If ever there were a time to officially announce that vinyl is making a comeback, it’s now. The largest vinyl pressing company in the world, Nashville-based plant United Records, has announced plans to nearly double the volume of records it’s able to create over the next several months.
The expansion involves the building of a brand new facility. According to Davidson County property records, United Records paid $5.2 million to Lone Maple Investor for a 142,000-square-foot warehouse.
“We are proud to be making this investment in the Nashville community and appreciate all of the support we have received,” Mark Michaels, CEO of United Records, said in a news release. “We are excited to build upon our great heritage and continue to manufacture innovative, high-quality vinyl records in the USA.”
The news came shortly after the eight annual Record Store Day, which has been described as a huge contributor to the growing popularity of vinyl. While CD sales declined 14.5 percent last year, vinyl sales grew 32 percent from 4.5 million units sold in 2012 to 6 million sold in 2013, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
United Records recently made headlines when they pressed the world’s fastest released record— a limited edition 7-inch of Jack White’s forthcoming single. White recorded the live performance in front of a small crowd. The recording was rushed to United Records, pressed onto 45s, then personally delivered by White to Third Man Records, where the records were sold.
The entire process took 3 hours, 55 minutes and 21 seconds– a new world record.
Photo caption: Record Industry Haarlem by Harold de Haan.