Monday, February 10, 2020

How an LP is made

Lots of confusion I suspect about how the Apollo Masters fire will impact record production. It's not about pressing plants, it's the actual supply of the nitrocellulose lacquers that is disrupted. Seems the industry was super-reliant on this one plant and developing a new supplier or hoping Apollo can make a quick comeback ignores many of the issues involved in manufacturing this stuff now.

The following video might be helpful:

Sunday, February 9, 2020

Blow for the resurgent vinyl industry

If it makes the WSJ then it's probably big news. A fire at Apollo Masters, one of only two plants in the world that manufacture lacquers for pressing (and the other has no spare capacity) will likely impact the industry negatively. Some are calling it a catastrophe, some the death knell for a fragile niche product, and while we have no way of knowing what's ahead, you can certainly expect the cost of records to rise. Oh, and if you were tired of the same old titles before this, expect it to be even worse going forward.  Fortunately nobody was injured it seems but for those of us who love our records, the future just got a little darker. Here's hoping someone with resources can see an opportunity here.