According to manufacturer Harm Theunisse of Symcon, the demand for LPs is increasing by more than 10 percent annually. This trend is not limited to the Netherlands. Last month, the . reported Record Industry Association of America that for the first time since 1986, sales of vinyl records in the US had surpassed $1 billion.
“Corona was a madhouse,” says Fred Maessen, co-owner of record store De Waaghals in Nijmegen. “We are of course very happy with the renewed love for records, but the waiting times are terrible. You used to have tight release dates, now not anymore.”
This not only has consequences for the customers, but also for the artists. “Young talent who does not have the backing of major labels finds it difficult to intervene. The threshold to have a record made is higher, because it is much more expensive. That also has consequences for a tour, because stages ask whether you have a product what you can promote.”
Jack White started his own pressing plant
Many record presses closed their doors twenty years ago because demand declined. Artists say they suffer because their release dates and part of the revenue are related to the release of a record.
This includes Jack White, who started his own press in 2017 and last month called on major record labels to do the same:
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