With vinyl sales increasing 32 percent last year with 6.1 million LPs sold, the supply hasn't quite met up with the demand for newly pressed vinyl. One problem is the production capacity of the plants that press them. Many plants have closed down and sold their old presses for parts, but one plant is making plans for expansion. Nashville's United Record pressing plant, made famous for pressing Jack White's vinyl efforts, is ready for more space and more presses.
According to The Tennessean (via SPIN), the company is undergoing a $5.5 million expansion housed in a newly purchased 142,000-square-foot warehouse which will include the addition of 16 presses and more storage space to meet the growing demand. United Record is currently the biggest plan in the country with 30 presses running 24 hours a day, six days a week.
A grand total of 46 presses will be running by the time United Record Pressing's expansion is complete.
As SPIN notes, independent record stores saw a 11.2 percent increase this year for the week of Record Store Day with some stores reporting their best days ever. Get ready for vinyl to become more readily available.
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