The Archive - The World's Largest Record Collection

Paul Mawhinney was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA. Over the years he has amassed what has become the world's largest record collection. Due to health issues and a struggling record industry Paul is being forced to sell his collection.
This is the story of a man and his records.
Official Selection 2009 Sundance Film Festival
2008
by Sean Dunne
DP: Ed David
Editor: Galen Summer
veryapeproducti...

[@plbyrne]

In 2013, a friend of Mawhinney’s told him about a classified ad in Billboard Magazine: "RECORD COLLECTIONS. We BUY any record collection. Any style of music. We pay HIGHER prices than anyone else." Mawhinney made contact with the buyer's agent, and in the fall of 2013, eight 16 meter long semis pulled up to Mawhinney's warehouse and departed with what remained of the archive. The buyer was Zero Freitas of São Paulo, Brazil, a Brazilian bus magnate.[15] As of August 2014, Freitas had 17 interns cataloging and recording 500 records a day, and he planned to open an online museum.

[@daddypig.5796]

Nice one Paul 👍🏻

[@acashicrecords4947]

Is it online, you know?

[@davidsanderson5918]

Good ole Wikipedia. :)

[@alexstewart4363]

Many times folks from outside the US appreciate more the noble and good things this great country has achieved than so many of the woke hate America crowd . Like the saying goes: ''Some just don't know how good they had it, until it's all gone''... Maybe this has nothing to do with recordings , but that very thing happened to Cubans , and Venezuelans after socialism took over and destroyed their countries...Today people on that once prosperous island often lament that things got so bad all around over there that ''even the music left''. Let's pray that won't happen to US...

[@FunnyCallsPrank]

Oh cool, the new magnate investor fanatic just like the original dude but with tons of ability to export it to the masses with his connections, brilliant :)

[@TheLiquidSunshineBand]

It makes me so happy that a collector from Brazil bought the collection a few years ago and has it stored in a database. He plans to open a museum with al the records he has acquired.

[@d.a.thorndike8772]

Really?? That is great news!! That makes me so happy to know that!

[@Xottapchenko]

Thank you, I’m happy for the man from the video now. He can now live peacefully knowing someone will take care of the work of his life.

[@xrusted]

That's so amazing. I want to visit that museum one day

[@mercurialmagictrees]

Wow that's awesome.

[@acashicrecords4947]

@@xrusted www.....?...com Somebody better give me that address😂🤗

[@jasonwilliams6005]

I spent a lot of time at Record Rama. Seeing this and where I shopped, looking through hundreds and hundreds of albums brings back good memories. He was a nice guy. His wife was nice too. I'd be there for hours at a time. Near the end, I was the only one there. He gave me a behind the scenes look at the archives. It was absolutely amazing. I was standing in music history and nobody was caring anymore. The interest is back again, but sadly after Paul was gone. I really miss that place...

[@DreadedEnding]

That’s really an incredible story. It is sad to think that records are now just as popular as they ever were and he couldn’t see how much his life’s work mattered.

[@nyccollin]

When did he die? I don’t see anything online showing that he passed away.

[@martinkdoorstoperception.1913]

I hope he still alive to see the resurgence of vinyl.

[@djkingpersia]

poor bastard, i was fighting tears watching him talk. much respect to his wife

[@mojorisin8368]

Why?

[@zivkovicable]

@@mojorisin8368 Because she married an obsessive who was destined to reduce every room they possessed by 12 inches from every wall.

[@thorstenkehde3453]

Much respect! The most important thing, if you are a collector, is to have a cool wife. And he has!

[@JesseFinkBooks]

Ha! Very true

[@Norfolk250]

What about non-lesbian female collectors?

[@wakkawakka900]

Yeah, we have to be supportive of not having free space and the constant need to buy more shit that's not needed and one day it'll collapse and in death the family will yard sale all of this shit. It's totally worth it. I totally understand her. I feel your pain girl😭

[@thorstenkehde3453]

@@wakkawakka900 Exactly my thoughts. And the thoughts of my girls😂😂😂

[@SK-le1gm]

I was gonna say, he ends it with “that’s all I got, is the music” - dude you got a cool wife !!!

[@stevemurrell6167]

He closed his store in 2008, one year before the Vinyl Revival started. Great timing.....but his records will be safe and appreciated now. Legend.

[@alternateunreleasedshellac505]

do you know where he is now?

[@thegamingg864]

@@alternateunreleasedshellac505 yea 6 feet under

[@Kit_Bear]

vinyl has been resurrected. This mans life now has more meaning than ever. I would love to be in this archive. I wouldn't leave it for years. Imagine being this guy..... Do you have.........? "Yes!" What a legend.

[@MC-ti2vn]

Except, sold it, so...

