This weekend’s Bendigo Record Fair will be a more cosy affair than previous years.
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It is the first time the record fair has had a stand-alone event after previously being paired with the Bendigo Comic Record and Toy Fair.
Organiser Peter Pascoe said he had received positive feedback on his decision to separate the record and pop culture elements into individual fairs.
“Personally, I like both aspects under the one roof but most of the vinyl fans are glad the record fair is its own entity,” he said.
“There are people that went just for records and maybe found the pop culture a bit distracting.
“It’s a good time to mix it up and see if the record fair can stand on its own legs as its own entity. Then that frees me up to do things with the pop culture fair that I couldn’t normally do.”
Mr Pascoe said he hopes to attract about 500 people on Sunday.
He also expects a few rare vinyl presses to appear this weekend but won’t be sure until the fair opens.
“A couple of people who are trading are downsizing their own collection,” he said.
“It will be interesting to essentially see one person’s tastes and what they have accumulated.”
The Bendigo Record Fair is on at the All Season’s Lansell Room from 10am on Sunday. Entry is $5 but early-bird entry from 9am is $10.
Appreciation for vinyl comes in many forms
Peter Pascoe said different people approach vinyl for different reasons.
Whether it is nostalgia value, sound quality, cover art or the ritual of playing vinyl, there were many reasons it was still appreciated.
“People of my generation tend to look at the nostalgia value but a lot of people like the ritual of setting up a sound system and placing the vinyl on the player,” he said.
“Iconic covers always draw people in. Even if an album is sub par, an iconic cover can elevate average music.”
Modern-day bands have turned back to vinyl with music apps like Spotify adding a new way to appreciate vinyl.
Mr Pascoe said the availability of music meant people could buy a vinyl album because the music was appreciated.
“I think there's an element to record collecting today that wasn't a part of collecting back in the day,” he said.
“That is you can make a vote of confidence in something you are familiar with and appreciate.”
Mr Pascoe said buying a vinyl album you truly appreciate was like getting the gold standard version.
“It's like it's going straight to the pool room. You already know it and like it, so you buy the vinyl as a mark of respect for the music you appreciate,” he said.
“That’s not something that happened back in the day. There wasn’t an idea of ‘I love that album, I have to enshrine it’ – that's a modern element that is an interesting shopping element some people have.