Vinyl is booming at United Record Pressing as the nation’s oldest record maker plays a familiar tune

NASHVILLE — In the six decades since United Record Pressing eradicated the Beatles’ first single in the U.S., the nation’s oldest vinyl record maker has survived 8-track records, cassettes, CDs, Napster, iPods and streaming services. Now, the Nashville-based company has rebounded so dramatically that some of its equipment and technology has been upgraded to keep up with the ever-increasing demand for old-school vinyl.

Despite the pandemic, the 75-year-old company has refocused its business from filling jukeboxes to helping DJs spin and stock shelves. On the shelves of his warehouse are master versions of Johnny Cash, Kanye West and The Black Crowes.

When Mark Michaels bought the company in 2007, vinyl had already died out – the company’s 38 employees mostly made singles for rap artists, often promos for clubs. Michaels wanted a real chance to build the business and thought he could keep it stable but not be able to expand it significantly. It also has a rich history as the first record manufacturing plant in the South, including an apartment at the top of the factory that housed black artists and music executives during segregation.

“You walked into this building and felt 50 to 60 years of history and the importance of what it symbolizes,” said Michaels, the company’s CEO and chairman. “And yes, you get breathless, you get goosebumps just experiencing it.”

Today, United Record Pressing operates a new factory six times larger than the one Michaels bought and employs about 125 people who produce up to 80,000 records a day.

Vinyl’s growth has been fueled by a variety of factors in recent years, from independent artists insisting on releasing vinyl albums to major retailers jumping on board again.

U.S. vinyl record revenues rose 10% to $1.4 billion in 2023, marking the 17th straight year of growth, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. Records accounted for 71% of revenue from non-digital music formats, and for the second time since 1987, vinyl outsold CDs in total sales.

United Record Pressing has undergone its own evolution. The first record manufacturing plant was founded in 1949 by Bullet Records in Nashville. In the 1950s, the company changed its name to Southern Plastics Inc. and focused on releasing 7-inch singles, preferred by jukebox manufacturers.

In the early 1960s, the company was releasing more than 1 million records per month. They signed a deal to produce singles for Motown Records and moved into larger quarters, which included an apartment where The Supremes, Smokey Robinson and others performed, and which became known as the “Motown Suite.” In 1963, the Beatles’ first American single, “Please Please Me”, was released. Then, in the 1970s, a restructuring resulted in the company becoming United Record Pressing.

During the 1980s, records became a niche market. DJs still needed records for their turntables. Rap and hip-hop artists used them for scratching. But CDs have overtaken them.

By the late 2000s, indie artists began pushing for vinyl records. By 2015, records were again in widespread use, but manufacturers were few and far between, relying on printing presses from the 1960s and 1970s and a limited number of technicians who could operate them, Michaels said. Demand has increased again during the coronavirus pandemic.

“It’s art,” Michaels said of vinyl records. “Artists and fans want something tactile that they can hold onto and interact with. Listening to music is easy, and music streaming is a wonderful way to discover new music. But you know, at the end of the day, it’s a kind of sonic wallpaper.”

Today the factory mixes old and new.

Vintage audio equipment features a variety of wooden panels that are used to test master versions of records before they are used to press copies. And on the factory floor there’s quite a bit of modernized pressing equipment that looks and sounds like it’s been around since the last time vinyl ruled the market.

Technology is also improving this process. Besides the old presses, there are nifty new machines that print records more quietly and efficiently. There are also huge bags of colorful stones made from discarded material that can be pressed back into new slabs.

The machines that press master copies use technology that existed for the production of CDs and DVDs and has now been retooled for the production of vinyl.

Further into the factory, the whirring of machines gives way to music.

This is where Tyler Bryant could listen to 10 records per shift as the company’s quality control supervisor. Speaking about the harmonica rhythms from Cash’s album, Bryant said he’s discovering a lot of artists and records not on his list, from Harry Styles to Beyoncé. Cowboy Carter indie artists.

“Greater variety is something I appreciate,” Bryant said. “I don’t like sticking to one genre, you know?”

A few miles away, architects and a construction crew are working to preserve the old 1962 plant and pave the way for its future. As for what that will look like, Michaels says stay tuned.

“My vision hasn’t fully crystallized yet, but the challenge is this: This is one of the most important spaces in all of music,” Michaels said. “This needs to be celebrated. It has to be something people can do.”