Adele’s upcoming album “30” sends Vinyl production into overdrive

Due to the pandemic, pressing plant shortages have limited the amount of vinyl productions to smaller artists.

By: Adah Burket

There is one thing popular artists such as Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, ABBA, and Elton (John), all have in common. All of them have experienced a struggle trying to get their vinyl printed at the same time. And the upcoming release of Adele’s fourth studio album may be at the root of it all. Amid a shortage in materials, many artists, including Adele, have had to finish and submit their albums several months in advance to ensure that their vinyl would be available on the same day the tracks are released on streaming platforms.

Since 2006, vinyl sales have accelerated in interest and don’t show signs of stopping any time soon. For the first time since 1986, vinyl sales even surpassed CDs last year. With such an increasing demand for the product, chains like Walmart and Target have started ordering their own exclusive color-variant pressings in addition to the exclusives that indie stores or artist websites sell. And many artists have been given album deadlines of eight to nine months in advance if they want their vinyl to have the same release day as digital drops.

According to a Variety article, more than 500,000 vinyl copies of “30” have been manufactured in preparation for the albums Nov.19 release. Sony Music and many other vinyl factories have even had to limit the number of titles produced and don’t nearly fulfill retail orders of their smaller customers to prioritize bigger named artists. This system has been a detriment to nearly any smaller artist, who are currently being told they will get their record pressed in Summer 2022 if they deliver their master recordings to a plant now.

Following Adele’s six-year hiatus, her much anticipated album “30” influenced another large artist, Ed Sheeran, who finished his own album early to ensure it would be printed on vinyl. Notorious for staying out of the spotlight and making unsuspecting comebacks, Adele has become one of the most highly anticipated artists in today’s music. Taylor Swift even moved up the drop of 2012’s Red to November 12, instead of November 19, after “30” was announced to release that same day. Currently in the midst of rerecording and releasing each of her critically acclaimed albums, even well-known artists have competition.

Delaying the release of physical formats till after digital drops have shown to reduce vinyl sales to 30-40% of what it could’ve been. Some artists still disregard the deadline and have used their vinyl as a late souvenir; Olivia Rodrigo’s “Sour” vinyl came out three months after digital, and Taylor Swift kept fans waiting six months for her Evermore to release on LP. It may have been beneficial in certain cases, giving artists strong first-week sales after much anticipation and eventual rebounds to No.1 once their physical products ship. However, this is not always the case for everyone.

While manufacturing delays have been a recurring issue since vinyl demand spiked in July 2020, the shortage of raw materials alongside labor and supply-chain issues have made it almost impossible for smaller imprints to even get their hat in the ring. Billboard previously reported in June, that pressing plants can create about 160 million albums a year and current demands double that. Having multiple masters under your belt means that your follow up albums become more of a necessity.

Artists, labels, and stores have all had to deal with demand outstripping supply. With the growing attention for vinyl, this format of sales has become an increasing profit for artists if you are on the right side. However, reduced materials have made it more of a struggled for small groups to get equal opportunity for sales. There may not be a clear answer as to how this issue can be solved. But considering bigger named artists have all but booked the three major pressing plants, the division of these productions could easily be distributed to include an equal playing field for all.