[@lunarparkmusic]

@@MC-ti2vn saw a couple of your comments, you really are quite a prick

[@mediaguy4037]

For anyone wondering: he is still alive. NOT dead

[@tylero8595]

He was right that it would take 10 years for the world to see the quality of vinyl. Everyone has started to wake up again to the sound of quality and easy listening. I have over 10k albums I have collected throughout my life. I listen to all of them. When I get home I always put an album on. Flip it. Then put another on. Usually 3 to 5 albums a night after work. Theres nothing better than listening to a song and then hearing the needle pop then scratch after the album ends. Peace yall. Never stop dancing.

[@lesblatnyak5947]

There's air behind the sound from vinyl that digital can't produce.

[@LoneLee2022]

Vinyl always had the best sound.

[@MrsD7777]

WOW! This collection should become a National Museum! This man is a TRUE music collector & he speaks the Truth about a sleeping generation. He is an EXPERT on Music Quality & the pure raw sound of original recordings. Why would anyone allow this collection to lost??? Its a part of History! Bless this man!

[@rareblues78daddy]

MrsD7777 Quantity =/= Quality. People who have seen this collection and know records have said it was mostly filler. Besides, it was sold to a Brazilian bus magnate quite some time ago. Oddly enough, *he* is also a guy who is doing nothing more than trying to amass as much quantity as possible. I'd say this collection went exactly where it should have.

[@directorkid3131]

A truly great vinyl collection would be quality over quantity. Vinyl collecting should be about the content of the record, not the number of records you have. Anyways, sorta unrelated, but my dad has a collection of what I'm guessing is hundreds of CD's. When he plays his music, it's not really my taste, but I may look through it and see if there's anything I like in it.

[@bareknuckles2u]

@@rareblues78daddy "People who have seen this collection and know records have said it was mostly filler." Hmmm, sounds like some made up bullshit right there! Who are these "people?" Anyone can just say "people who have met you, and know how to assess people have said you are an idiot!" Hearsay, that's all you are spewing there. Although that point about you being an idiot is probably true based on your baseless and non-verifiable comment.

[@rareblues78daddy]

​@@bareknuckles2u _sounds like some made up bullshit right there!_ No, what it sounds like is _me_ not giving a shit about the opinion from a 'literal who" left on a five year-old comment.

[@rareblues78daddy]

@Lassi Kinnunen 81 Paul wasn't a collector; he was a dealer. He actually tried to first sell his stock to a company that wanted to start a music service like iTunes. It's been years since I looked into this, but it was back in the early '00s. Needless to say, it fell through.

[@eatingyumyum]

My dad’s collection is huge but not as big. I was told that I may get it in the will. So, i will keep it in the family and add to it. I would take your collection in a heart beat, but i would never sell it. There is too much history there. I love spening a whole day listening to records, the sound gives me shivers, i love it.

[@neilrobidoux4772]

Marry me

[@crazymarkiplierfan]

I’d happily pick through his collection for the rest of my life😂

[@g.walter1653]

Yeah Kind of...would also Love this.

[@bobthesalesclerk]

I have. It is amazing.

[@numbernine2207]

@@bobthesalesclerk So have I, only it was all jazz records in Sunland, CA (Los Angeles). Leon Leavitt had over a million jazz records & the Years that I worked there were heaven. I didn't do much work though. Just listened to Blue Notes, Contemporary's & Prestige's. All of my salary was spent on unplayed copies of the rarest records ever. I should have made a documentary while there. It would have blown jazz collector's minds. Leon was quite a character too. This was mid to late nineties so I wasn't even thinking about documentaries or the historical significance.

[@lriper4702]

I was a frequent customer myself. I was buying records from his store for many years

[@randyrobey5643]

Bless this man for assembling his collection, and bless the man who is saving it.

[@martinkdoorstoperception.1913]

I hope he still alive to see the resurgence of vinyl. Respect

[@Jim-be8sj]

That's a lot of records. The most I ever owned was around 5,000 LPs. The biggest private collection I have seen was around 100,000 LPs. I sold many of mine but I still have tons of them I have never listened to. At some point it's not about the music anymore and that can be a scary place to be. It becomes an obsession to keep bringing home more and more records.

[@geraldford6409]

Yep, and you burn all your time managing those physical items That said, I like my physical media and avidly collect cd, dvd, Blu-ray Discs I plan to watch more than once I will probably always have a good turntable around, both vintage or recent audiophile grade, but I consider vinyl retro vintage nostalgia, stick with albums and artists I knew from 70s, some 60s

[@Jim-be8sj]

@@geraldford6409 Good point about the management aspect. If it gets too big, then the collection is unmanageable. That 100,000 LP private collection I looked at was that way. All boxes of unorganized records, filling a house. A collection of horse manure would have looked just about the same.

[@Don-md6wn]

@@Jim-be8sj 100,000 LPs at 40 minutes per LP is 4 million minutes, 66,667 hours. If you listen to them 6 hours a day, 365 days a year without ever taking a day off, it would take over 11,000 days, which is more than 30 years, to listen to them all just once each.

[@Jim-be8sj]

@@Don-md6wn Good one. Dealing with that many records is like a long prison term. I got parole for good behavior. I only lost a decade to the madness. :)

[@ubermo1182]

Yes, I know what you mean. My collection is well over 7K records. There comes a point in any dedicated collector's life where the philosophical question arises: Do I own the records or do they own me?

