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Manufacturers struggle to keep pace with vinyl record demand

Elijah Lindsay loads finished vinyl records into shipping boxes at the United Record Pressing facility Thursday, June 23, 2022, in Nashville, Tenn. Vinyl record manufacturers are rapidly rebuilding an industry to keep pace with sales that topped $1 billion last year. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) Workers operate record pressing machinery at the United Record Pressing facility Thursday, June 23, 2022, in Nashville, Tenn. The arrival of the compact disc nearly killed off record albums. Four decades later, with resuscitated record album sales producing double-digit growth, manufacturers are rapidly rebuilding an industry to keep pace with sales that topped $1 billion last year. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) A hockey puck-shaped blob, called a "biscuit" and made of heated vinyl pellets, is set into a press to be formed into a vinyl record at the United Record Pressing facility Thursday, June 23, 2022, in Nashville, Tenn. The arrival of the compact disc nearly killed off record albums. Four decades later, with resuscitated record album sales producing double-digit growth, manufacturers are rapidly rebuilding an industry to keep pace with sales that topped $1 billion last year. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) Thane Adolf dumps black vinyl pellets into a machine that will form the pellets into hockey puck-shaped "biscuits' to make vinyl record albums at the United Record Pressing facility Thursday, June 23, 2022, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) A mix of colored vinyl pellets that will be made into records is stored in a bin at the United Record Pressing facility Thursday, June 23, 2022, in Nashville, Tenn. Colored pellets are used by themselves or in a variety of combinations to create colorful records in addition to the traditional black vinyl. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) Excess vinyl falls into a bin after it has been shaved from the edge of a freshly pressed record at the United Record Pressing facility Thursday, June 23, 2022, in Nashville, Tenn. The excess vinyl will be reground and used to make more albums. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) Ricky Riehl inspects finished vinyl records for physical flaws before they are packaged at the United Record Pressing facility Thursday, June 23, 2022, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) Abbey Peterson, left, and Sara Aulidge pull stampers, made of nickel and used to press vinyl record albums, from tall storage rows for upcoming orders at the United Record Pressing facility Thursday, June 23, 2022, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) Sara Aulidge, left, and Abbey Peterson pull stampers, made of nickel and used to press vinyl record albums, from tall storage rows for upcoming orders at the United Record Pressing facility Thursday, June 23, 2022, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) Artwork components such as record sleeves, booklets and cardboard jackets are stored in a warehouse at the United Record Pressing facility Thursday, June 23, 2022, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) Ricky Riehl inspects finished vinyl records for physical flaws before they are packaged at the United Record Pressing facility Thursday, June 23, 2022, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) Workers operate record-pressing machinery at the United Record Pressing facility Thursday, June 23, 2022, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) Mechanical engineer John Arrington weighs a biscuit made of heated vinyl pellets as he calibrates one of the machines that forms the biscuits at the United Record Pressing facility Thursday, June 23, 2022, in Nashville, Tenn. The biscuits are later pressed into vinyl records. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) Freshly pressed vinyl records are produced in a stamper at the United Record Pressing facility Thursday, June 23, 2022, in Nashville, Tenn. The arrival of the compact disc nearly killed off record albums. Four decades later, with resuscitated record album sales producing double-digit growth, manufacturers are rapidly rebuilding an industry to keep pace with sales that topped $1 billion last year. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) Tyler Bryant listens to finished record albums for flaws in a quality control room at the United Record Pressing facility Thursday, June 23, 2022, in Nashville, Tenn. The arrival of the compact disc nearly killed off record albums. Four decades later, with resuscitated record album sales producing double-digit growth, manufacturers are rapidly rebuilding an industry to keep pace with sales that topped $1 billion last year. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
Manufacturers struggle to keep pace with vinyl record demand