The growing popularity of streaming has hastened the music industry’s long-term decline, and therefore, the resurgence of vinyl has been a bright spot in an otherwise uncertain industry. However, 2020 and 2021 have proven particularly difficult for artists, labels and distributors that rely on vinyl sales.
Coming off raw material supply chain issues during the peak of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic in 2020, operators have had to contend with another unique setback: the destruction of Apollo Masters Corp. (Apollo Masters). Apollo Masters, one of just two plants worldwide that produced the lacquer master discs necessary for nearly all commercial vinyl releases, experienced a devastating fire and closed shop in early 2021. The confluence of events has caused significant LP manufacturing delays for even the most popular artists, having an outsize effect on indie labels that rely the most heavily on vinyl sales for revenue.
Pressing pressure
The Record Store Day (RSD) Black Friday event is a relatively new way to measure the music industry’s health. The annual promotion features exclusive vinyl releases to physical retailers. Significantly, RSD’s website lists 12 Black Friday titles postponed to December, with a further 22 pushed to 2022. In fact, only 111 vinyl titles were produced for the event in 2021, a seven-year low and a far cry from the historic peak of 176 in 2019 just prior to the pandemic. The lower title list is reflective of the newfound difficulty in procuring plates, particularly in anticipation of an industry-wide deadline.
Some operators have used alternative cutting methods and formats to tide revenue over. Indie label Joyful Noise Recording has relied on real-time lathe cutting to avoid delays, though this method can drastically increase labor costs. Other operators have switched to direct metal mastering, which uses copper rather than lacquer, though its expensive nature renders it more viable for larger labels. Furthermore, in 2021, eight cassettes and CDs will be released for RSD Black Friday, the highest number of non-vinyl titles in five years, likely due to the formats’ affordability and accessibility.
Signs of expansion
Despite struggles, the upcoming Black Friday event demonstrates signs of an expanding market for vinyl and recovery moving forward. For instance, in 2018, the historic peak of release titles, only 327,225 records were pressed. Comparatively, operators have pressed 330,925 copies in preparation for Black Friday 2021 despite offering 27.5% fewer titles. Additionally, the average number of records pressed per title has increased an annualized 9.4% over the five years to 2021. In fact, an average of 2,981 copies will be pressed per title in 2021, compared with an average of 2,242 in 2020, representing a 33.0% year-over-year increase.
The fallout from the Apollo Masters fire continues to plague the industry, but demand for vinyl grows. In response, operators have used their pressing plates more frequently, prioritizing stock on hand rather than rare, price-premium releases. Optimistically, this reinforces the narrative that vinyl’s expanding popularity is continuing unabated despite setbacks, and the music industry is poised to experience the windfalls once long-term solutions are found.
