Kickstart: An alternate version for the growth of vinyl albums

It's a big week for vinyl as this year's Record Store Day features nearly 400 new releases set to come out in time for the event on April 20 with artists ranging from current headliners such as Olivia Rodrigo to reissues and live recordings with musicians such as David Bowie and the Beatles.

With limited copies, in-store exclusives and an increasing number of artists — or artists' estates — getting involved, it promises to be "the most potentially wallet-emptying lineup in years," as the magazine Variety puts it.

The growth of vinyl records doesn't necessarily guarantee business growth for record makers, however.

Ireland's only vinyl pressing company, Pressing Matters Ltd., which did business as Dublin Vinyl, has been forced to close, cutting 20 jobs.

Ireland's High Court approved the closure earlier this month. The company had seen success in its eight years in business, pressing vinyl for artists including Taylor Swift. But Irish broadcaster RTE reports that the company told the court it "sustained significant losses in 2022 and 2023" due to the pandemic, disruptions from the war in Ukraine, the loss of a major contract and "the failure of record pressing machines it had ordered to arrive on time."

The name of the machine builder was not disclosed, although in a 2019 interview with DublinLive.ie, Dublin Vinyl officials said they began the business after hearing about new machinery being produced by a company in Toronto.

Add Dow Inc.'s Jim Fitterling to the list of people seeking to increase the spotlight on the United Nations' plastics treaty discussions in Canada starting April 23.

Plastics News' Steve Toloken rounds up a lot of the comments from pre-talks forums in this story. Fitterling, chairman and CEO of Midland, Mich.-based Dow, took his discussion to Fortune magazine's opinion pages.

"Time is ticking," he writes. "Few countries have any goals to limit or reduce plastic waste, reinforcing the urgency for a more rigorous and practical approach."

Dow "enthusiastically supports" a solution that would eliminate plastic pollution, he adds, but any agreement must also recognize the "vital role these materials play in ensuring a low-carbon future."

Some Lego A/S sets are hot, as in being very popular. The California Highway Patrol recently found at least $300,000 worth of sets that were hot as in being stolen merchandise.

CHP investigators arrested four people April 9, accusing them of being part of a theft ring that saw two of the suspects stealing Lego sets from various retail stores. The group then sold those sets.

"The buyers of the stolen merchandise may or may not be aware that the products they are purchasing were stolen as part of an organized retail crime operation," police said in a news release.

The stolen Lego sets were recovered from four locations in both Los Angeles and Orange counties.