Record pressing plant set to tap into vinyl resurgence: Waxing on about the vinyl resurgence may be old news to some, but for Gerry McGhee, capitalizing on the trend has meant a troublesome, years-long quest to open a new vinyl pressing plant in Southern Ontario. From searching the world for record-making machines to construction delays and cutting through bureaucratic red tape, it has been three long years, but McGhee can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Or will be able to after this weekend.
The vinyl reckoning: Inside Britain’s biggest record factory as global sales are set to spin past a BILLION dollars: The Vinyl Factory in Hayes, west London, is the largest vinyl pressing plant in the UK and produces up to 1.4 million records a year. The factory was founded in 2001 and has seen a 20 per cent increase in sales and production year on year with clients including Warner Music, Universal Music, Bjork’s label and their own label. Sales of vinyl records reached a 25 year high in 2016 when more than 3.2 million LPs were sold, a rise of 53 per cent on the previous year. Global sales of vinyl records will break through the one billion US dollar mark for the first time this century.
Glasgow Lives: Paul, 53, Isle of Cumbrae, owner of Record Fayre: When I left school, I started working in the Record Exchange at the bottom of Jamaica Street as part of the Youth Training Scheme (YTS). I got paid £27 a week. I thought it would do me for six months then I would get a job. That was 36 years ago. I always loved music as a kid and seeing the money that the chap who employed me was making made me think I could do the same. I was virtually running the shop at times for him, so I thought I could adapt to doing it for myself – I had gotten a lot of good experience.
Ontario slams brakes on last Sam the Record Man’s bid for tourism marker: The owner of the last Sam the Record Man in the country wants to turn his business into an official tourist attraction, but the province is singing a different tune. Once a cross-Canada chain with 140 locations, Sam the Record Man declared bankruptcy in 2001, the victim of stiff competition coupled with the advent of online music. A few franchises remained open, but now the only location left is at the Quinte Mall in Belleville, Ont. “It is a tourist destination,” store owner Spencer Destun told CBC Radio’s All In A Day.
That’s Right: Vinyl Records Are About To Become A Billion Dollar Industry. That’s The Latest Prediction From Deloitte, Who Exclusively Shared Their Data With Digital Music News: Looks like those beard-growing, wine-sipping hipsters were on to something. That is, a billion dollars worth of something. According to a game-smashing prediction released this morning, sales of vinyl records are set to become a billion dollar industry. That is, in 2017 after just seven years. Specifically, sales of records themselves will reach the $800-900 million-mark, with turntables and other accessories likely throwing things into 9-figures. After that, who knows how big this can go. The prediction was outlined in Deloitte’s just-issued ‘TMT Predictions’ report.
Mondo’s ‘Simon’s Quest’ Vinyl Will Slay Vampires and Your Record Collection: Everyone remembers Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest on Nintendo, but maybe not for the better. From farming endlessly for hearts, trecking back and forth to the same locations and to that goddamn cryptic tornado, Simon’s Quest may not have been the best game in the Castlevania series, but I think it was pretty ballsy of the game to introduce RPG elements and like Zelda II, it tried to do something different. If there is one thing we can say that is awesome about the game, it’s the soundtrack.
