As you know, Third Man Records is opening up a satellite store in Detroit’s Cass Corridor, or as Pitchfork calls it “where music history was made.” Well, it’s about time we tell you that this is only a fraction of our plan for the building at 441 West Canfield Street, which we purchased last year with Detroit manufacturing company Shinola. Third Man is thrilled to announce that we will be opening a vinyl record pressing plant, and in it we will run BRAND NEW record presses. There’s a bottlenecking in the record pressing industry right now – so much glorious demand, so few presses. We want to help ease the flow, and we want to bring more “real-life manufacturing jobs back to Detroit.”
We have purchased eight presses from German startup Newbilt, and we are anxious to get them up and running, which we expect to happen mid-2016.
Here’s what Pitchfork wrote about the pressing plant after speaking with Ben Blackwell about our plans.
“While the pressing plant won’t be operational when Third Man opens on Black Friday, they eventually plan to house at least eight working presses. A window in the shop will let customers see the manufacturing floor as part of Third Man’s ongoing initiative to educate the public about vinyl culture and show that, as Blackwell puts it, ‘all this stuff is alive and well.’
While the manufacturing arm definitely means that Third Man will have quick access to pressings of their own output, Blackwell says the decision to open the plant is a selfless act. He argues that more overall record-pressing capacity eases the pressure on plants like United Record Pressing in Nashville, which continues to press Third Man releases, and Archer—both of which are backed up and reportedly turning away customers. Also, while no plans are currently in place, Third Man hope to press more than just their own records on-site. Potentially, the plant could offer a new option for young artists and DIY labels. ‘Part of the concern in this world is that vinyl can very easily turn into an exclusionary thing,’ Blackwell says. ‘But this is going to make it easier for a little punk band to make 300 copies of a 7-inch’.”
So, there it is, friends. We couldn’t feel luckier that we get to expand our business in a field that we are so damn passionate about. Detroit, we love you, and we can’t wait to be a part of your community yet again.
Via the Third Man website
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