Whether you’re a small label owner or an independent artist, there are multiple benefits to releasing your music on vinyl. Physical products can help fund future projects, expand your audience, and take your music to the next level. And on top of that, vinyl production is becoming more eco-friendly too. To help navigate the pressing issues many new artists face, we spoke to some of industry’s leading experts at this year’s The Great Escape Festival in Brighton, UK.
Vinyl Alliance general manager Ryan Mitrovich spoke to James Stafford, head of manufacturing at Republic of Music; Karen Emanuel, CEO of Key Production; and John Newton from the band JOHN, asking the big questions to understand how independent artists can press ahead.
There’s never been a better time to release on vinyl. According to the Digital Entertainment & Retailers Association (ERA), between 2022 and 2023 the revenue generated from vinyl sales increased by 18%. That comes on the back of 16-years of consecutive growth within the UK, not to mention other territories across the world.
But don’t just take it from us. The revenue made from releasing music on vinyl has helped multiple independent artists venture forward in their careers. This was the case for John Newton, who plays as one half of the UK rock band JOHN.
“When we released our first record, we knew that if we were going to take it out on the road and get on that merch table afterwards, it would pay off,” Newton explains about the band’s decision to press their first vinyl release.
And he was right; the record was a success. After self-financing their first release, the band used the money they generated from the sales of their first record to help play more gigs, and set up their own label, Pets Care Records.
“We aren’t a band that is necessarily geared up to be a commercial success, but the sales from the live shows, and through Bandcamp, enabled us to carry on doing new things for the next ten years,” Newton further explained. “It’s been a really important revenue stream, pushing the project forward to be able to play some of the festivals and to help us make another album. For us, it’s always been the case of having this to provide the money to make new things and, and be excited about that creative process.”
Vinyl releases are not just important financially, but they are also instrumental in creating a fanbase, and attracting a new audience who would normally be streaming music, i.e. digital natives.
“It’s really important that as an artist, you realize that by selling physical products, particularly vinyl, you will earn more than with streaming,” explained Key Production’s Emanuel. “This is one of the reasons that people are buying records, because they know it’s better for the artist. They want to feel close to the artist, and feel part of the whole process.”
“We did a survey and found that 18 to 24 year olds were by far the biggest demographic that were regularly buying vinyl”
For bands such as JOHN, vinyl sales are part of a growing consumer trend. And it’s not limited to the big name artists – the independent sector has benefitted from the trend as well.
“Indies accounted for 29.2% of the album-equivalent sales last year, according to the BPI’s [British Phonographic Industry] figures, were which is up a third from where it was in 2017,” explains Republic of Music’s Stafford. “And of that, 39% of vinyl LP sales were from independent artists. So it’s important to understand that for indie artists and indie labels, vinyl is extra important.”
One of the factors for this, is the changing demographic of the record buying public, with more and more young consumers turning to vinyl. Indeed, in order to build longevity in an artist’s fanbase, younger consumers need to be brought on board. And the secret to achieving this is through vinyl.
“We did a survey and found that 18 to 24 year olds were by far the biggest demographic that were regularly buying vinyl,” states Emanuel from Key Production. “And this younger demographic are not just putting it on the walls for display, but they’re actually buying it and playing it.”
Many younger fans are also aware that buying vinyl puts more money directly in the pockets of the artists they want to support. And that’s an explicit part of the appeal. “I think it’s really important that, as an artist, you realize that selling physical product, particularly vinyl, is going to get you a lot more money than, for example, streaming. The people that buy records know this,” confirms Emanuel. “Again, I think that is one of the reasons people are buying records. They know it’s better for the artist and they want to feel close to the artist, own something, feel part of the whole process.”
Pressed for Publishing
As an independent artist or label, it’s easier said than done to go ahead and release music on vinyl. And once the records are pressed, they don’t go and sell themselves. We were interested to know how those first conversations go, when an artist considers releasing on vinyl.
“Having someone like James is incredibly helpful when there’s a bit of a risk at the start,” Newton says, about his relationship with Republic of Music’s Stafford. Newton and Stafford have collaborated together on multiple projects, producing their vinyl releases, and ensuring all production and design requirements are met.
“As a band, JOHN know what they want, which is great. But that’s not the case with a lot of artists,” explains Stafford. “When you’re starting out, you may be asking, how much music can I fit on a record? How do I make it sound as good as possible? Do I need mastering? Do I want colored vinyls or heavyweight vinyl? Is there a sustainable way of doing it? All of these things can sort of tag into the process.”
One of the trickiest questions is how many records should be pressed during an initial run.
“Critically, when we start off, we’re looking at maybe 300 or 500 copies for a start-out artist,” James explains about working with a new client. “Because of the way the economics work, the per unit cost of 300 is really expensive. 500 is really still expensive, but nowhere near as expensive. But do you want to take the risk on having 2-300 copies of this record that you cannot sell because it’s your first? It comes down to, if we’re putting it to retail, how many do you think retail are going to take? How many do the band want for their own DTC tools? All of those aspects tie in.”
