Why is vinyl more expensive than CD? There are a handful of reasons why, and we will be discussing the six most important.
The two most bought physical music formats are vinyl records and CDs, with the former’s sales increasing as we speak.
Even though there are Spotify and other music streaming sites, there are still physical formats making sales. There are so many ways to find new music in today’s world.
There’s this question from buyers though. Today you will learn the difference so you know before you make decisions.
Why is vinyl more expensive than cd? Because Vinyl is a niche item
Though vinyl record sales have been increasing and the format has made a comeback, we cannot deny that this format is a niche today. There are not many albums from musicians with vinyl pressing, when compared to CD duplications, thus having lesser units sold.
Since it is a niche item, it has a smaller market than CDs, though it has been growing. Because the format has a growing audience, manufacturers like Unified Manufacturing, a pressing plant in LA, are spending on machinery that has also become niche like its product.
Small Market
Even with a growing interest in the format, their buyers are still a small group. They have seasoned and newbie vinyl collectors and die-hard fans of musicians among others. But this can never surpass unit sales of CDs.
In addition to this, though there are people interested in them they may not have the means to buy it or the means to listen to it. Vinyl records are niche items and that means that turntables or record players will be a niche too, making them expensive to buy.
With this in mind, we can understand the small market it currently has. There’s no one saying it won’t grow though, so if you want to have a vinyl pressing of your vinyl record then there’s no need to worry.
Why is vinyl more expensive than cd is because of Expensive Production
This is one of the main reasons for the expensiveness of the vinyl record format. The materials and machinery utilized for the creation of a ton of these records are very costly.
As mentioned above, the machinery has become a niche for pressing plants which makes it expensive. Additionally, materials like lacquer, liquid nickel, and polyvinyl chloride, are not cheap at all.
Additionally, it also has a labor-intensive process of production. This means that its production requires a lot of steps to accomplish one copy and more. There are three main steps, namely: lacquer cutting, electroplating, and pressing. And these steps can be done by different companies or plants which can cause an increase in the production’s cost.
Seperate Master
Most artists will probably have a digital mastering for their album. It would be a mistake not to since it’s a must-needed one in this age of streaming.
If you plan on releasing your album on vinyl records too, then you will need to have a separate mastering of your tracks. This is because digital masters won’t sound well on the grooves of a vinyl record. This just adds to more cost on their production, which in turn increases their price.
Audiophile Product
Many claim that vinyl record versions of an artist’s album sound better than the other formats it is available in. This led to the vinyl record format being labeled as an audiophile product. This has put the format at the highest rung of the music format ladder in terms of sound quality.
With this label, artists and other people selling these vinyl records were encouraged to sell them at a higher price compared to the ‘regular formats’. This label apparently also justified the fact on why vinyl record albums cost more to produce than any other music format.
Reason #6 why is vinyl more expensive than cd is because of more care during distribution and display
And the last reason is because of the vinyl format’s fragility. Since vinyl records are fragile, they need to be taken care of. To take care of them, additional things should be bought or done to be assured of their safety.
Unlike CDs, vinyl records need a lot of careful handling. Their exportation will need to be secure and safe. The boxes holding them would need to be high quality, so should the jackets and inner sleeves.
Sellers should also display them carefully and situate them away from too much heat or too much raucous movement. This may require them to create a new section or rearrange their shelves to accommodate them well.
Now that you know the reasons behind why the vinyl records, I hope you’re not discouraged in releasing your album on them.
They may be more expensive to make than the CD, but it’s something you’d be proud to give to your fans.
And hey, if you’re worried about the production cost, pressing plants offer short run vinyl pressing. So there’s really no excuse not to give it a try.
Conclusion
Today you learned about why is vinyl more expensive than cd. This is important knowledge one might seek to know the best value. Was there anything that shocked you? Thanks for reading
