FeaturesRavers Heat

New vinyl pressing plant, Press On Vinyl, to open in Middlesbrough

A new pressing plant geared towards grassroots music, Press On Vinyl, is set to open in Middlesbrough in the coming months. 

The company – headed by David Todd, Danny Lowe, and David Hynes – aims to support independent artists and labels, small-run releases, and musicians local to the plant in the North-East.

The news comes after the sale of vinyl records in the UK reached their highest level for three decades in 2021, with over five million records sold. The spike in demand alongside manufacturing delays and rising costs due to the pandemic, have resulted in many artists pushing back release dates. The plant aims to press 50,000 records per month, a figure they hope will grow as the plant increases its number of pressing machines later this year. 

Speaking with ITV, co-founder David Todd said: “The demand for vinyl from music fans has increased massively over the last five to six years but the global capacity hasn’t increased with that so over the whole world there’s a massive shortage of pressing plants who can provide the capacity for the labels and the artists.”

Last month the plant announced their first pressing will be the debut EP from local Teesside indie-pop band Komparrison, due for release this spring. 

Earlier this month, Taiwanese vinyl pressing plant Mobineko announced their new express service for limited runs of 25-100 records as a way of tackling supply and demand issues across the sector. 

For a deep-dive into the challenges faced by independent labels amid the ongoing resurgence on vinyl on a large scale, revisit DJ Mag’s feature here.  

Back to top