented a house before until this stage of my life, & with rental properties being fairly unstable, I saw little sense in accumulating even more stuff that I'd have drag from one place to the next, so again the collecting went on hold.
It wasn't until I decided to move back home to look after my elderly mother where I knew was stable, and I had the chance to sort through & sell some of my junk, that I began collecting in a big way again & almost double the number of machines & cylinders I had. The only reason I've slowed right down again is due to lack of space, so I try to stick to portables and other small players atm, although the occasional cabinet model still follows me home

Anyway, it appears to me that most other young collectors I've known tend to follow a similar pattern with their collecting. Some have sold their entire collection to buy a car, or stopped collecting and kept what they have. The same happens once they get married, get a morgage &/or children, but most have returned to collecting by their mid 30s or early 40s, once money isn't so tight, and life becomes more routine/stable.
We've had our fair share of teenages on this board, and just because they no longer post, I doubt it's because they've left the hobby altogether, but probably just have other priorities at the moment, or are exploring other things. I doubt any of them who have shown a genuine interest in the machines & music will simply forget these things even existed, or forget the enjoyment they've got from them.

JHolmesesq wrote:...At age 19 I consider myself in a minority amongst my peers with my tastes. Since I am a relatively impoverished student, I can only afford to buy records - ...

JHolmesesq,

Although you definitely ARE a minority among your peers, I don't think that's indicative of a decline in collecting. I think others here in their 40's 50's and on up would also consider themselves to be a minority amongst thier peers.

Fact is that at any age, there are very few, as a percentage of the population, that are interested in this hobby. In a way that's good too. If lots more people got into it, the prices would go through the stratosphere.