Published
Thu, Jun 4, 2015, 01:09
- Record manufacturers in Vermont and Oregon will seek to provide label owners with options in a crowded market.
Music-minded entrepreneurs have launched two new vinyl pressing plants in the US—Cascade Record Pressing in Oregon and Burlington Record Plant in Vermont.
The news comes as the growing market for vinyl and the increasing popularity of Record Store Day hampers release schedules for many US vinyl labels. Mahssa Taghinia of the Los Angeles record store and record distributor Mount Analog told RA pressing plants are routinely delayed "three to four months" due to increased demand. Less than 20 vinyl manufacturers currently exist in the US and the equipment used to make records is often antiquated or disused.
Justin Crowther of Burlington Record Plant told Vermont Public Radio: "They haven’t made a press since, I think, the early 1970s. You get what you can get and rebuild them. We found these in Germany." Cascade, located a short drive from downtown Portland, found their six presses at the "now-shuttered Rip-V plant in Canada," according to the Portland Mercury. Meanwhile, established outlets like Bill Smith Custom Records in California have added a third shift to speed up orders.