It’s no industry secret that there is still a shortage of vinyl pressing plants today. While independent artists and labels carried along the vinyl industry for the past decade or two, it wasn’t until in recent years when major labels jumped on the increase of vinyl record sales and began securing pressing contracts en masse. While artists like Taylor Swift and Adele have seen their vinyl sales skyrocket, independent artists have had to deal with months-long waits to get their records pressed. Jack White, who famously owns Detroit’s Third Man Records pressing plant, recently issued a call to action to all major labels to strongly consider building their own production facilities in order to counteract this economic effect. And while they’re not doing that yet, monthly record subscription service Vinyl Me, Please is.
The Boulder, Colorado-based company has begun construction on a massive 14,000-square-foot facility in Denver that is, according to Billboard, an “audiophile-grade” plant that is set to “open by year end for production, tours, and special events.” For context, Third Man Records in Detroit is a 10,000-square-foot warehouse, so VMP’s location is considerably larger.
Billboard reported last year that VMP had 80,000 subscribers, a figure that was steadily growing. It’s unclear whether the facility will be manufacturing records that won’t be sold exclusively to VMP customers, but a press release indicated that it will be an “experiential space” that lets visitors see the process of how records are made; almost like an open kitchen, but instead of food, they’ll be cooking vinyl.