[@jonathanvillalobos7994]

God bless him,Long live vinyl!!!......Vinyl for life!!

[@dilshadsadiq3348]

My heart goes out for this amazing gentleman. A lifetime of dedication for quality analog music. And he probably was not the wealthiest but through thick of time collected records which could have been worth so much more today. I believe today the situation is much different with the vinyl revival. I hope he realizes what a contribution he has made to restoring the pride of quality music. What a man! And what a lady to support his cause.

[@davefieramosca6974]

I have kept every piece of music I have ever bought, cassettes, cds, 8 tracks. The vinyl I own means more to me, my life is in those grooves. I have made it known that my kids will inherit my collection and they are to take care of it and move it on to future generations.

[@Don-md6wn]

Good luck on controlling your kids and their kids from the grave.

[@davefieramosca6974]

@@Don-md6wn I will just come back and haunt them 👻

[@andjelkozlotvor]

How much items do you have?

[@jeffandersen7397]

i grew up on vinyl, never stopped buying records, got a couple 1,000 lps, ep's and 45s, Classic Rock, Funk, Pop, Soul, Blues, Punk, Metal, Country, tons of Jazz and more. . .

[@n.a.mcintosh4697]

I graduated from North Allegheny and Record Rama growing up, truly inspired my appreciation musically to be as varied as possible. Stopping by Record Rama going down McKnight Rd., was always part of heading into Pgh to check out the record shops on Liberty Ave. God, I can recall spending hours flipping through an inconceivable array of musical styles, and not bothering to head into downtown! In recent years I heard that it had closed. This helps my understanding ... he was right about the public being 15-20 years behind the necessary awareness to preserve the archive. Thanks for the info on the comments about the outcome of the collection. Bless you Paul. Pgh was really a gem of little nooks and crannies of subcultures and personal interests made public. I really appreciate growing up in Pgh and Paul is definitely part of why that's so.

[@misskorea7134]

I really like this guy I wish they make a whole documentary about him. I hope someone who really loves music buys his whole collection. I love how he talks about people sleeping and they wont realize till 20 years later what they missed out on. I use to listen to my grandmas records and a cd isn't the same as a digital. I already know what we will miss out on if his collection is destroyed.

[@mournblade1066]

I was there once about twenty years ago. The place was jaw dropping.

[@bertroost1675]

Same for me but I found him not so easy going and there was a much better record store not too far away.

[@nunyanunya6398]

@@bertroost1675 well.. being blind probably is...no fun

[@bertroost1675]

@@nunyanunya6398 He's not blind blind.

[@dannyoceanss]

@@bertroost1675 could you please elaborate

[@bertroost1675]

@@dannyoceanss About which statement?

[@jerryandlisa27]

Behind and amazing man is an amazing woman that supported him in his passion. God bless them both. Like he said there is nothing like vynil.

[@znmcg]

Vinyl

[@Lostmusicvideos]

Wtf are Vynil?

[@ehlerhog]

You used the word women instead of woman too.

[@jerryandlisa27]

@@ehlerhog I did lol

[@shittywife]

Poor man, I hope he still alive to see the resurgence of vinyl.

[@mercurialmagictrees]

I'm really curious about that.

[@glenncrowe6683]

It’s all I could think about while watching this.

[@Thirdfish]

Even though he sold his collection for $3m he will have had regrets.

[@il9621]

@@Thirdfish He enjoyed the biggest vinyl collection for how long? And in the end he got a solid 3m from it! That is A LOT more than most people. We should not collect "things" in life, but moments.

[@humdrummed]

If it's not on the phone it's history.

[@entheogenocide]

This is amazing. This collection would be worth 10s of millions today. What a cool story.

[@garyfrancis6193]

Wha…? I was going to offer him $600. My best price.

[@darklorddisco]

Not even remotely close to $1M let alone “10s of millions” lol

[@nyccollin]

@@garyfrancis6193 Haha that single Rolling Stones LP is worth thousands.

[@jerseytiger1980]

@@darklorddisco I read an article stating that the appraised value was around $50 million. However, when you sell in bulk you’re never going to get full value. He couldn’t even sell this collection for $3 million which is like a dollar per record. I haven’t seen what he sold it for, but I’d be surprised if it was more than 10 cents per record.

[@brentsobie3977]

If it's one million albums as he stated and another million and a half 45s, each record would have to be worth at least $20 to $25 dollars, and while I'm sure there are really valuable albums, MANY would be worth only a dollar or two, so no, definitely not a $50 million dollar collection.

[@moehammondmedia]

Every doc I’ve ever watched about albums made me happy. This one made me sad. 😢

[@car-or-ock616]

Almost 10 years on we can say with some confidence that vinyl is back. Never sure what comes next. However, the idea of combining a digital data base with an archive that looks after the originals and a museum that displays them sounds great.

