The Vinyl Renaissance Continues In 2015, But Can The Old Pressing Machines Keep Up?

The vinyl trend has been building long enough that the New York Times has written several articles about LPs' resurgence. But its most recent one, a profile of vinyl manufacturers, shows some concern about the continuing demand for the old-school music format. Over 13 million records were sold in 2014, numbers not seen since the 1980s, and they keep rising. But the old pressing machines the business relies on, and fears the "bubble" might deflate, have the industry cautiously optimistic about vinyl's future.

Pressing plants such as Independent Record Pressing, Quality Record Pressing and United Record Pressing are purchasing machines from the 1970s to fill the demand for LPs, driven by young consumers and indie artists who prefer the tone and sound of vinyl. But old machines don't come with instruction manuals or endless sources for replacement parts.

Despite the growth stories, there are fears the end could be near for LPs. United Record Pressing, which has pressed albums for Jack White, Primus, Pavement, Tame Impala, Alabama Shakes, Steve Earle and "Weird Al" Yankovic, is opening a second plant but has stopped taking on new costumers. "We are trying to do the best we can for people who have been loyal to us for years, and that we hope will stick with us when the ebb and flow comes again," Jessica Baird, a United Record Pressing rep, told the Times.

Vinyl is not alone in the analog comeback story. Cassettes, surprisingly, have found new life in the digital era. There's only one plant in America -- National Audio Co., located in Springfield, Missouri -- making audio tapes, but it produced 10 million cassettes last year. Burger Records and Gnar Tapes are among the labels busy selling tapes. The third annual Cassette Store Day takes place Oct. 17 and Motorhead, Green Day, Foals, Method Man and the Gaslight Anthem are just a few releases set for that day.