Saturday, May 16, 2009


photo of Heather McDonald

Heather's Music Careers Blog

By Heather McDonald, About.com Guide to Music Careers

Reader Response: Do You Press Vinyl?

Thursday May 14, 2009

Here's what we know: CD sales are falling. MP3 sales are rising, but not at a high enough rate to offset the loss in CD sales. Everyone spends a lot of time talking about those two facts, but one thing that often gets overlooked in discussions about the future of the music biz is the fact that vinyl sales are skyrocketing. In fact, vinyl is taking off so much that Best Buy has recently decided to start selling records in all of their stores. (Not that I am advocating buying music at Best Buy, for crying out loud. Please don't.)

What does the increased public appetite for vinyl mean to labels and musicians? It's not as easy as, "well, let's press up some records". Vinyl is expensive. Muy expensive. Even if you know that more records are moving these days, that doesn't mean that pressing them up is always a good investment. Depending on how fancy schmancy you get with your sleeve and the quality of vinyl you pick, you could sell your entire pressing and end up in the hole. (Like New Order's Blue Monday 12". Every copy sold cost Factory Records money). So, my question to you, dear readers, is - have you reconsidered your vinyl strategy? Have you decided that pressing up some records is worth the investment? If so, has it worked?

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