Does anyone wonder/worry what will happen to their music collection when you're gone?

Question

I've got hundreds of albums (my babies) & cassettes from the 60's thru the 90's most of which are in mint condition. My children don't seem very interested in them (except to sell).
(I dread the thought of what my kids will do with them).
Should I just sell them myself, donate them, etc.?
How can you find their value besides on e-bay?
Anyone else lose sleep over this or am I just sick?

Edit: Silver, Thanks for the link.

Edit: Smiley, Maybe you will be buyin my vinyl.

Edit: Smiley, I was just wondering, how much room does 30,000 lp's take up?

Edit: Smiley, Yes vinyl sounds so much better than cd's.

Edit: Smiley, Nice set-up!
I gotta categorize all my albums one of these weekends, I've forgotten a lot of what I actually have.

Answer 1

Well, my kids are music freaks so they'll be getting all of my albums. I have a very extensive collection, including over 30,000 vinyl LP's, and several thousand CD's.
When my kids were younger I used to worry the same as you. Where will my music go? What will happen if I die tomorrow? So now it's nice to know that my collection will still be treasured by members of my family!
My youngest daughter is into the Beatles in a big way. I showed her one of my copies of the 'Let it Be' album in the box with the book etc. It's never even been played, and I think I opened it maybe twice. Since then, she's really gotten into collecting vinyl over the last year or so. Much to the dismay of my son in law. I don't think he understands her passion.

eBay really isn't going to give you an accurate value of an album. A record collectors guide might assess a certain album, for example 'May Blitz' self titled, original UK 'Vertigo' spiral label, is now worth $100.00. Well that's what a collectors guide will tell you. But I sold a spare copy from my collection in mint- condition a year ago for close to $400.00 on eBay. I've seen the same record in the same condition sell for less than $75.00 on eBay also. It depends on your status as a seller, and your clientele.

I have two copies of the Mellow Candle album 'Swaddling Songs' in my collection, which this seller just got close to $2,500.00 for recently.
He lists around 30 albums per week, and on a bad week makes $2.000 or $3,000 each Sunday when his auctions close! On a good week he can make up to $10,000. This is because he is a very well established eBay vinyl seller. To some collectors, money is no object, and the bids can go through the roof! If I were to list that album today, I might be lucky to get half of what he did:
http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=320180123983&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=011
But try not to lose any sleep over this. I know I did from time to time. I'm sure it will all work out...hey maybe I'll buy your vinyl?

Edit - Beatle Fanatic- Please don't listen to what people like ''Firebird' has to say (no offense Firebird). Some people are just not in tune with certain things. I know your tastes, and you're probably sitting on some gems. To say they're worthless and nobody wants them is very inaccurate. We have one of the largest used record stores in North America where I live, and I'm good friends with the family who own it. Vinyl is making a come back, and I can't believe how many young people are in there buying records. Mostly hip hop DJ's, and kids that have just discovered vinyls superiority over CD's I'd suspect, but that store is always packed. Vinyl sounds way better than digital anyways, if you have the right gear!

Beatle Fanatic - I have 10 of these units which take up a large open area of my home (my music room). Imagine a small library. Each unit holds just over 2,000 LP's. The rest I have stored away in boxes, as many are 2nd copies, or things I don't play very often. Mine are black, very sturdy, and perfect for records:
http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/50098792
I have the outside rows positioned away from the walls by about 2 and a half feet. So this way I have 6 long aisles, as the shelves are butted end to end. The room is around 400 square feet I think.

Answer 2

Funny I thought of this last night. All my music has been transferred to digital, painstakinly organized. My kids and wife will toss it all when I'm gone. Thats for sure. I have the originals in the attic left to rot. I would say if you have saved them off in digital format on a harddrive its time to cut loose of them. A music collection is too personal to be of value to anyone else. Besides no young person is going to flip a LP over.

Answer 3

Beatle, I know all too well of which you speak. I know my daughter (the oldest) would want a good many of them, but that doesn't do the rest of them any good. I would hope that she would want my B&O turntable as well! If I think long enough, and I have, this keeps popping up in my mental alphabet soup - "If all perceive that the object holds no magic, is the object still magic?" See my point? We aren't the first ones in history to think of something as holding great worth, only to have it diminished by time. I guess that if important enough, the answer will become apparent to me while I can still do something about it. Hang in there.

Bad news: the magnetic signature on tape only has a shelf life of about fifteen years.

Answer 4

Well to keep them away from the kids you could put the in a box and put a name on the box such as "Grandma's Clothes" or something that they will definatly stay away from. Selling them you could make good money if they are very good songs. Donating the could make you feel good or worse. So you should do what ever your heart tells you too. Good luck :D

Answer 5

They don't seem to be worth anything, near as I can tell. I think your children will be very disappointed.

You'd think old LP's would be valued as collector's items, wouldn't you? I know there are 1 or 2 that are worth something, but most of them are really not collectible.

You should plan to give them to another collector. Nobody cares about them, so for you to lose sleep over them is sick. No doubt about that.

Answer 6

go to your local library, you can get books that value lps, they also give you the values of the 1st and 2nd press aswell as misprints. You never know you could be sitting on a fortune and not even know it. my music collection will be going to my daughter who luckily takes after me and loves music. Just as, when the horrible day comes and my dad passes away i get his music collection (hopefully that will be a long time away.)

Answer 7

I don't lose sleep over nonsensical material issues. If I'm dead, I really don't care what happens to my stuff...it's not like I'll need it where I'm going. If there something I have that I know someone really admires, I'll leave it to them in my will. Not for MY sake, but for theirs. If noone is interested in your collection, oh well...it's their loss. Folks get way too caught up in material things. In the scheme of life, a music collection isn't really all that important to me.

Answer 8

Thankfully, all my music is now on CD, but I frequently wonder what would happen to it all if I died tomorrow.

This is a company that should be able to value things for you :~

Esprit International ltd
http://eil.com/

I sold off some of my collection to them before I started on Amazon.

Answer 9

I have thousands , and frankly when I'm gone I really won't care what happens to them. I assume my children will take some and probably sell the rest.

Answer 10

No..you're not sick,man...but you sure have stirred up the spooks in my human catalogue..since I'm going to be burnt..they can't be buried..maybe ..in my will what my wife doesn't want..the wake will continue till the last human standing can claim the prize..My god..I will return! **** that!