Sony relaunches Vinyl production in Tokyo

With a revived interest in Vinyl records, Sony are finally jumping on the bandwagon by relaunching production in Tokyo

Once only visited by a certain clientele, Vinyl record stores have had an unpredicted revival over the last five years, attracting a younger audience, as well as retaining older consumers. With increased demand for modern tracks to become available through vinyl, production is on the rise as a result of this creeping demand.

Sony’s move back into the market is easy to understand from a marketing and business perspective, as vinyl revenue will surpass $1 billion this year and has reached a 25 year high, according to The Guardian. However, it is still somewhat surprising, considering it left vinyl production in 1989 to focus its efforts on CDs, which are now decreasing in sales and popularity.

The company’s new factory in Tokyo will be run by a subsidiary of SMEJ and open early next year. A cutting lathe has already been installed at a recording studio in the city, in order to manufacture new records. However, it has been reported that the company is struggling to find knowledgeable record engineers in order to meet demand.

Since 2007, there has been a sharp increase in vinyl sales, according to The Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ).

With statistic trends 2017, the RIAJ has added that “unit production and value of vinyl discs jumped 21 percent and 24 percent, as unit production and value rose sharply for the third consecutive year.”