Release Music on Vinyl: Why It’s Hard for Artists

Struggling to press and release music on vinyl? Discover the key challenges artists face and why this classic format remains elusive for many in today’s industry.

Why It’s Hard for Artists to release Music on Vinyl

by Tony van Veen of Disc Makers Blog

By now you’ve heard how Disc Makers slashed prices on vinyl record pressing to finally make vinyl affordable for independent artists like you. Our prices for vinyl start at 100 records for just $999. This has led to a ton of demand for vinyl from independent artists, and it’s also led to some unexpected problems, including one that I’ll explain here.

The problem is this: Most new albums today see their life first as a digital release on streaming and on CD. These albums tend to be rather long. A CD can hold 74 minutes of music (enough for 15 or more songs). Of course, there’s no limit to how many songs can fit on a streaming album. Drake’s “More Life” from 2017 had 22 songs, Chris Brown’s album “Indigo” had 45 songs, and the streaming album with the most songs ever, according to the Guinness Book of Records, is by the British artist Mark Christopher Lee and the Pocket Gods, who hold that record for an album with a whopping 1,000 songs.

Table of Contents:
• Why is this a problem for vinyl?
• Cutting down your songs
• What if you don’t want to remove songs?
• Put your album on vinyl

Why is this a problem for vinyl?

That vinyl album that you want to press can only hold 45 minutes of music, so you can fit 8, 10, or maybe 12 songs on it. So what’s an artist to do if you have an album that has 15 songs, it’s 60 minutes long, and you want vinyl? You have several options.

Cutting down your songs

If you’re really cash-strapped and want vinyl, you need to cut your songs down to however many will fit within 45 to 48 minutes. That’s kind of a bummer for a premium product like vinyl because the fan actually gets less music, rather than more. It also technically makes it a different album, though you could simply call it the vinyl edition of the album. One reason some artists do this is because, frankly, today’s music fan listening habits frequently mean that the fan buys the vinyl to own an album they love and to support an artist they love, but then that fan still actually ends up usually listening to the music by way of streaming.

What if you don’t want to remove songs?

If you don’t want to cut your number of songs down, you have three options, and all three involve making a double album. This is super cool for your fans, but it tends to strain artists’ budgets because a double album can literally cost more than double what a single album costs.

Option 1: Put out two single albums

It’s relatively economical to just put out two single albums. You can have the jacket artwork be similar or different. As an example, you could change the subtitle of the album from “Chapter One” and “Chapter Two,” and if you want, there’s the option of poly wrapping both of the albums together.

Option 2: Get a gatefold jacket

Consider the traditional gatefold jacket . It’s luxurious, beautiful, and holds two records easily. This is a traditional way to package a double album, but it’s also the most expensive due to their size. These jackets are printed on huge sheets of board, which require big printing presses, which means minimum runs can be on the higher side, which makes small vinyl orders very expensive (more than twice the cost of a single album). But, they are beautiful, so if only the best will do for your album, you’re going to have to bite the bullet.

Option 3: The double-wide spine

You can package your vinyl album in a single jacket with a double-wide spine. This allows you to fit two albums into the record jacket. Even though it’s not quite the cheapest solution today, at Disc Makers we are currently working on a way to print these jackets in our own print shop. That would make it perhaps the most affordable way to do double albums, so stay tuned for more on this.

Put your album on vinyl

If you’re thinking about putting your album on vinyl, you won’t regret it. It’s true that vinyl really does sound better than other formats. Here at Disc Makers, we’ve got vinyl specialists available at 1-800-468-9353, and you’re welcome to reach out with any questions,

About the Author: Tony van Veen is the CEO of DIY Media Group, the parent company of Disc Makers and BookBaby. As a college student, he played in indie bands, created his own LPs, cassettes, and t-shirts, and sold them at shows. Today, he collects CDs, vinyl LPs, and concert t-shirts to support the artists he loves.