How to Properly Store Your Music Collection for Longevity
Over the years, many of us have collected our music in various forms. It’s a safe bet to say that nearly every home has vinyl albums and CDs stashed away somewhere. While some argue that these formats are superior to digitized music, nobody can argue that they oftentimes take up too much room. If you love your music, but don’t have space in your place for bulky jewel cases or heavy LPs, what can you do? Easy…convert your music to digital files and store the original formats safely away in the nearest Lock Up Self Storage facility.
Here are some tips on how to keep your music available to you while safely storing away the original formats:
- COMPACT DISCS: If you haven’t already, you should upload all of your CDs onto your computer. This way, you can have your whole music catalog at your fingertips and load your iPod up with your favorite tunes. Once you’ve done that, you could get rid of all the CDs, but maybe one day they’ll be looked at as “vintage” collectibles like vinyl albums are nowadays. So, instead of selling them off at a garage sale or sending them to the landfill, pack them away in boxes and put them in a Lock Up Self Storage unit. By doing this, you’ll ensure that even if your computer up and dies, you’ll still have your music. It’s ideal to keep CDs in their jewel cases to protect them and to preserve the album art. But, if you want to reduce the storage space needed for your music or you have a lot of CDs that have lost or broken cases, get a CD album. These albums have sleeves that will protect your discs, provide a space to put the cover art and they’re an easy way to peruse your collection. Store CD albums on their edge so that the CDs are not subject to undue weight which may crack them.
- VINYL LPs: While it’s always fun to listen to an old record on a record player, it’s not always feasible to have a large collection of albums because of how much space they take up. Like CDs, you can put your vinyl collection onto your computer. Album converters are record players that plug into your computer, so that you can convert your albums into digital files. Records have recently become very collectible items, especially when they’re rare or in excellent condition, so it makes sense to store your albums away for safekeeping. The Lock Up Self Storage climate controlled units are a great solution for avid music collectors or professional DJs who love vinyl. Your records will be protected from heat and humidity. When you move your vinyl into a Lock Up Self Storage unit, be sure to use a sturdy storage shelf. You can fit about 68 records stored vertically per foot of shelving. This ends up being about 30 pounds per linear foot, so your shelving must be able to hold heavy weights or your pristine record collection could end up on the floor in bits and pieces. Never store your records in a stack as this will warp and possibly crack them rendering them useless. You want to store them upright and vertical, like books, making sure to not let them lean at an angle.
Do you have any suggestions for storing your music collection? Share them here!