[@NearMintNorms]

I hope this man has lived to see that records have not only come back into the mainstream, but that they are thriving!

[@badgers48]

I’m 18 and love vinyl and have been collecting vinyl for years. I’m hoping he is still around to see people my age come back and just spend thousands and thousands on vinyl.

[@stuartdelamare4072]

Sir you are an incredible man. if I could afford to look after your record collection I would be proud to be it's carer that is a collective history of music I would love to have that musical history archive to share to the world. Just a shame I live in guernsey. worlds biggest music collection on one of the smallest Islands. and just remember music is food for the sole people

[@melissah.9225]

As a record dealer with a local shop, I truly hope this man is aware of how huge a comeback vinyl has made. I am so impressed by all the younger kids who come into my shop looking for the classics - Sinatra, Elvis, Beatles, etc - and on the original vinyl, not the reissued and, to me, inferior quality, 180 gram things that they're putting out today. These vinyls DO sound much superior to anything you can download, and even to cds. Plus, there's a history in these original albums that will never be duplicated. I can pick up an early pressing of a Beatles album and almost feel the excitement that existed when it first came out. I am so happy his collection went to a good home - but more than a little jealous because I'd have loved to have seen even a little bit of his vinyl!

[@davidlong1786]

Please stop spreading misinformation considering vinyl's "superiority". It's an old medium with limited dynamic range, pop and ticks, surface noise, distortions and you damage the grooves on the very first playback no matter how good the cartridge. What CD and streamed digital takes away is all of the above. Now if the master recording is crap with compression, it will sound worse but that's on the people making the recording. What some people like about vinyl is the built in distortions that honestly isn't being true to the original recording.

[@Don-md6wn]

Melissa, no vinyl DOESN'T sound superior to CDs. Low end frequencies have to be cut out of vinyl recordings so the stylus doesn't jump out of the groove. I listen to primarily classical music and jazz via CDs on a good audio system that includes a pair of powered subwoofers. I couldn't possibly get the bass from LPs that I get from CDs without the record skipping all over the place. And that's before we even get to the problems with pops, skips, and warping of vinyl, or that it degrades over time as you play it. And as a vinyl record goes from the opening tracks on the outer portion of the record to the inner portion, there is deterioration in the sound and dynamic range.

[@27dirtysocks]

No one can judge for another person what they feel sounds superior. If you love CDs, that's great. If you love vinyl, that's great. If you love cassettes or reel to reel, that's great. If you love 8 Tracks, what's wrong with you? , jk, that's great too!! Listen to what you love and everyone else's opinion doesn't matter. Simple simple.

[@insanelook]

@@davidlong1786 yeah, myself was a vinyl collector and ended up selling my whole collection 9 years ago. CDs and nowadays formats are night and day compare to vinyls question of quality.

[@davidlong1786]

@@27dirtysocks I don't care what people want to listen to but i do care when bad info is being spread around.

[@THECLARENCES]

The part at the end with Paul playing “Music” by John Miles...POWERFUL!!! xoxo The Clarences

[@srljedi6790]

You can feel his passion when he’s listening to the song at the end. He sounds sad like he’s tearing up. The music of the past

[@riptheripper9060]

Very sad that he had no children to pass his collection onto. Terrific story about humanity. What a wonderful couple. Love it.

[@jasonwilliams6005]

He had kids. Son owns a great record store and high end audio shop.

[@andjelkozlotvor]

@@jasonwilliams6005Any news about the future of that “Brazilian collection”?

[@imsomewhatcertain1024]

It’s 2023, and vinyl records and cassettes are making a gradual comeback. The late 2010s had a period of 1908s nostalgia, and it’s encourage people to check out vinyl records and cassettes.

[@mhudsonc.2625]

What you’ve done is incredible & worth all the time & money. Records WILL never die!

[@quazar912]

are you sure? neider classic cars, but who drives them anymore except for some showdown

[@-Teague-]

@@quazar912 records are outselling or equally selling CDs rn

[@jacktorrance2633]

I care too Paul. I have a decent collection of Records, CDs, Tapes, DVD-Audio,and Concert films I've collected over the last 40 years. My favorite finds are from Mfsl and Dcc. I've always had a good system but about 4 years ago I was given a beautiful setup from a dying friend that wanted someone to take it that would appreciate it and never sell it,and I won't! It's great to see people like Paul and many of you in the comment section that enjoy the gift of music so much,it's amazing how music can make one feel.

[@debraromano2160]

I wonder if he actually listened to each one thru....I would rather loose my sight over my hearing because there's always something new to hear.....another man that knows the analog difference.....

[@andrewmadsen]

No, he hasn’t. As a rough estimate: an LP holds about 45 minutes of music. He has 1 million of them. That’s 750,000 hours, or about 85 years of music. More than any one person can listen to in a lifetime.

[@nunyanunya6398]

@@andrewmadsen I know a record producer who works every day, at age 84. But yeah....nobody can listen to 1M records. No fuckin way. Not possible.. Duh, no shit. Right

[@BlakeBlackstone]

I know once I'm dead nothing will matter but if it did then music would be the only thing I miss about being alive. I will miss music and how it makes me feel.

