Help & Support
How-to guides, frequently asked questions and contact details for The Lead-In — adding records, valuations, leaderboards, importing your collection and more.
Frequently asked questions
- Is The Lead-In free to use?
- Yes. Reading the deep dives and their essays is free, and creating an account to track and value your collection is free too.
- Do I need an account to read the site?
- No. The whole publication is open to read without signing in. You only need an account to save a collection, get valuations and appear on the leaderboards.
- How accurate are the valuations?
- Valuations are indicative estimates based on the specific pressing you own and the condition you set, drawn from public marketplace data and editorial judgement. They are a useful guide, not formal appraisals or investment advice.
- Why does my new record say Pending valuation?
- When you add a record we queue it for pricing. That usually settles within about 48 hours, after which its estimated value and value chart appear automatically.
- How do I work out which pressing I own?
- Open the Pressing Guide and use the runout/matrix identifier: type the artist, the title and the code etched into the record's run-out groove exactly as it appears, and we'll match it to the catalogued pressing with current prices.
- Are my collection and ranking public?
- Your records are; your name is only attached if you choose. Every collection on the site can be opened by anyone — the records, their condition and their estimated value. What you control is the name on it: stay anonymous and you appear as an artist alias drawn from what you collect, like “Anonymous Coltrane”, with your display name and the date you joined never shown. Go public and your own name is on the shelf and on the board.
- What are likes and follows on the Community page?
- On the Community page you can like a collector's shelf or the records they've just added, and follow collectors so their new records appear under Following. You need an account with at least one record. The collector you liked or followed is told it was you, under your name if your shelf is public or your alias if it's anonymous; nobody else is shown who liked or followed whom, only the counts. If another collector likes or follows your shelf we email you about it at most once a day, and you can turn just those emails off from a link in any of them or under Email in Account settings.
- Can I choose a picture for my collector profile?
- Yes. Every collector profile has a picture, drawn as a record. To begin with it is the sleeve of the first record in your front ten, or of your most valuable record if you have not chosen a front ten. To change it, open your own shelf from Community (or Account settings, Profile picture) and use the link under your picture: pick any record you own, starting from suggestions drawn from your collection, or one of the label designs. There are no uploads, so a picture is always a record or a label. A picture you choose while your shelf is public is not carried over if you go anonymous, and the other way round, so it can never link your name to your alias.
- Can I import my collection from Discogs or a spreadsheet?
- Yes. Use Import in My Collection and upload a CSV. A Discogs export works well — include as many columns as you can for the best matches.
- How do I change my email, password or display name?
- Sign in, open the account menu in the top-right and choose Account settings, where you can update your details and manage your account.
- How do I delete a record, or my whole account?
- You can remove individual records at any time. To delete your account and all associated data, email luca@thelead-in.com and we'll take care of it.
- I found a mistake in an essay, scorecard or pressing detail. What should I do?
- Tell us — email luca@thelead-in.com with the album and what's wrong, and we'll review it.
- How do I unsubscribe from emails?
- Every email we send has an unsubscribe link at the bottom — one click and you're off the list. You can also email us and we'll remove you.
- Do you use affiliate links?
- No. There are no affiliate links on the site at the moment — we don't sell records and we don't earn anything from where you buy one. If that ever changes we'll say so plainly, and it will never influence our verdicts or what we write.
Still need a hand? Email luca@thelead-in.com and a real person will get back to you.
© The Lead-In · an independent, reader-supported music publication.