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| Photo courtesy of Clint Billington, Victory Records |
A decade of
skyrocketing vinyl record sales has had unintended consequences for a
key constituent: It is much harder for small local labels to get records
made.
The data show more and more records selling, but those numbers represent only a small part of total music sales, around 5 percent in 2015. And that proportion is not enough to justify an expansion for the companies that press records using an expensive, old-fashioned industrial process. So the small number of record presses in the U.S. (there are fewer than 20) operate around the clock sometimes to keep up with demand. And local labels are feeling the pressure.
Los Angeles-based Rainbo Records runs its presses 24 hours a day, typically six days a week, according to Steve Sheldon, president of the company. Their newest press is 40 years old. If a part breaks and they don't have a replacement stored on their shelves, it has to be made, which is costly. Rainbo said it presses about 7 million records a year, compared with five years ago, when it was half of that.
The data show more and more records selling, but those numbers represent only a small part of total music sales, around 5 percent in 2015. And that proportion is not enough to justify an expansion for the companies that press records using an expensive, old-fashioned industrial process. So the small number of record presses in the U.S. (there are fewer than 20) operate around the clock sometimes to keep up with demand. And local labels are feeling the pressure.
Los Angeles-based Rainbo Records runs its presses 24 hours a day, typically six days a week, according to Steve Sheldon, president of the company. Their newest press is 40 years old. If a part breaks and they don't have a replacement stored on their shelves, it has to be made, which is costly. Rainbo said it presses about 7 million records a year, compared with five years ago, when it was half of that.