[@pjmaas4287]

Just to clarify, though vinyl does sound good, it is IRONICALLY because the medium of vinyl cannot handle excessive high's or lows. If a vinyl has too much bass the needle would jump out the groove. Vinyl sounds nice, because the mids are more pronounced than CD/Digital counterpart

[@bosthebozo5273]

Vinyl gives music character.

[@pjmaas4287]

@@bosthebozo5273 I love the sound of vinyl, mate. Just giving you the real info from a technical perspective

[@bosthebozo5273]

@@pjmaas4287 Oh yeah, sorry that wasn't a criticism of your comment. Just a statement in general about vinyl. The process you described is one reason for that character. Cheers 👍

[@davidhood2367]

Personally, I feel the biggest difference in vinyl sound is better channel separation which allows you to hear the room in which the recording was made.

[@pjmaas4287]

@@davidhood2367 music is awesome 😍 incredible to think we can listen for room tones in the songs

[@unclejosh4935]

1881?? Emile Berliner invented the flat disc in 1887 [first patent granted/received in 1887. First commercial Berliner discs marketed circa 1892.Began to market 5" diameter discs in small quantities in Germany, ca. 1890. First 7" celluloid Berliner discs were marketed in late 1894. Retired - Library of Congress Sound Recordings Archivist - 35 years. Cataloged all 700-plus Berliner discs in LC's collections; assisted Paul Charosh in the compilation that resulted in the definitive Berliner discography: "Berliner Gramophone Records in America - A Discography".

[@paulchemaly2]

This man needs a museum dedicated to his work.

[@OGSAFUNKATEER1901]

My buddy Bill from Bills records in Dallas Tx died in his store alone which is so sad to me but he was surrounded by the music he loved dearly that man was one of a kind.

[@ben.futureprimitive]

now this is the era of vinyl resurgence..

[@BlackAndWhiteBand]

Sadly Paul passed away, but man was he the real deal! I collect records but nowhere NEAR the amount he did. Music is so much more than just entertainment, and sadly that's the part that's become lost in our society today.

[@SF_Native]

That literally was the world’s largest record collection. Insane. I have been hearing lots of stories about these Brazilian collectors and record shops. I’m glad they will continue to be curated and preserved.

[@superiormusic]

Am I the only one who really wants to hear the story and content of that 1881 record?!

[@coreyhamilton6221]

What could it be

[@UKnowMeIMURDaddy]

It's probably Thomas Edison or Lil E his rapper name from 1881

[@ksteiger]

@@UKnowMeIMURDaddy probably a Berlin disc.

[@Oldtimemusiclover]

Acually they didn't even have records in 1881 it was still tinfoil. The record he has would be most likely from 1896-1899.

[@Dolle_Man]

I just started into vinyl, here in Europe ( The Netherlands) Its making a huge comeback over the last years. I think dj's that are recording their live set en streaming it to YT also benefits. Als tape is making a comeback, the world needs physical stuff

[@ProgSnob14]

I've got several thousand cds, and about 100 of my favorites on vinyl. I backup everything twice digitally. I can relate to his feelings, but the bigger tragedy is that so many people refuse to open themselves to quality music at all. Almost everything new that's worth a damn sells maybe a few thousand copies.

[@KOSMICKEN09]

I have 4000 CDs- But I sell CDs at record shows so my collection doesn't get completely out of hand

[@Nextolic]

Such is life. The store is forced to close its doors in 2008. Years later buying records becomes a new craze among teens.

[@kensims4086]

It probably contains many lps that everybody else would pass on.. The best of the mom and dads for example.

[@SK-le1gm]

Are you talking about the Mamas and the Papas 🤣 that is a good name for a different band - The Mom And Dads !

[@danielwilder7835]

In my life I collected , 15,000 singles , 1500 albums and 600 12” singles all on vinyl. I live in the uk, I became a DJ in 1985, by 1990 I had begun to use cds, by 1993 minidisc , 1998 back to cd, 2000 I was Djing with MP3s, 2002 I was using video to DJ. 2007 I gave it all up and sold my entire collection for little more than £2000. I now use iTunes to play my tunes.... to me it sounds no different. The best thing about it all is I have mostly my entire collection in digital form that is accessible in seconds to play and the space saved is a total blessing.

[@timothyhilton3408]

Nothing beats the sound of 90's analog Vinyl regarding electronic Dance music, especially 1991-1997. I am a serious collector of Goa Trance and I can always hear the difference between analog and digital. I agree that it can be great to have your whole collection on a laptop.......until your system and back up is destroyed and you are left with only memories. Also....so many great Dance tracks from the 90's were only released on vinyl so there are some pro's and many cons to ditching hard copies IMO. Cheers.

[@ralphfurley123]

This might be the Great Library of Alexandria for music! Hope the world doesn’t lose the wealth of knowledge and artistry found in these recordings! There must be a museum out there that can take this entire collection! ☮️🖖🏽

[@poisonouslead85]

If it remains physical only, it will be lost. All physical media degrades. Chemistry breaks down.

