News

Label says vinyl pressing delays are the “worst they’ve ever been”

“It takes up to 12 weeks until we get finished product”...

DJ Mag Staff
Tuesday, November 7, 2017 - 21:35

Labels are reporting major vinyl production delays. R&S stating the current delay at French vinyl manufacturing facility MPO is the “worst they’ve ever seen”.

MPO is one of Europe’s largest and oldest vinyl production facilities. While delays are not uncommon, the ongoing spike in consumer demand for vinyl has meant the current delays have been particularly disruptive for labels such as R&S, Kompakt, Hotflush and трип.

“MPO have offered apologies but they have made some bad business decisions this year," remarks Andy Whittaker of R&S to Resident Advisor. According to reports, the failure to increase production lines and unexpectedly high demand over the summer has led to frustrating lags in production.

Above Board Distribution proclaiming: "Our entire schedule is ripped apart. We've all been in the dark for weeks now. Many releases pencilled in for 2017 are pushed back into 2018 with no further notice." 

Kompakt’s Michael Mayer telling Resident Advisor that the delays at MPO are emblematic of larger concerns across the industry: “Ten years ago, the turnaround of record was three-to-four weeks. That was before the majors discovered that they can make a fast buck with vinyl reissues. Now it takes up to 12 weeks until we get finished product. MPO should not be finger pointed here as Kompakt is working with a larger array of pressing plants—big and small, new and established. We find that none of them work significantly faster."

Vinyl sales will likely surpass 10 million during 2017, with UK sales up 1500% over the last decade. The market bouncing back enough for Sainsbury’s to get into the business.