The way in which we consume music is changing rapidly. Streaming is king, growing at a voracious rate, but there is another sector of sonic consumption experiencing growth. Vinyl is the only other music format that continues to generate revenue; streaming royalties are not enough to form an artist’s income, leaving vinyl as one of the few lucrative platforms for artists to release music.

So how does the demand for vinyl get met? Hand Drawn Records in Dallas is set to begin construction this fall on the first automated pressing plant in more than 30 years. Their hope is to simplify every aspect of the turnaround process for artists. Standard production runs can take up to 6 months to complete, and do not meet demand. Most times, artists run out of inventory online and at shows, and in some cases, don’t have enough copies of their releases to meet demand. Old-line production facilities, using technology from the ’60s and ’70s, are overwhelmed.

Partnering with Vinyl Technologies, Hand Drawn Records is looking to press 1 million records per year once the plant is completed.

“We want to encourage more artists to consider pressing vinyl, but without all the hassle,” said Hand Drawn founder Dustin Blocker. “Musicians want to focus on playing their instruments and connecting with fans, not learning all the nuances of the vinyl record manufacturing process.”

The lower-waste and highly automated pressing technology isn’t the only good thing to happen to vinyl in the last year. The quality of LPs is also improving. In fact, high definition vinyl has already received patent protection.

Via: Digital Music News

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Tags: technology, vinyl

Categories: News