UPDATE ON VINYL PRODUCTION & SHIPPING - JULY 2021

VINYL PRODUCTION

Many of you who have pre-ordered vinyl from us this year will have experienced exceptionally long waiting times to receive your records.

We appreciate this has been incredibly frustrating, and want to provide some clarity on the situation. Here’s a breakdown of the key reasons behind these delays:

- COVID-19 leading to factory closures, workers being furloughed or forced to isolate, and factories operating at a reduced capacity. This has resulted in smaller output and a large backlog of orders for manufacturers to work through.

- Disruptions in the supply chain of raw materials used to manufacture vinyl records, including a fire at one of the world’s only lacquer master factories and a global PVC shortage.

- Unprecedented demand for vinyl over recent years with no increase in the number of pressing plants, compounded this year by factors like the expansion of Record Store Day and major label represses.

- Brexit meaning that UK plants like the one we use are receiving more orders than ever, as labels look for alternatives to the EU plants they used previously.

These factors combined mean that vinyl lead times have increased exponentially, and records put on order as far back as December last year are only just being pressed this month. We’ve looked into alternative manufacturers in Europe and the US, but the average lead time now appears to be 8 months across the board.

SHIPPING

Delivery times have mostly recovered since the initial chaos last year, however there may still be some disruptions due to lockdowns and special measures in certain countries. You can check the status of your country here.

Additionally, because of the vinyl delays described above, we’re now working through a huge backlog of orders dating back as far as the start of the year. Although we’ve got all hands on deck at the moment, we are a small team operating out of a small office, still trying to keep everyone safe and work within the current workplace restrictions. We really appreciate your patience as we do everything in our power to get these orders out as efficiently and safely as possible.