Artist Advice Column: Pressing Your Music To Vinyl Pt. 1


Tuesday, November 26th, 2019 |

Pressing vinyl. It sounds like fun, gives your music more respect and calls back to the old days of just DJing on vinyl. Vinyl has surged over the past decade, driven not just by older people looking for a nostalgia kick, but also newcomers who want to get into collecting the medium. There are plenty of vinyl-only record labels and other labels that can handle the logistics of pressing to vinyl, but you should still know the details on pressing independently. It has become a right of passage for some to press their music onto vinyl, meaning they are at the point of their careers where they have the clout and resources to do so. Not everyone can, but if you are going to, let’s examine how you can do it and what potential obstacles lay in wait. We will be doing this in multiple pieces to avoid an information overload.

1. Decide What Project To Press:

This may sound simple, but it isn’t always the easiest decision. Do you have a new single coming out? Do you think it will be a hit? Do you have an album on the way and you think it could do really well? If you are self-releasing or a label isn’t willing to fully find your vinyl order, then consider what project you want to put out on vinyl. If you don’t have a lot of money, then it can be smart to see how your release is doing in terms of DJ support and the initial launch of the song before making that investment. Use the market as a guide because ordering too much vinyl can be catastrophic to your finances.

2. Timing Of When To Order Vinyl:

Just like everything in the music business, this is about timing. If you are certain it will do well with fans because of online and DJ buzz, then go ahead and get your order ready before it drops. But if you want to wait until the project drops to see if it is worth pressing, then be mindful that it will take months before your vinyl is pressed and ready to ship. Vinyl pressing can take months since new plants aren’t opening fast enough to accommodate the demand. Artists and labels with big orders will be prioritized if need be since the margins are higher at bigger orders.

So if you are certain that your project is worth pressing and you want it out on the digital release day, make sure the art and all assets are in months in advance. Delays can happen, so give yourself plenty of time to get this done.

3. Masters:

This is a key point. Your music needs to be mastered for vinyl before pressing. If you didn’t get it mastered for the medium, send it to a different mastering engineer who can get that done. If the songs aren’t mastered properly, then you have defeated the purpose of even having your project pressed. If you aren’t sure if your master is good enough, have someone take a look at it.


Get the latest news and updates.


Subscribe

Testimonials

I first went to WMC ’87, the year I started Big Beat. It was an incredibly inspiring congregation of indie labels, DJs, artists, songwriters, producers and dance music lovers dedicated to breaking and discovering new music. WMC has been instrumental in furthering the dance and electronic cause; keeping the community connected, vital and relevant, and serving as an amazing springboard for talent. It’s a fantastic crucible for the future of dance music. Long may it live.


Craig Kallman

CEO & Co-Chairman Atlantic Records, Founder Big Beat Records

Before there was Ultra Music Festival, there was The Winter Music Conference, the annual coming together of the dance music tribes. Miami in March is a fundamental place to be from a business perspective, and has always given me endless opportunities for discovering new partnerships and talent. WMC brings together the dance music industry and surrounding culture like no other event in America. I’ve been attending WMC for nearly 20 years, and I’m very much looking forward to experiencing its evolution in 2019.


Matt Colon

Director, North America - YM&U Music

Having only missed the very first year of WMC in 1985, it was 1986-1990 that initially placed me on the map globally due to the international attendance of the entire dance music community. All throughout the 90s I was often getting written about by various high profile mags and websites for having contributed to help break many artists, DJs, producers and remixers. WMC enabled me to bring many top industry people together all under one roof, especially at Groove Jet, where house music officially met Techno in my sets and it’s all been uphill since…TBC


Danny Tenaglia

DJ, Producer

Winter Music Conference was the cream of the crop of conferences. Every label owner, label A&R, DJ and artist knew they had to go network at the Fontainebleau where the conference was hosted. The conference was not only one of the most important time of the year as it relates to dance music but it was also a place where records were broken and became summer hits. Some of my best DJ memories are from the events I played during WMC in the last 20 years.


Erick Morillo

DJ / Producer / Label Boss - Subliminal Records

If you want to know about our industry from the people that make it happen then go to WMC. It’s an accelerated masterclass in all things dance music.


Carl Cox

DJ/Intec Records