Why We Built RecordRoom
RecordRoom was created by longtime friends, physical-music collectors, and IT professionals Trevor Cobain and Keith Johnston. Their goal was to build a practical collection system that could remain simple or capture detailed information about the exact release and the collector's own copy from the start.
“Built by collectors for collectors” describes the experience behind RecordRoom as much as the product itself.
Trevor and Keith have shared music and collected physical media for more than 30 years. Each also brings more than 15 years of professional experience in the IT industry.
As their collections grew, they found themselves asking questions familiar to many collectors:
Do I already own this?
Which release do I have?
Where did I put it?
Why do I own this twice?
What did I pay for this?
They wanted those questions to be easy to answer. They also believed collectors should not have to choose between simplicity and meaningful detail.
That idea became RecordRoom.
Simple by default. Detailed when you want it.
RecordRoom adapts to the way you collect.
One item may need only an artist, title, format, and storage location. Another may begin with the exact release, condition, purchase history, photographs, notes, estimated value, and information about the collector’s own copy.
A collector can create a useful record quickly or begin immediately with detailed information about the exact release and their own copy. The same person may use different levels of detail for different items.
RecordRoom does not require every collector—or every item—to follow the same process. The collector decides what matters.
That flexibility is central to the product: approachable when simplicity is enough, but capable of supporting greater precision whenever it is wanted.
Built around the music people actually own
RecordRoom recognizes that an album, a specific release, and the physical copy on a collector’s shelf are related but not identical.
A particular copy may have its own condition, location, purchase history, photographs, notes, and story. RecordRoom keeps that information connected while allowing the collector to decide how much of it to document.
It is also designed for physical music across formats—not only vinyl. Records, CDs, cassettes, box sets, video releases, older formats, and other physical media can live together in one collection.
Whether someone is documenting one shelf, importing an existing catalog, or gradually working through a collection built over decades, RecordRoom is designed to be useful at the pace and level of detail that works for them.
What makes RecordRoom different
RecordRoom brings flexibility and meaningful detail into the same collection system without requiring every collector to catalog the same way.
Collectors can search for an album, review likely matches, choose the appropriate release, add the information that matters, and save it to their collection. They can also document an exact release and their own copy in depth from the beginning.
Trevor and Keith believe this makes RecordRoom a better fit for collectors who want control over their information without being forced into one rigid cataloging method.
RecordRoom is collection-first rather than marketplace-first. Collectors may record purchase prices and their own estimated values, but the product is centered on organizing, documenting, finding, and enjoying the physical music they own.
Collecting experience backed by IT expertise
Trevor and Keith’s collecting experience is backed by long careers in the IT industry.
Keith leads RecordRoom’s software development and technical direction, drawing on extensive experience with IT systems, software, and digital products.
Trevor brings experience in IT services, client relationships, business development, and partnerships. He focuses on RecordRoom’s business strategy, industry outreach, and conversations with collectors.
Together, they bring technical expertise, business experience, and firsthand collecting experience to the product.
RecordRoom was created to solve a problem its founders understood personally—and to approach that problem in a way they believed would work better for many collectors.
RecordRoom’s Public Beta is designed to give collectors access to the core product while Trevor and Keith continue testing and improving it. Feedback from collectors will help shape what comes next.
Physical-music collections are personal. The system used to document them should respect that.
That is why Trevor Cobain and Keith Johnston built RecordRoom.
Your music. Your collection. Your RecordRoom.