A Big Problem with Vinyl Records - Reasons Why Artists Can’t Press Vinyl!

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Most of today’s albums start their lives in the digital sphere - as streaming albums and on CD.
But with Disc Makers’ new low vinyl prices, many artists want to put those albums on vinyl records. And when they do, they frequently run into one major roadblock that prevents their album from becoming a vinyl record.
In today’s quick video, Disc Makers CEO Tony van Veen discusses what that roadblock is and offers four ways to get around it.
If you’re contemplating doing a vinyl album, you owe it to yourself to watch this.
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[@AdrienMelody]

That gatefold jacket has my mouth watering! 🤩😂 Opening that thing up for the first time would be quite the dramatic experience for a passionate fan!

[@dondercole7763]

single jacket double wide spine - I love this conversation....

[@TheRocketz]

An option we have on the table is leaving off the cover tunes. That's a double savings because you need to purchase a license for each cover tune. Without covers our first vinyl would be 10 songs!

[@HowardBaileyMusic]

Another option is to do what we used to call "radio edits" and release shorter, condensed versions of some songs.

[@80sMusicJunkee]

I'm in the process of releasing my 6th album on vinyl. 😊

[@DangerousDevilOfficial]

Those color records are beautiful!

[@hitmanbluesband]

There's a few more points: Transporting albums to gigs (driving distance) and the space they take up on a merch table is a real consideration, especially for bands below the "we have a truck with roadies" level. And, if you're flying for gigs (across the country or overseas), you now have a pretty big additional expense just getting them to the gigs. Breakage. Traditionally, record companies deducted 10% for breakage. Yeah, it was BS, but there WAS a definite amount of breakage (although rarely 10%). Cost to fans. Vinyl is significantly more expensive, not only to produce but also to ship to you from the pressing company. So while it's $10@ when buying 100, there's also shipping costs, raising the price per album to somewhere around $12 - $13. Many albums are now selling for $25, putting it well beyond the merch "sweet spot" when playing gigs that may NOT be filled with your adoring fans who will support you. Playability. Realize that most people don't have a turntable, or if they do it's not hooked up to anything (like mine). Heck, a lot of people don't even have CD players anymore. Cars don't come with them, computers don't, laptops don't. So that cuts your potential market by a very large amount, with the possible exception of super fans who just want to buy your stuff. Add all of the points Tony mentioned, particularly the amount of music you can fit onto the album, and it's a real choice between "do we put all this money into making vinyl or do we use that money for promotion to try and sell our product?"

[@jedidiahgirio]

You're the man Tony! This stuff gives my life purpose to keep making music, and to keep the dream alive. God bless you brother!

[@onestonemedia6298]

Excellent advise Sir,Thank you and God bless 🙏🏽

[@jennifergreermusic]

For those of you who want to get to what the big roadblock is-- it's the time allowed on a vinyl album: 45 minutes. Good point to think about!

[@DonJaymor]

Beautiful translucent colors

[@shadowsearcy]

Thank you, Tony!!! I would think that selling the double album at a merch booth might be very appealing when autographed by the band.

[@tonyvv]

100%! It becomes an amazing keepsake for the fan. Best is to sign it on the spot, so fans get to meet you in the process.

[@HellHathNoFuryAtAll8]

One of my favorite bands never released any vinyls. I asked them if they did and I just missed it since I only discovered them years after the last album they released, but they said they never did because they were all too long. I’m sure they simply weren’t big/popular enough to justify the cost of a double album and probably didn’t want to split them up for various reasons. My favorite album by them is 54 minutes long, and every song leads into the next song, almost giving the album the feel of one big epic song cut into parts. I can certainly understand not wanting to cut that one up with how they did that, but man, I wish I could have that album on vinyl.

[@kingmediapro]

Thank you so much for the information that you share with us! It is always helpful, and interesting. Thank you again!

[@battledrumacoustica]

great info thank you... you did make me cringe a little the way you held the vinyl lol... thanks for communicating so well

[@tonyvv]

Haha, those records will never be played. Was just trying to get them out of the jacket as quickly as possible for the video. Sorry for causing you vinyl anxiety… 😉

[@chumpire]

I understand the time linits. I ordered rhe Euro jacket with random color choice. The records arrived in 6 weeks. The pleasant surprise was getting various colors! That is not a complaint. Now, the dead wax matrix ONLY reads MIC 00xx. That is ok, but does not reflect my catalog number. No biggie. It appears that it was cut in rhe US. That said, what pressing plant uses MIC as its id? My 30+ years of pressing experience always had my release number and pressing plant etched in the dead wax of records cut in the US. United. Alpha. Archer. Musicol. Rainbo. VRP. Softwax. Hellbender. Again, i am not complaining. I just want to know where my records were pressed since I could not pick them up and avoid the shipping charges.

