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An historic auction of millions of records, cds, etc

FlipsideWith a starting bid of US $3,000,000.00 this is one crazy eBay auction. Described as “The World’s Greatest Music Collection (3 Million Records, 300,000 CDs, 6 million+ Song Titles)”, you’re ostensibly buying a record store. In an interview, “Paul Mawhinney, owner of the Record Rama Sound Archives in Pittsburgh, Penn., is selling off what he calls “The World’s Greatest Music Collection” — as a whole — with a starting bid price of $3 million US ‘I want the history of American popular music to be available for future generations.’—Paul Mawhinney This is my life’s work,” the 69-year-old music enthusiast told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “I’ve had a lot of people that wanted it, but they didn’t have the right kind of capital.” Looking at the pictures, it looks exactly like the old school record stores I’d seek out when I would be in towns like Chicago, Minneapolis, Denver and LA.  There aren’t many like this anymore, which makes me appreciate my neighborhood Euclid Records all the more.  In the end, what I like about this auction is the seller’s mindset that the music belongs to everyone, and is not just some commodity. “Mawhinney says he’d like the collection to be available to the public, which is a proviso of the sale. “I want the history of American popular music to be available for future generations,” he told The Toronto Star. The buyer is required to either donate the collection or create a public space for people to access it.” It sounds perfect for the Library of Congress, but apparently they didn’t have the funds.



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  • Wow, that's very cool Amy. I still have memories of going to the local record store (Streetside Records) when I was a kid with my Dad. He'd look around the classical records, then we'd meetup, I'd usually have a Devo, Tom Petty or AC/DC record that I'd want. I dig taking my kiddos to Euclid Records up the street, they love to listen to all the new tracks on those kiosks while I shop. There's something about being in a record store that I never tire of...don't get me started on Waterloo Records in Austin.
  • Oh man! I used to go into Record Rama all the time with my dad when I was younger -- it was like walking into a candy store. My heart breaks a little to see them selling everything, but knowing that they want it to be publicly accessible makes it a little easier to bear.
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