Final Vinyl factory rises from its ashes in the United States
Final Vinyl record factory saw stars like Bob Marley, 2 Live Crew and 50 Cent parade at its premises. With the advent of technological innovations in the music industry, it was forced to roll down its shutters. However, after years of inactivity, the old record factory is being given a new life today under the name of SunPress Vinyl at the same location in Opa-Locka, Florida.
Final Vinyl promoted legends
Founded by the Jamaican reggae producer Joe Gibbs in the 1970s, Final Vinyl was located in Opa-Locka. It manufactured vinyl records for the famous label Studio One. It pressed a wide array of legendary reggae records and delivered timeless creations by Bob Marley and Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry amongst others.
SunPress Vinyl will perpetuate the tradition
Vinyl records are part and parcel of the history of music. SunPress Vinyl aims at perpetuating the legacy of vinyl records in the region and reviving the passion for analogue music production. The founders of the new brand are musicians, producers as well as engineers sharing the same vision which is to promote independent as well as major artists and labels through high quality vinyl records. “Bring us an audio recording and your artwork and we’ll give you a vinyl record,” urges Dan Yashiv, music producer and president of SunPress Vinyl.
Targeting the niche market
The past eight years have witnessed a surprising surge in the demand of vinyl records with 13.1 million vinyl records being sold in the United States in 2016 only. This figure is the highest since 1981. It is foreseen that in 2017, sales of vinyl records will be more than 1 billion US dollars in terms of sales of vinyl records.
SunPress Vinyl obviously wishes to target this niche market consisting of hipster millenials, retro fans and musicians. The demand for vinyl records has even outrun the demand for digital music. On a parallel note, music lovers are converging back to the nostalgic vinyl records that offer a unique quality sound that is lost in MP3 compressed files.
The brand is partnering with Tuff Gong International- the label of Bob Marley created in 1965- and will reissue albums of the king of reggae. Tuff Gong has been submerged with demands lately in the Carribean and from Asia as well. An increasing demand of course means an increase in revenue.
Oiling the machinery
To offer high-end records, SunPress Vinyl is investing a lot in the production and machinery: lacquer and top plating masters having worked for Beyonce, 50 Cent or Smashing Pumpkins have joined the team, the Newmann VMS-70 lathe cutter is being used and digital formats are also used for cutting. Regarding the presses, the same ones used for Bob Marley’s records and other famous artists have been restored. They are six in all. The label is going further by offering specialty discs such as picture or multi-coloured discs.
h/t: Miami Herald
