Vinyl records now in crisis: Apollo Transco Mastering lacquer plant is a total loss*

Fair enough. I was trying to make an analogy on how serious this situation has turned and it was the only one that I can think of.

 

The Abbey Road guy does not seem to be concerned. At least that is the impression I got from reading the interview.

 

tell me about it!

 

It is serious for record fans like us. At least we have DMM.

 

If you read the last two sentences, it's a very startling prophecy:

One of the steps in the production process will fail eventually. If this happens because an entire industry is busy manufacturing the flea market records of the future, it wouldn’t be an adequate end for the vinyl record.

 

what does that even mean? that the industry is being stupid by making new records by new artists, when they should be making another classic rock dinosaur reissue that no one needs?

 

And people wonder why they are sick and tired of churning of unnecessary and arbitrary RSD titles from big labels. Unfortunately, there is going to be a lot of blame and complicity to go around with whole vinyl record trend.

However, I believe it's our short-sightedness and needing for gratification for the physical medium is probably what lead to this.

 

Recent price surge on some OOP reissues perhaps contradicts your statement.

 

May the vinyls be with you. Always.

 

Maybe, maybe not. Hindsight is 20/20. Nobody knows what album will become more coveted in the future. Nevertheless, for every single high-demand release, there are thousands upon thousands of records that are untouchable but that ultimately depends on the consumer themselves.

 

Well, this could be an opportunity to make all physical media, especially cds, audiophile. They gotta hype something.

I know Id certainly love to have all my audiophile lps done on a format that is quick and easy to produce. And cheaper.

“Vinyl Revival”...? Pfft.

Im waiting for...


“The Great CD Resuscitation”!



I know, too easy, theyd never go for that.

 

Can Jack White do anything about this? I can see him wearing a Superman suit, with his massive triceps bulging out. Can somebody call in Jack? I just have a feeling he's going to do something about this.

 

So true. Have a look at how many versions of some releases there are on discogs and what is available on ebay globally. It's crazy how much is out there for heritage artists.

I do agree that the endless represses should stop, but that is not the issue with using laquers, right? Isn't it likely that the metal stampers have been kept safe and sound, are they kept by the record labels?

The issue is with printing new vinyl right? Which, as one poster mentioned above, will impact upon the new vinyl collectors who don't have it in their dna yet, like we did, who grew up with 80s inferior flexidisc quality recycled ****e!

 

Right- I don't think it can happen in California period... there's a reason that guitar makers in California don't do nitrocellulose finishes.

 

I know the Jack White thing is a big joke, “hurrr durrr he loves the vinyls! someone give him a call!!” But honestly… he could be the best man for the job.

For starters, his net worth is probably higher than Apollo’s was. He can afford it.
He could buy out whatever’s left of Apollo, get their intellectual properties. Set up a new facility in some offsite warehouse, not too far from Third Man Pressing. Bring some more jobs to Detroit. Corner this segment of the market, have another profitable business venture under his belt… and best of all, he goes down in history as the guy who literally saved vinyl. I’m sure he’d love nothing more.

 

I wasn’t joking! Somebody call him and ask him what to do.

 

I don't know how small MDC in Japan is, nor do I know how big Furnace Record Pressing is, but the latter don't seem to be too concerned:

Apollo Masters, USA’s Only Lacquer Making Facility, Destroyed By Fire » Furnace Record Pressing

"Furnace has been using MDC lacquers from Japan exclusively since our inception and our supply will not be greatly affected by this loss."

 

Always!

 

new trumps old in my world. your mileage may vary.

anyway, people paying over list price on reissues don't have anyone to blame but themselves, for the most part. buy 'em when they're hot or pay the price.

 

I have to say I'm pretty distraught by all of this. Vinyl is basically my life after family and work. I'd even say records fulfill the spiritual needs in my life as I'm not religious.

I buy a lot of new music on vinyl for the better mastering, and I can't see switching to CD for my pop and indie fixes as the sound is so consistently wretched.

This is a real gut-punch. I'm growing more devastated as I have time to process the situation.

 

It's one thing to be a high-profile client for MDC, but it's another whole ballpark for those who directly purchase blank lacquer disks from Apollo Masters. There are probably a large segment of pressing plants and lacquer cutting engineers who aren't Steve Hoffman, Kevin Gray, or other high-profile names who don't deal with MDC.

As stated in multiple articles, MDC cannot bring in new clients due to the sheer demand for blank lacquer disks, especially high-quality ones at that. From what I read, there seems to be a high-level of rejected lacquer disks from Apollo Masters.

 

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Perhaps you missed my point. I was trying to explain that "nobody wants" is not a correct assumption.