[@plasticvideo]

If he had just held on a few years longer, the resurgence of vinyl would explode and he would become revered. It's never over, it's all waves.

[@trillioncrowns]

rock n roll is over where are the musicians? killed by the smartphone and technology

[@ivomuniz]

A a brazilian living in São Paulo It's weird to remember this video and realize that now this collection resides in a warehouse close to my home.

[@KOLDBLU3ST33L]

Very cool. 😎

[@jb8054]

I love you Man! Thank You for sharing your story and gifting me with the opportunity of getting to hear you lifetimes work and each word you said resonated with My Soul

[@mikecrean8849]

Ironically since this was made, vinyl has made a big comeback. Vinyl shops everywhere now. 🎸🥁

[@tonyf.8858]

Thank you, Paul. I appreciate YOU.

[@audiomez]

As an Audiologist, an acoustical science post graduate, and a studio owner for nearly 40 years I feel the loss the youth of today will never know they missed.

[@RubenSampieriCabal]

You’re absolutely right!: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mX26eYOvbt-XfdU

[@MyDegeneration1965]

For the best in sound quality, listen to UK 78rpm singles from the late 1950's/60. Deep wide grooves meant full-on bass & treble a true professional playback without any deterioration in sound quality, play as loud as you like. Taken over by 45rpm's by 1960 restricted it's ability to recreate sound in the same way, volume is slightly lower but tinnier, has not that full-on sound, something is definitely missing. The library labels Chappell/Conroy etc that issued 78s throughout the 1960's did so for their professional sound. Similar to the CD's that were issued or pushed on to the record buying public at a time when LP's when issued on thinner low quality vinyl. Around 1955 the 45's were no great invention except for the companies profits to issue cramped sounding unbreakable 7" records, the public fell for it by 1958 & again in late 80's, now we have re-issue LP's on 180gram vinyl, but still, what is really needed is re-start from 1960 all singles at 78rpm made on highest quality shellac. Another important thing affecting sound is whether you play records on a valve or transistor, the valve player is what you need, you can actually hear colour-in-music if you know what I mean

[@Birdlives247]

78 rpm records were not practical. 45s usually provided decent sound without the weight. It's about the music anyway. A Blind Lemon Jefferson Paramount 78 will give you the same rush as the cleaned up LP edition. (I love the 78 rpm 10" vinyl records that the American records companies sent to radio stations in the 1950s.)

[@MsBethany95]

I'll gladly be the next "care-taker"

[@paulm3079]

I'm from Pittsburgh and had been to this place many years ago...it was *unbelievable*. I 100% believe he had the number he claims.

[@hephaestus6365]

I started a record collection mid-2020 and am absolutely hooked. I've already got quite a good collection (not as large as his, obviously). I completely understand this guy's love and I hope everything worked out for him.

[@kensims4086]

I been buying them since i was a kid in the 70s and i only have 14,000. In a apartment.

[@jorgepadilla9945]

@@kensims4086 thats it? pfttt,...

[@anunripecantaloupe340]

We love you for doing what you did. Thank you.

[@monumento.f.501]

2013: Wait. 2021: Now do it.

[@gailphilp6829]

God bless you you beautiful soul. I was crying with you at the end. love and respect xxx

[@21Million]

Someone needs to buy his collection and keep it going!

[@zigsrig]

That's awesome! I've always wondered how much music there is out there that's not available any more. Crazy to think we have access to so little of it.

[@angelayoung8434]

43 seconds in....LONG DISTANCE VOYAGER....THE MOODY BLUES......what an album !

[@neilrobidoux4772]

I caught that too

[@musicplaylists64]

yes! one of my favorites

[@islandfantasia740]

Personal experience and I might be wrong: I had the chance to talk to a few people who went to Record Rama (this place's record store name) when it was open. None of them had good memory of the new owner. One of the old gentleman told me that the store owner was "a jerk" and that he'd have all the good stuff and not let you touch them. Another recalled that everything that is even remotely rare is overpriced. He says that there was a CD that Record Rama was trying to sell for $40 and it was $10 online. I personally have also seen the remains of the Record Rama collection in a few local record stores. There was a copy of Raydio's 1978 self-titled album that has a Record Rama sticker saying $10 when this album is in VG+ condition was only worth $3 online.

[@humdrummed]

3:39 "The world is dead" So true both for music and our country today.

[@davidsanderson5918]

Very akin to my thoughts. Paul's story is a metaphor for everything now. In an insane world, the sane man appears insane.

[@danieldesoto6787]

Oh stop, it will get better. Stop being so negative and hopeless. We'll be ok if you haven't heard vinyl is back so start cleaning your records and break it the 45 adapters. Life will replenish itself people!

[@chass5438]

As some may know here, Surround Sound is making a come back as well, with SS channels now surfacing here in True Surround Playback. I've never gotten into that exactly.