[@tonyvv]

We use a couple of plants, don't know where your records were pressed. Over the past few years we've gotten away from using catalog numbers as identifiers, as it was not longer needed to track projects, and independent artists tend to not use them.

[@indominion]

I have a 5 song EP around 15 minutes in total. Would you consider producing 10' Vinyl for EP's? My only other option is a single sided LP since a 45 single wouldn't hold all the songs.

[@gameboycat05]

This

[@tonyvv]

At this time we do not press 10" vinyl because the demand is so low. You could consider doing a 12" 45 RPM.

[@buzzawuzza3743]

I very much want your company to press 100 copies of my bands album. We are nearly done recording it, just finishing some things up.

[@tonyvv]

We very much want to press your 100 records. 😉

[@mattstorch1972]

Because most albums start in the digital sphere as you say, do you recommend remastering them for vinyl production prior to print?

[@tonyvv]

Definitely. A digital master can produce an excellent sounding vinyl record if it’s well-mastered.

[@CutiePie-hh3gg]

CD can hold more than 80 minutes Guns N Roses Use Your Illusion albums are both over 80 minutes

[@stevelibby6852]

Most new vinyl is just a pressing of the CD, they are not even mastered for vinyl. It's a vanity disc, no?

[@23joanlee]

probably most if not all of the majors' releases are digital transfer dogshit but there are quite a number of independent bands that put out very fine vinyl merch. stuff that goes from direct from master to platter at the plant. people like michael gira/swans, melvins, will oldham, there are shit tons. nice packages, too. in a lot of cases you can order them directly from the artists, too. no supporting bullshit labels who rip off their artists and customers. and sometimes groovy bonus shit. gira autographs every one that's personally sold and lots of folks throw in stickers and all kinds of stuff that doesn't come w/ commercially pressed records. clipping hit me up w/ some cool stuff. mighta been everyone but it felt tacked on to a finished product. ???. ain't all that pricey. idk, if you love it like that, ya know?

[@soulslip]

@@23joanleeit depends on the music and how it’s recorded. If it’s all crap DAW harsh digital stuff... good luck getting a good vinyl out of it... if it is cut/pressed from an analog tape master and it was mixed and mastered for vinyl in mind from the get go, then it should sound better depending on who is doing that. Now I get that not everyone has that opportunity or know how, but if you really want a good vinyl quality, then that is the way to go. My band does that every time now with almost every song/album. They easily translate well to vinyl if done right on analog tape.

[@chumpire]

That decision is up to the band and label. Any recording can be mastered for any format.

[@gavriloprincip825]

Can i use picsart because i dont have photo shop

[@DiscMakers]

Hello, We are not familiar with picsart, but if you can output high resolution (300 DPI) PDFs form the program then we should be able to work with those files. 👍

[@D2theGRecords]

As an artist, whats next after purchasing this product? 100 vinyl records for $999. I would have to sell each vinyl for $10 a pop to break even correct? Whats the best option 1,2 or 3?

[@m.scottmcgahan9900]

Any new vinyl record that you buy from the shops or at a show is at least $18, sometimes up to $40, so if you're planning on selling your records for $10, you are selling yourself short.

[@tonyvv]

You should sell records for at least $20 a pop, and could easily sell for $25, even $30 at concerts. If you sell your records at $25 each at concerts, you'd need to sell 40 records to make $1000 in sales.

[@indominion]

Sign em and sell em for $50. Don't you realize you are a superstar?

[@GladeSwope]

Maybe someone will invent the "LP-R" (A one-off lathe for home use - They used to have them for 78s!) I have also seen LPs much longer than 45 minutes, using some tricks. I once had a classical music LP that was more than 30 minutes per side. It was mastered at a very low volume and had problems with skipping.

[@tonyvv]

1. There are some companies out there who will cut you a single record. However, it won't sound good. 2. Yes, you certainly CAN cut longer sides, but they will require significant compromises in sound levels and EQ, and they do indeed come with a greater skipping risk.