Published
Fri, Feb 24, 2017, 20:22
- 7-inches from Derrick May and Carl Craig will be sold at tomorrow's grand opening ceremony.
Third Man Pressing will open in Detroit tomorrow, February 25th.
Third Man founder Jack White (of The White Stripes) currently calls Nashville home, but he's remained invested in his Motor City hometown, opening a Cass Corridor retail store in 2015. White's been a huge proponent of vinyl through his Third Man imprint, often pressing up novelty records—such as a 12-inch containing a 7-inch inside—and recording bands live to wax at in-store events in Nashville and Detroit.
Now, White's started the first Detroit record pressing plant since Archer Record Pressing opened its doors in 1965. He's acquired eight new machines and all steps from recording to retail (except for plating) can be completed on site. Third Man Pressing will be taking outside orders, can press up to 15,000 records a day and will start out with 16 full-time staffers, many of them recruited from the Detroit music scene.
Tomorrow's grand opening will feature discs from Detroit rock bands MC5 and The Stooges hot off the presses, as well as the first-ever 7-inches from Carl Craig and Derrick May. The Detroit Free Press reports there will be a viewing area looking out onto the 10,000 square foot factory, which is adjacent to the existing Third Man store.
Ben Blackwell, whose band the Dirtbombs once released a cover of "Sharevari," oversees Third Man's vinyl operation. He says they started Third Man Pressing as a way to skirt long delays due to vinyl's recent industry-wide resurgence. (The format now accounts for 6.5% of total music sales.) In a nod to the long-running Archer, Blackwell told the Free Press, "We're not trying to take anyone's business. We're just trying to make sure artists have multiple options."