A Study of Gen MZers’ Vinyl LP Collecting and Purchasing Experience

Abstract

This study examines the vinyl collection craze among members of Gen MZ (20 to 30 year olds), with particular attention to their experiences, motivations, and interactions with other collectors and buyers. The Gen MZers who are driving the vinyl phenomenon did not grow up with vinyl records so why are they so enthusiastic about a retro media? We analyze research on cultural product consumption patterns and our field data and use grounded theory to apprehend the experiential world of Gen MZ vinyl record collectors through individual and focus group interviews and participant action research. Our goal is to gain insight into how their vinyl collecting, purchasing, and product creation activities affords them satisfaction, builds cultural capital, and contributes to shaping this moment in popular culture. In general, we found that the vinyl collecting craze among Gen MZers is driven by several factors, notably a strong sense of dissatisfaction with popular culture and the typically passive consumption of its products, coupled with the sense of fulfillment the collectors get from developing the specialized and exclusive knowledge that builds cultural capital. These factors intersect with certain distinctive personality traits of collectors, expressed in their impulse to establish themselves as uniquely discerning arbiters of musical taste and value, to produce a typically nostalgic trajectory through the world of collecting and consuming yesterday’s commercial audio technology.