Vinyl

Within the last few years the sales of vinyl records have rose approximately 49%.  

With their retro look and 'better sound quality' the sales of vinyl records have rose dramatically.  Often seen as a collectable item many 'indie' artists now release their work through records.  

After the near extinction of the vinyl record it has now become an item to collect and admire.  Many fans to this day still enjoy putting needle to grove.

However with their increased popularity it has become very difficult to create the quantity needed.  Only a small handful of companies still create the vinyl record and they have started to become overloaded with orders.  Not many companies still create machines to produce records, so the machines out their are very rare and very expensive.  The machines out their now are in constant use to keep up with the demand and are running almost 24 hours a day,  this results in the machines becoming overloaded and needing to be repaired.  

As the machines can only produce approximately 125 records per hour the orders have started to mount up and now orders are being made a year in advance.  Specialty records (scented, glow in the dark, coloured) have clogged up the waiting list even more.

Although the record business has grown, investors are still not pledging money into it.  They still see records as a dying medium.

Here is a quick illustration of the figures courtesy of the Wall Street Journal.