“Plants are willing to spend more time with you and look at what you’re able to do”
While there may not be a recipe for getting to that magic first-run number, as lead-times have come down and pressing plant capacity has opened up, there may be more leeway to get smaller orders made. Says Emanuel, “During the great vinyl crisis, pressing plants refused to press less than 500. Now they will bend over backwards to help you out, which also means that there’s some really sort of interesting variants coming out and things like that. Plants are willing to spend more time with you and look at what you’re able to do.”
For Newton, recalling his experience getting the first JOHN album pressed on vinyl, “The amounts were a case of, this is literally all we can afford.” Newton emphasized needing to be creative and make compromises with those first decisions. “This is probably heresy to people working in plants, but we actually made choices like not doing cling film and putting our own posters in, because I knew a guy who worked in a print shop and I could fold them all. Which logistically doesn’t make sense, but these were all the things that actually made it possible.”
From Newton’s point of view, “You don’t get taught this at school, so it’s really learning on your feet. With all of these little details, it takes going through the process to learn, really. And having someone who knows this stuff, like James, is incredibly helpful when it is a bit of a risk at the start.”
Whether its 50, 100, or 300 units, once you’ve got your initial run of records in-hand, the first (and often overlooked) question is where to store them. “Remember, vinyl’s great because it’s a big format that is lovely to look at. But then you put a lot in a box. It’s big, it’s heavy, and it takes up a lot of space. So it’s all things that you got to kind of consider,” comments Stafford.
The focus then shifts to getting them in the hands of fans. Taking them out on tour is a must. “Get on that merch table afterwards, do the job, ” urges Newton, who estimates allocating 10-20 records per show as a rough suggestion. Setting up digital distribution through an indie-friendly platform like Bandcamp can also help, both with vinyl and any other types of merch.
The biggest recommendation from our panel? Embrace your local shops.
“A lot of artists will think oh, I don’t need to worry about the shops, that will just take care of itself,” remarks Stafford. “And there’s a constant conversation of, no, if you just work with them they’re so helpful. Once they’re on your side, they can be so useful because they’ve got such an audience built in. It’s that classic thing of the guy behind the record counter is going to be the person that is recommending something to somebody and it might be your record. And the more shops start, the stronger that network effect becomes as well. It’s just so important.”
For Newton, that meant getting out and pounding the pavement. “I had received a list of shops and just, you know, put a basic sales document together and contacted people,” he says. “And I was pleasantly surprised when people were like, yeah, we’ll take five copies of this. That has built into a beautiful network where now, whenever you tour in a city, you can pop into these places like second homes.”
“What some young musicians don’t realize is these places are real tastemakers. There are great initiatives in shops, whether that be end of year lists or just little promotional posters or in-store shows. It’s been great to become really good friends, and just be down and dirty in those shops with those people who have a real passion for music. It builds a direct contact from artists to the kind of storefront.”
Moving the Needle
Part of the appeal for artists in releasing on vinyl, is the extent to which vinyl materials and manufacturing processes are becoming more sustainable. The recently published Vinyl Record Industry Carbon Footprint Report details some of the actions being taken in this direction.
In addition to the independent sector, more and more commercial artists are leading the way, and embracing sustainable manufacturing processes. Artists such as Coldplay, and Billie Eilish.
“One of the things that Billie Eilish was talking about, was using reground vinyl,” Emanuel describes about the artist’s new record, Hit Me Hard and Soft. “During manufacturing, you trim a bit of vinyl off in the process. This material gets reground up into pellets, and those pellets are then put back into the system and used again.”
“What’s also happening now is that chemical companies are trying to replace elements of the fossil fuels that go into vinyl production with biofuel. They’ve got sort of names like Bio-Vinyl and Ecovinyl. If more people use this, it’s going to come down in price and it will be the same price as normal.”
It’s not just the materials used in the manufacturing process that are becoming more sustainable. The factories are also looking at ways at reducing the amount of energy used when pressing vinyl.
“The Ed Sheeran album that was just announced [x (10th Anniversary Edition)] is using PET plastic, and uses injection molding rather than pressing,” explains Stafford. “In theory, the amount of energy that goes into it is much less. I’m a big fan of this, as an alternative to the mainstream. It’s never going to replace the technology, but it’s just a nice different alternative to go with.”
It all plays into the longevity and thriving success of the vinyl format. For independent artists, having full creative control, multiple income streams, and new ways of reaching out to fans, are important. And when all of this can be achieved while having a minimal impact on the environment, then even better.
“Now, you’ve got artists that didn’t press vinyl twenty years ago who all want to press on vinyl,” explains Emmanuel. “People just love the format so much, and it’s not going away anytime soon. Vinyl has changed into being something that people really want to cherish and look after and listen to. I think the younger demographic are beginning to realize that and are going to keep growing up with it.”
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