12″ Vinyl Record Pressing
Although most of you are still thinking about your Christmas and early 2015 schedule, it is wise to start planning your Record Store Day – RSD2015 release for 2015. For those of you not planning on releasing a record for RSD2015 you should bare in mind that manufacturing times during this period become longer. Record Store Day 2015 will take place on April 18th and finished product will need to be with your distributor ideally last week in March. To ensure…
Here at Well Tempered we work with the three best pressing plants in Europe to ensure that your records are pressed to schedule and cost, and also of optimum quality. The standard turnaround time from all three suppliers is seven weeks from receipt of lacquers – this is industry standard. We hear that a lot of artists and labels elsewhere are getting frustrated with production times of up to twelve weeks. This should not be the case, there is simply…
For many new record labels starting out there are three main choices for vinyl manufacturing. A label may wish to handle the manufacturing themselves, or they may wish to use a broker such as Well Tempered. Though for most records labels the most attractive option is a P&D (press & distribution) deal offered by their distribution partner. There are a few distributors still offering P&D deals, though it may be required that they manufacture a few releases themselves first, and the sales generated be…
In the run up to Christmas the pressing plants will get very busy with orders from the major record labels with their Beatles reissues and Metallica box sets. It is important to plan your release schedule properly and make sure your December releases don’t end up materialising in 2015. At Well Tempered we work towards our standard production time of seven weeks from receipt of lacquers, with your test pressings being delivered three weeks into that seven week cycle….
Here at Well Tempered we always advise on checking your test pressings thoroughly before the finished run of artwork copies is pressed. When Approving Test Pressings you are approving the work that the cutting engineer has done, and also the galvanic process at the plant. But what exactly are you checking for? Years ago an acetate would be cut by the engineer at the time of mastering, so the artist would be able to check the test press against this….
As well as an obvious keen interest in vinyl records, I am also into my beer. You wouldn’t think that the two have a link, but they do. It is obvious that that the big brands have got the advertising budget to make their beer a big seller. A beer like Heineken ticks all the boxes. It is a good example of its kind as far as flavour and style goes… and obviously they have a huge marketing budget to…
According to The Independent, “Manufacturers are struggling to keep up with the resurgence in vinyl records” In other words, the vinyl manufacturing industry is having serious difficulty keeping up with demand. I’m not sure that the plant owners would agree with The Independent that the machinery they are using is old and creaky, but the message is sound – lead times are increasing, and this is kicking down the supply chain and hitting the labels. What used to be a four…
Those of you not familiar with the traditional music distribution model of the physical format might at some point consider it a good idea to attempt self distribution. Many labels see growth in their direct-to-consumer sales month on month, hear about store closures, and wonder whether or not distribution could be done themselves. The thought of an extra £1 per unit on every sale is an attractive one, and the idea of being self sufficient in this day and age…
Rarely do we see new music distribution companies instantly making such an impact on the UK music scene as Railbird Digital & Unearthed Sounds. In the modern day with so much emphasis placed on technology driven solutions, often what’s lacking is the personal service and passion for music that independent record labels long for. Finding a new distribution partner can be a hard task with so many options available these days. With many digital distribution companies more focused on streamlining…
Next up on Exit Records is Fracture – Loving Touch EP | manufactured by well Tempered. The EP centres around ‘Loving Touch’, officially using Ralphi Rosario and Xavier Gold’s early Chicago classic ‘You Used To Hold Me’. Ralphi loves the track and you will too. It updates the production taking the track to 160bpm, adding some footwork hats and bass but not forgetting Fracture’s roots and forsaking the breaks. This drops! Loving Touch has already had loads of club play…