Stephen M. H. Braitman is an Accredited Senior Appraiser of the American Society of Appraisers. He is also a member of the Association of Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC).
Stephen has been involved with records and music since the late 60s. He started dealing in music in the mid-70s, buying and selling records, posters, and related items through swap meets, conventions, private sales, and on-line auctions.
His acknowledged expertise in music and memorabilia makes his appraisal service an important component of estate planning, charitable contribution, and insurance coverage and claims. As far as he knows, he is the only appraiser with expertise in music memorabilia who has formal training in the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP).
Professional Education:
- September 2004 — ASA Principles of Appraisal Practice and Code of Ethics
- March 2005 — USPAP for Personal Property Appraisers
- March 2005 — Introduction to Personal Property Valuation
- April 2006 — Personal Property Valuation Methodology – Research and Analysis
- September 2006 — Personal Property Valuation Methodology – Report Writing
- November 2006 — Personal Property Valuation – The Legal and Commercial Environment
- February 2009 — Appraisal Report Writing Seminar
- September 2010 — Estate Tax and Charitable Contributions
- May 2012 — USPAP for Personal Property Appraisers [reaccreditation]
- February 2014 — Appraisal Report Preparation: Meeting New USPAP Requirements
- August 2014 — Advancement approved to Accredited Senior Appraiser status
- March 2018 — Seven-Hour Personal Property USPAP Course
- March 2018 – PP135-WEB – Valuation and Legal Aspects of Charitable Contributions
- July 2018 – US015 – 15-Hour USPAP for Personal Property
- November 2018 – LPP139-WEB – Advanced Topics for Charitable Contributions
- October 2019 – PP146-WEB – Recent Issues Regarding Charitable Contributions
- January 2020 – PP143-WEB – What’s New in USPAP 2020
- April 2020 – Art and Archives: Three Perspective – Challenges & Insights
- June 2020 – The Art of Testifying Remotely
- June 2020 – The Value Of Fame: Valuing Hollywood & Rock ‘n’ Roll Memorabilia
- July 2020 – PP445 – Personal Property Report Writing: Update for Appraisers
- September 2020 – Expert Witness Workshop & Mock Trial
- September 2020 – ABCs of Testimony: Attorney Tricks and Witness Traps
- July 2021 – BV518-WEB – A Thriller: The Estate of Michael Jackson
- December 2021 – Fair Market Value: Appraising Personal Property for Non-Cash Charitable Contributions and Estates
- February 2022 – P151-WEB Is Fair Value Fair?
Background
Under the influence of his father, Stephen had a strong classical music upbringing from early childhood. However, when he purchased his first turntable in 1968, the albums he bought were: The Beatles^ White Album, Tim Buckley^s Goodbye and Hello, and Beacon From Mars by Kaleidoscope.
Stephen started writing about music as a young teenager in Los Angeles and has since reviewed and interviewed many recording artists, including Joni Mitchell, Electric Light Orchestra, Neil Young with Crazy Horse, Jean-Luc Ponty, Blood Sweat & Tears, Richard Pryor, The Who, Melanie, Ravi Shankar, Pere Ubu, B.B. King, Judy Collins, Dave Van Ronk, Pentangle, The Band, Giant Sand, Richie Havens and Tim Buckley.
Since his college days he has been publisher and editor of numerous publications based in the San Francisco Bay Area, including Musician^s News, City Arts Monthly, Key This Week San Francisco, Rolling Your Own, Entertainment News and SF Live.
Stephen was a Contributing Writer for Alternative Press for ten years, writing features and reviews on bands and musicians ranging from Apples in Stereo to Zuzu^s Petals. He has contributed on a free-lance basis to many other publications, including the Los Angeles Times, Marin Independent Journal, New Times, Antique Trader, Sunset, San Francisco Chronicle, New York Times, San Francisco Focus and Electronic Musician, among others.
His record company, Amorous Records, released records and promoted gigs throughout California for the new wave bands Silhouette, House of Pants and Times Beach.
Stephen is a major collector of records and music paraphernalia, owning tens of thousands of LPs, CDs, 45s, photographs, magazines, and other memorabilia. Genres include rock, classical, folk, world, punk, and comedy. His collection has been used as an archival resource for many organizations, including Rhino Records, Sundazed, Ace (U.K.), MCA Records, and the Neil Young Archives project. He was a major contributor of posters and flyers for the publication of the popular book, The Art of Rock (Abbeville Press). Items from his collection are on display in the San Francisco Museum of Performance & Design. Photographs from his archive are featured in the noted series of books by Paul Williams about Bob Dylan^s performing career.
He is a member of the Editorial Board for the Goldmine record price guide series published by Krause Publications.
Stephen also is a Music Analyst for Gracenote, Inc., the digital media company, in Emeryville, CA.