Its All About Oldskool Weekly Email (6th March 2011)

**China-Rising** · 6th March 2011

Welcome to this week’s IAAO email

Could you put a price on your collection? Would you actually like to put a price on your collection?

When I first started buying music as a kid, my first thought was never how much it would be worth in 20 years’ time, it was never an investment, it was just a love of music and love of buying something I loved.

I’m 36 now and while I don’t buy vinyl anymore, I have a collection of around 10’000 records, but even now I could never put a price on it, even though I rarely play any vinyl now and it’s all packed away in boxes to keep it fresh, I would never dream of actually putting a price on it and selling it. I’m often asked how much I think it’s worth and while some of it would be lucky to get 50p on a car boot sale, some of it could make me a lot of money. But as I said, it was never about the money or the investment when I was buying it, it was just a love of music and that can’t be bought. Someone did ask me once that if someone offered me a million pounds for my collection, would I take it. My answer of course was yes. But perhaps in the back of my mind, I knew I would never be put in that situation and my vinyl would always be with me until I die. I do worry about what I will do with it when I move to China, but I haven’t reached that point yet so I’m not too worried yet.

Buying music these days is a different kettle of fish. Digital downloaded music is worthless. It’s just a computer file stuck on a hard drive and while I burn this music to CD, it is still worthless. But while digital downloads are less personal and worthless, again it comes down to worth. Do you buy music for an investment? Or do you buy it for the love of music. In a way digital downloads show more love than Vinyl because you are buying it for the love first and foremost.

The same can also be said when I bought IAAO and IAAT, I bought them and opened them for the love, not as an investment. When people hear I have a couple of websites, the first thing they always ask is how much do I get from it, and when I tell them nothing, they can’t actually believe it and ask me why I bother. I just tell them it’s for the love and not for what I can get out of it. It costs me money every single month to keep the sites on-line, this is all out of my own pocket, or from the donations I receive from members. I could actually start making the sites pay for themselves by putting advertising on the sites with something like google adsense, and believe you me I could earn quite a bit from doing that, but I refuse to do it. In a way I would feel like a sell-out, I would be putting a price on the sites and it has never been about how much I can get out of them, it was never an investment, it was always about the love and as far as I know, it will always remain that way…….well, unless someone offers me a million pounds of course.

Competition time:

This is for those of you who have an iPod. Be it a Touch, iPhone, iPad or Apple TV. I have one copy of WinX iPad Video Converter to give away. This is an official copy and the licence key is good for computer only. To win it, all you have to do is answer the following question and send me a PM with your answer. The first person to do this will win. Here is the question:

IAAO celebrates its 2nd birthday soon, but what date did IAAO first open its doors?

Good luck.

Have a great week,

China.

**China-Rising** · 6th March 2011

This weeks competition has been won.

Congratulations got out to Swipezster who correctly answered the question.

The answer of course was the 25th March 2009.

Well done fella