If it’s your first time to release a vinyl record, you might feel a little anxious thinking about the bazillion ways you could eff it up. Vinyl record pressing, even short run vinyl pressing, takes a lot of time to make so one wrong move could ruin your timeline. A part of you wants to just raise a white flag and curl in bed. But don’t be such a wuss. Almost all musicians today-- from Beyonce to indie rock bands, release vinyl records! And that is because fans are listening to them again! So roll your sleeves, massage your temples, and read up on these tips before you cancel your custom vinyl record order.
#1 Set a realistic timeline to ensure you will get them before your album release
Most custom vinyl record pressing for indie artists offer a turnaround time of 6-8 weeks.
But it really depends on the manufacturer you’ve ordered your custom vinyl records from. If you are familiar with how record pressings go then that would help you understand why it takes a month and more weeks to have your custom vinyl records.
If you’re new to this and it’s your first time ordering custom vinyl records, then let me break down some of the important steps of record pressing. It may look simple and easy but although vinyl can just be pressed for 30 seconds, this step is probably the easiest. If we add the other steps like electroplating, test pressing, the editing and confirmation of both tracks for the vinyl record and artwork for the packaging, then 6-8 weeks is a very justified turnaround time.
But another painful truth is that there’s a long line for vinyl pressing. There are only a few vinyl pressing plants in the world and most of them are swamped with orders that they have no choice but either to turn you down or let you wait.
So to set a realistic timeline, you need to know what will be your manufacturer’s own timeline. If possible you can ask your manufacturer if they do the mastering, cutting, electroplating, or printing of packaging. If they don’t do them or are done in separate plants or places, then you will have to anticipate delays. You should also consider that if you are using more than one color for your vinyl, or you have things you want to embed on your record, then the time for making them would be longer. With this, you can make a timeline that is not too packed or fast paced. It would be great if you find a manufacturer that does all of these since that would surely save you some time.
Bear in mind that no matter how you beg or grumble, you cannot rush vinyl pressing. Make sure you do them MONTHS in advance.
#2 Set your release date strategically
Look, you’re selling vinyl records so you gotta make sure they’ll all be sold or else you’ll be deep in debt. You have to know the right time to release your vinyl records.
Although there’s never really a bad time to release music, statistically, January and February are the good release months for your album since radios and listeners are more open to new songs since it’s a new year. What you should consider is the type of album you’re releasing and your marketing plan. If you’re thinking of releasing a new song or album, consider that most of the big record companies’ big artists release their songs or albums in the latter part of the year, when holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming. So if you’re an indie musician, maybe a good plan is to not release during those months or else you’ll be competing with the big guys.
#3 Make sure you send superior quality masters
The masters is what matters the most, not the 180g, not the 75 rpm, not the good packaging...the masters!
High quality masters can sound good even with 140 gram instead of 180. Mastering for vinyl is done to make a master that can be cut into a lacquer without adding unwanted distortions. If you use a digital master for your custom vinyl records, it may cause the needle to jump during playback or cause the lack of dynamics which makes the listening experience unpleasant. So make sure you find a good mastering engineer that knows how to master for vinyl records. Don’t say we didn’t warn you. This is a very crucial step. Bad master= bad vinyl. Period.
#4 Watch out for the length
Vinyl records are, as most of you already know, have a limited playback time. That playback time depends on the size of the record. The 7-inch record has 4-5 minutes per side, 10inch one has 9-12 minutes per side, and the 12-inch one has 22 minutes per side. So if you’re releasing an album, add all the minutes of your tracks and then decide on your custom vinyl records’ size.
Do not go over 17 minutes per side for your 12-inch vinyl records if you choose to have the 12-inch. If you use up all the 22 minutes for each side, distortions may occur since manufacturers will have to squeeze the whole 22 minutes onto one side of the record. Another thing to note is that the wider the spaces in between the grooves the better the quality of the sound produced. You want vinyl because you want good sound quality.
“The more, the merrier” does not apply to vinyl!
#5 Make your record pretty
A lovely vinyl record and vinyl packaging aren’t as important as the audio quality alright but it still matters a whole lot. While your mastering engineer is doing his thing, start letting your designer and art director conceptualize a design for your custom vinyl records and vinyl jackets.
You’re not selling vinyl records in the 60s, you’re selling it today. You better make sure they are lovely or else they’d just stream your music. Make it cool. Aside from making your fans giddy, a well-designed vinyl jacket will also serve as a kind of promotion for your band. We are all visual creatures!
To give you a bit of inspiration here are some customization options:
● Custom vinyl records can have unique shapes that can represent the album’s theme.
Vinyl records can also have different colors and may even be multicolored.
● If there are colored and multi-colored vinyl records, then there are also transparent ones, and even colored transparent ones and they’re pretty rad.
● Vinyl records can have crazy add-ons with blood, glitters, leaves, flowers and such.
Releasing a vinyl record might seem intimidating to first-timers but it’s definitely worth the trouble. Are you planning to release your album in vinyl? What makes you think twice?
