Abstract:
This paper unpacks the relationships between tangibility and materiality using the context of vinyl records. We interpret data from 26 in-depth interviews augmented with longitudinal participant–observation of vinyl collecting and observations of multiple music store events. Our findings reveal that even digitally literate vinyl collectors value vinyl for the layers of tangibility that makes each singularized item a nexus between collectors and the music, musicians, their own history, and other people. The physicality of vinyl facilitates the performativity of music and musical tastes. Physicality also permits an interactive experiential personal history with an anthropomorphized manifestation of music that makes vinyl material. This research highlights the importance of tangibility in imbuing objects with significance. We move the field forward by reconciling different perspectives of materiality (physicality, performativity and interactivity) to demonstrate how consuming music in material form results in its materiality.