Taylor Took My Slot at the Pressing Plant
So Many Great Songs, So Little Vinyl
Let’s talk about it: there’s so much amazing music out there that you’ll never find on vinyl. Not because it’s not good enough (spoiler: it totally is), but because pressing a record is kind of a nightmare right now especially if you're not a household name like Fleetwood Mac, Adele or Taylor Swift.
Yes, Rekkid Hunter will help you find vinyl for the music you love, but there’s a whole other story behind the stuff that never makes it to wax. Let's dive into why.
Vinyl Ain’t Cheap, Especially for Indie Artists
Turns out, getting your music pressed on vinyl is hella expensive. A survey by Ditto Music found that only 12.8% of independent musicians have released music on vinyl and the biggest reason why? The cost. Over half of them (54.4%) said it was just too pricey.
Even a small pressing of 100–300 records can cost between $1,500 and $3,000, depending on things like fancy packaging or colored vinyl (Xposure Music). That’s a big ask for an artist trying to pay rent, eat food, and pay for studio time.
Pressing Plants = Jammed
The vinyl boom is very real but the infrastructure, not so much. There are only about 20 pressing plants in the U.S., and the demand is way beyond what they can handle (Pitchfork).
So, what happens when a mega artist like Adele decides to press a few million copies of her album? Smaller artists get pushed to the back of the line. It’s called queue-jumping, and yes, it’s as unfair as it sounds.
Even Voice Mag called out how artists like Adele and Taylor Swift are clogging up the system and causing months-long delays for everyone else. Ironic, since Taylor Swift has been credited with leading Gen Z’s to discovering vinyl as a format in the first place. In 2023, Taylor Swift was responsible for 7% of all vinyl albums sold in the U.S., with 3.484 million copies purchased.
A University of Glasgow study found that 87% of Swifties aged 18–24 value vinyl for displaying their fandom, indicating that for many young fans, vinyl is more about tangible connection than audio quality.
Workarounds: Enter Lathe Cutting
Some clever folks are getting around the bottleneck with something called lathe cutting. It’s kind of like home-cooked vinyl small batches, no massive factory needed. The quality might not be audiophile perfect, but it lets indie artists get their music out there in physical form without breaking the bank.
The Guardian recently profiled some of these DIY heroes cutting records at home, describing the trend as a full-on vinyl carving renaissance (read it here). Honestly, it’s kind of punk and we’re here for it.
The Digital-Only Dilemma
Meanwhile, some of the best songs you’ve ever heard stay locked on Spotify, Apple Music, or Bandcamp. You stream them, you love them, they become part of your life but you’ll never get to flip them over on your turntable, or frame them on your wall.
It’s a weird disconnect music has never been more accessible, but at the same time, it's harder than ever for artists to offer something tangible. No lyric sheets. No liner notes. No limited-edition splatter vinyl. Just 1s and 0s.
The Bottom Line
The vinyl revival is awesome don’t get us wrong. But it’s also messy, expensive, and stacked against the little guys. If we want a future where all artists have a shot at putting their music on wax, we need more pressing plants, more innovation, and honestly, a little less queue-jumping.
So next time you’re on Rekkid Hunter and can’t find that track you’re obsessed with? Just know it’s not you. It’s the system.