[@tayleyvenasse8234]

If I had between $3-50 million o would love to buy this! I think it is so sad that my generation doesn't appreciate vinyl. And doesn't appreciate what this man has done. This is probly the coolest thing I have ever seen!

[@jusk2ru]

If anyone's interested, here is a snipet from the wiki: "In 2013, a friend of Mawhinney’s told him about a classified ad in Billboard Magazine: "RECORD COLLECTIONS. We BUY any record collection. Any style of music. We pay HIGHER prices than anyone else." Mawhinney made contact with the buyer's agent, and in the fall of 2013, eight 16 meter long semis pulled up to Mawhinney's warehouse and departed with what remained of the archive. The buyer was Zero Freitas of São Paulo, Brazil, a Brazilian bus magnate. As of August 2014, Freitas had 17 interns cataloging and recording 500 records a day, and he planned to open an online museum." Feel free to add any info on the online museum.

[@rens51]

Impressive! hopefully his collection stays whole

[@harryhoesch3793]

Most of us who watched this have sampled his feelings with our own collections. I sold a thousand and kept a thousand records and always regret selling a lot of those, some of my earliest just wouldn't sound right if it didn't skip at a particular note in the song. Like the change of an 8-track, track. It just became part of the song after a hundred plays. Glad that his collection and efforts were saved. I still keep one player that plays 16, 33, 45, and 78 rpm records. I wonder just what his 16 rpm record inventory was like.

[@Arlaat]

1:59 trigger warning: the way he holds it!!! OOFFF!!

[@Rrrrichy]

Oh yes that hurts to see that

[@rogsoll]

Maybe if you are blind you need a firm grip.

[@kookamunga2458]

I read on an earlier post that a brazilian millionaire bought the lot to add to his collection. The records are now part of a 6 million record collection and climbing . The new owner wants the public to listen to his records but they are not for sale .

[@Adkturn]

It's a tangible legacy too. You can hold it. You can see it. You can read the liner notes. You can admire the cover art. How attached can you get to an mp3 file?

[@chris9380]

What a touching story!!! Music will always be with Paul Mawhinney!!!

[@JMV422]

It’s cool to see someone this passionate about anything, let alone music. He nailed it when he said they compress everything today. He’s right. There’s nothing like the sound of a needle hitting that vinyl ❤️

[@tblends]

Yes, there is MUCH better, we are way past the horrible background noise of vinyl.

[@LoneLee2022]

@@tblends Vinyl has the best sound. CD's are missing something.

[@scrantonpa7408]

Man this is heartbreaking I hope this guy is still around!

[@killerkali2007]

the beauty, the grace, the music, everything American is dead..it's been sold off, shipped off and destroyed by a small clan destined to destroy everything good in the world..bless this man, he like others have tried, even dedicated thier life to to the joys it contained..now it's not worth saving sadly..

[@ronnibertolli5509]

\o/...Now is of Brasil...\o/ ...No cry man...

[@elyea5928]

Lighten up, Francis.

[@CKru8789]

I sure wish I could make a copy of every album in that collection. Give it access to future generations.

[@beetleboyguitars]

I'm a collector, I care!

[@davidguerre6896]

I would have been spending days there just flipping through.. like a kid in a candy shop

[@tubecrazy65]

Me too Brother

[@LuxAudio389]

This legend is who Michael Fremer's Analog Planet is talking about in his intro..."Don't try to sneak into your room like that. I know what you have, Records, more new records."

[@AgnostosGnostos]

His record collection is sold. Check Wikipedia for the article with the title: Record-Rama I don't believe that he sold everything. If he is a little smart he must have kept a few hundreds of the most important and rarest records. Also I would like to add that he is isn't right with the digitization of music. The audio CDs don't have compressed music neither they cut the high and low frequencies. That is happening with MP3 files and similar compressed digital audio files. The truth is that Vinyl records have a distinct sound due to the restrictions of the analog technology which is more agreeable and preferable by many people. But certainly the sounds of CD players isn't worst. What is worst is the typical sound from integrated loudspeakers of desktop computers, laptops or even worse from small headphones. To enjoy good quality you have to spend some money on a decent amplifier and good loudspeakers which very few bother to do. I don't believe that the Vinyl record or the film with photography are resurrected and will regain its former popularity. However there will be always many nostalgic people who miss the past. The Internet has devalued the music. Music nowadays is considered free to everyone. Personally I always believed that the oligopoly of major record companies was exploiting the common consumer and the file sharing was welcomed. On the other hand with the records there was the feeling of touching, seeing instead of only hearing. Music could be hold and wasn't just bits of a very distant web server.

[@lummond]

Well, the Redbook standard DOES chop off highs and lows. It's a fact. They just so happen to be the highs above human hearing and the lows below human hearing. Sounds like a clever idea, in fact!

[@AgnostosGnostos]

Misha Rosolak The truth is that not all humans hear the same range of frequencies and that ability is reduced with age. Maybe the Vinyl records produce higher and low frequencies than what the average human can hear. Of course the quality of loudspeakers and amplifier is an important factor too.

