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After 29-Year Hiatus, Sony to Start Making Vinyl Records Again


oldtexasdog

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The resurgence of vinyl records continues unabated. A telling sign of the enduring trend is Sony’s announcement today that it will produce LPs in a factory located in Japan. According to an article in Nikkei Asian Review, production at the plant will begin in March of 2018. The last time Sony was in the vinyl business was in back in 1989.

There is an irony in this turn of events, given that Sony codeveloped the CD format that ultimately displaced analog records as the physical media of choice for music lovers. Now, one of the challenges the company faces is finding engineers with the knowledge required to cut record grooves.

“”Cutting is a delicate process, with the quality of sound affected by the depth and angle of the grooves” – Nikkei Asian Review
Production of the plant will consist of a lineup of Japanese music; the article says it will include “popular older songs, mainly Japanese music to which Sony holds the rights, as well as the latest hit albums.” However, the article goes on to note that Sony will take orders from outside record labels.

Currently, there is only one company making vinyl records in Japan, and apparently it is unable to keep up with demand. Consequently, new releases are only available in limited quantities. With demand for vinyl up 800% versus 2010 levels, apparently Sony saw this as the right time to jump back into the record-pressing business.

An article based on the Nikkei report and posted on NPR.com says that the continuous, rapid growth in vinyl record sales has let the remaining vinyl pressing plants in various countries struggling to keep up.

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