Company Rockvinyl have launched a crowdfunding campaign with an aim to raise £1.7m. This will cater for the renewed popularity of the vinyl format.
A large industrial building has already been built and will be used as a space to press vinyl from summer this year. Proceeds from the crowdfunder will be put into the construction and delivery of three vinyl pressing machines from Sweden.
Proceeds will also go into the recruitment and training of pressing staff. This will assist the goal to press 60,000 vinyl records per month.
In the driver’s seat of Rockvinyl is former graphic designer David Brady. He will take on the role of managing director.
Brady will be supported by a board of experienced advisors, including music industry aficionados such as Mark Wilson, who previously managed Scottish bands like Orange Juice and Trashcan Sinatras, as well as Regular Music chief executive Mark Mackie.
2023 proved to be a huge year in vinyl’s road to revival.
Vinyl’s revival
According to statistics taken from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), 80 per cent of music is still consumed via streaming. However, vinyl sales rose by 11.7 per cent in 2023, putting UK vinyl sales at their highest since 1990.
The resurgence of vinyl is valuable for British musicians in particular. UK artists account for 40 per cent of 2023’s top 100 most-sold vinyl LPs.
Rockvinyl is reaching out to up-and-coming Scottish acts through its ‘fan-funded vinyl’ scheme. This scheme allows fans to contribute to vinyl production costs for their favourite musicians.
This means that smaller acts will have a better chance of making a profit through physically distributed music. Brady says that he hopes the initiative will “provide a platform for emerging artists to share their music in its most authentic form and reach a wider audience.”
Hamish McBurney, who works for Stirling record shop Europa Records, said: “Europa has definitely seen an uptake in vinyl over the years.
“People are realising that they want something physical as a keepsake, they can take in the visuals of the vinyl artwork and a huge part of it is about having something that belongs to you, alongside the music.”
feature image credit: pexels @pixabay
Student journalist with a passion for music.
