The vinyl record industry's comeback might be impacted by a fire at a California factory.
A Feb. 6 fire destroyed the Apollo Masters Corp. production site in Banning, Calif. According to media reports, Apollo is one of only two companies in the world that makes the lacquer needed to make master discs, which then are used to press individual records.
"We are uncertain of our future at this point and are evaluating options as we try to work through this difficult time," company officials said in an announcement on the firm's website.
Although streaming music now makes up 80 percent of record industry revenue, according to the Record Industry Association of America, vinyl has been growing steadily. Vinyl now is on pace to overtake CDs for sales, according to RIAA.
Vinyl record manufacturers already are concerned about the potential impact of the fire.
"From my understanding, this fire will present a problem for the vinyl industry worldwide," Ben Blackwell, co-founder of Third Man Records told music website Pitchfork. Third Man presses vinyl in Detroit and Nashville, Tenn.
On its website, officials with Gotta Groove Records in Cleveland said that their firm doesn't work with Apollo for 12-inch records, but that its production of 7-inch records — more often referred to as a 45 rpm single — might be affected by the fire.
"It is not yet clear how regular our source will be for the size of lacquer traditionally used for 7-inch records," they added. "All pending 7-inch jobs are moving forward without interruption. Depending upon supply of additional lacquers for 7-inch, as well as demand for 7-inch orders, there may be delays for 7-inch jobs in the future.
"We are devoted to the vinyl format and will continue to do everything within our powers to make vinyl manufacturing as accessible and consistent as it can be to musicians, labels and anyone else wanting to make a record."
