Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
If you’re a musician, you may have seen ads about way to put your music on vinyl with no upfront investment. Vinyl on demand. Make records one at a time. Sounds pretty compelling, right? Vinyl with no upfront cost.
And this is indeed a new development in the record industry. So what’s the deal? Is vinyl on demand for real? How does it compare to traditional pressed vinyl? And perhaps most importantly, should you go on demand and spend zero upfront, or drop $1,000 or more to get 100 records pressed the traditional way?
Let’s take a look.
Table of Contents:
• The difference between lathe-cut and pressed records
• A difference in economics
• Press your record with Disc Makers
The difference between lathe-cut and pressed records
It’s important to understand that vinyl-on-demand records (also known as lathe-cut records) and pressed vinyl records are made using completely different manufacturing processes.
Traditional records are made from PVC vinyl pellets. Lacquers are cut and stampers are made, and those stampers are used to press 100 or 1,000 identical records. That’s how every record you’ve ever owned was made.
Vinyl-on-demand records are typically cut one at a time using a lathe. A stylus cuts or embosses grooves directly into a blank disc made from PETG plastic, one record at a time.
To understand the difference, think about T-shirts. Pressed vinyl is like ordering 100 screen-printed shirts from your local merch printer. Vinyl on demand is like using a print-on-demand service where products are made one at a time when someone places an order.
Neither approach is inherently wrong. They’re simply different tools designed for different purposes.
A difference in economics
The biggest difference for most artists is economics. Vinyl on demand solves inventory risk. Pressed vinyl solves profitability.
If you only want a handful of copies for yourself, your bandmates, and a few family members, vinyl on demand can make sense. But if you think you can sell 50, 100, or more records, the math changes dramatically.
A typical lathe-cut record might cost around $26 to produce and sell for $32, generating roughly $6 in profit per sale.
Sell 100 records and you might earn about $600 in profit.
By comparison, 100 pressed records purchased from Disc Makers could generate roughly $2,000 in profit at similar sales levels.
Collectors also tend to prefer pressed vinyl because it allows for colored vinyl, special effects, custom inserts, numbered editions, gatefold jackets, and deluxe packaging.
If all you want is a few copies of your music to test demand, vinyl on demand may be worth considering.
But if you’re serious about building a fanbase, playing shows, selling merch, and treating your music like a business, pressed vinyl is usually the better long-term choice.
Vinyl on demand is designed around one question:
What if nobody buys my record?
Pressed vinyl is designed around a different question:
What if they do?
And if you’re serious about your music career, that’s probably the more important question to answer.
Press your record with Disc Makers
If you decide that traditional vinyl pressing is the best path, Disc Makers proudly offers the lowest vinyl prices in the U.S.A. We also offer vinyl mastering, custom record jackets, and professional album cover design. Get started with a free quote!
You can watch the original version of this blog as part of our Indie Music Minute series on the Disc Makers YouTube Channel.
Tony van Veen
Tony van Veen is the CEO of DIY Media Group, the parent company of Disc Makers and BookBaby. As a college student, he played in indie bands, created his own LPs, cassettes, and t-shirts, and sold them at shows. Today, he collects CDs, vinyl LPs, and concert t-shirts to support the artists he loves.
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