[@lummond]

@@AgnostosGnostos Redbook rolls off below 20Hz and above 20kHz, I believe. There isn't much evidence that humans can hear much if anything below/above those numbers. My point is while he was technically correct, it's misleading and misunderstood.

[@valuedhumanoid6574]

I once worked with a guy who had over 10,000 albums, 6,000 CDs and so many reel-to-reel that his entire basement, an area about 60'x 80' I would wager with shelf after shelf. He did have some duplications but the amount of artist was staggering. He had an encyclopedia of prices, like a Blue Book for cars and I was just thumbing thru and saw the Kiss album Love Gun was worth like $1000 if the inner sleeve was intact. On some the inner sleeve had a cutout of a "love gun" whatever that was, but if it had the original not cut it was worth a thousand. But if it was missing, then worth $20. I went and found 3 copies, two had the sleeve intact. And, he had every vinyl that Frank Zappa had ever produced. That collection alone is like 60 albums and is worth a shit ton by itself. And on and on. On weekends he would make his own reel to reel of entire artist on one tape. So he had a tape of every ACDC song, a tape of every Beatle song. Entire catalogs on one tape. And his collection of turntables, speakers, cassette decks, etc. was equally impressive. I would spend hours down there hunting for gems.

[@markysparky9106]

I credit this man where it’s due a true student of the Art of Music 🎵

[@jetwrench2854]

Just amazing! To me. My great uncle Charles "Chuck" Lindsley held your world record many years ago. He knew every song on every record and where it was, room, box, stack, with near photographic memory. He told me that he had no intention of selling his collection until after Being Crosby's house burnt down. Mr. Crosby lost his own first edition collection and was told to see "Chuck" Lindsley. Eventually after some convincing and persuading uncle Chuck sold his Crosby collection. He cautiously and selectively kept selling other amazing parts of his fantastic collection.

[@marcbronze1]

i need an update, did anybody buy this and is he still alive.

[@MC-ti2vn]

Sure, read the comments. Get the whole narrative, already answered.

[@lunarparkmusic]

First offer of 3m turned out to be fraudulent but he did manage to sell to a Taiwanese businessman in 2011. Not sure what he paid but interestingly he was one of the main engineers who invented the mp3

[@Wayzor_]

Zero Freitas

[@domi7007]

@@MC-ti2vn FAKE

[@MC-ti2vn]

@ tuffness. You forgot the rest of your thought. One word contributions... don’t work for you. Settle down, breathe, and if it’s something you need to communicate - try again, slowly, and try to get a few more words out to tell us what you are struggling to convey. 👍

[@geldofpunk32]

Digital is what is keeping all this old music alive now. And vinyl has made a huge comeback. I think there is little to fear about music preservation.

[@joepalooka2145]

Wow, this is truly remarkable and amazing. So where's all the billionaire rock stars who could help preserve Paul's collection? Where's the interest from the recording industry in general? Where's the interest from the Smithsonian and the Library of Congress or other educational and historic organizations? Breaking his collection up and losing it will be a huge loss.

[@RickyBaizas]

Good god. I saw this almost a lifetime ago and I’ve been searching for it for a long time and I just happened to stumble upon it now!!!So happy I found it again.

[@donniewn]

I love this guy, If I had $3 million I would buy that collection. What a joy it would be to be able to listen to all those records

[@seagullpoet]

Great comment.

[@mars-ox9mh]

Definitely worth it 👌

[@wasd____]

You would need the $3 million to buy the collection, and then several million more (plus ongoing expenses) to warehouse the collection somewhere climate-controlled and secured. No one wanted the collection because the collateral expense and sheer hassle is enormous. Not sure how that guy from Brazil who actually bought it planned to handle it, other than dump money into it that he'll never see back.

[@manchuriancandybar864]

This man's record collection should be in the Guinness World records for the biggest record collection in the world.

[@Sool101]

But. It is not the biggest in the world though. That honor goes to... Zero Freitas. A whopping 6, yes six million records. I remember a picture of him standing on top of a very large container filled with vinyl.

[@theokingshango]

they would have to count it all

[@LaserGryph]

This is one of those stories that's both happy and sad. I'm sorry that he had to close it down. But damn. If I had an archive like that, I'd just about die from stimulation. I'd go in there and you'd have to send in a search and rescue team to hunt for me.

[@MrBaseren]

Google says its sold to a guy in Ireland through eBay. But in the comments ppl are talking about a buyer in Brazil? Would love to know the real ending of the story. Hope hes still around to see revival of the analogue music

[@James_Bowie]

"Mawhinney listed the collection for sale on eBay in February 2008. He received a winning bid of $3,002,150 ($3.78 million today) from a buyer in Ireland. A few days later, however, eBay suspended the bidder's account and advised Mawhinney that the bid was not legitimate. Mawhinney relisted the collection in March 2008 but it did not sell." -- Wiki

[@tomconway6780]

I really Love your passion for music...