Apollo Masters Archives

The vinyl advocacy group speaks with optimism following the devastating blaze at Apollo Masters earlier this year.

The Vinyl Alliance, an advocacy group comprised of several industry organizations, issued an official response to the recent fire that destroyed Apollo Masters in California earlier this year. The incident raised concerns about the future of vinyl production as Apollo Masters was the primary source of a critical lacquer used in vinyl record creation. Still, the statement released by Vinyl Alliance is optimistic.

“There are already alternatives available,” says the group’s president Günter Loibl, “which will help bridge the shortage of lacquer discs. This can also be an opportunity to embrace new technologies and to strengthen collaboration within the industry.”

Within hours after the fire, Vinyl Alliance members got into contact with each other to discuss possible repercussions. Simultaneously, start-ups and individuals reached out to share their ideas. Soon it became clear that the impact on the industry will be limited in the long run as there are alternatives and options available to deal with the temporary shortage of lacquer discs:

MDC, the remaining manufacturer of lacquers, is rationing supply to satisfy the demand of as many customers as possible

Direct-to-Metal-Mastering (DMM) is a working alternative, which does not require a lacquer and is available worldwide

Several start-ups are planning to manufacture lacquers, and they are expected to enter the market in the coming months

New technologies such as HD Vinyl – a modern way to produce stampers without lacquers – are in development

Scott Hull, a mastering engineer in New York, remains calm: “For the time being we have to be more careful with how we use lacquers, but I doubt that the consumer will feel the shortage before our industry will come up with a solution.”

`Heinz Lichtenegger, CEO from Pro-Ject, believes in the future of vinyl: “Perhaps we can find a silver lining in this tragedy. Vinyl is an amazingly durable medium for music that has stood the test of time. We have seen cassettes, 8-Tracks, micro-cassette, reel to reel, Mini-Disc, LaserDisc, CED discs, etc. come and go, but the vinyl LP is more cherished than ever. It is a format important to the industry, to the artists, and to millions of fans! “

The main concern at this moment belongs to the employees of Apollo Masters. “They are the ones directly affected by this tragedy “, says Zack Tipton, CEO of Vinylize. “Our thoughts go out to them and their families.”

We will continue to cover the Apollo Masters fire and the vinyl industry’s response to its destruction in the coming weeks. Follow Haulix on Facebook and Twitter for more information.

A recent fire at Apollo Masters in California has left the future of vinyl record production in a difficult position.

Vinyl is back. To be more specific, vinyl is experiencing a new wave of popularity, which has been building in waves of the last decade. More vinyl records were sold in the last decade than in the two decades that preceded it, and until last week the likelihood of sales continuing to grow was very high.

Then the unimaginable happened.

According to the Desert Sun, a three-alarm fire broke out on February 6 at the Apollo Masters Corp., a decades-old company that produces a lacquer formula for making master discs, which are critical for the creation of vinyl records. Employees were inside when the fire started, but everyone was able to escape unharmed. The facility was destroyed.

SR 243 closed south of I-10 due to fire. Use alternate routes. Unknown duration. pic.twitter.com/muPVeCfTHj
— Caltrans District 8 (@Caltrans8) February 6, 2020

Apollo Masters was the “primary or possibly only supplier of the styli” that is used in the vinyl pressing process. The loss of the company’s facility is placing an enormous strain on the vinyl industry. Other businesses are allegedly working to enter the lacquer business, but the wait between planning and executing that work could take some time.

“From my understanding, this fire will present a problem for the vinyl industry worldwide,” Ben Blackwell, co-founder of Third Man Records, told Pitchfork in an email. “There are only TWO companies that make lacquers in the world, and the other, MDC in Japan, already had trouble keeping up with demand BEFORE this development.”

“I imagine this will affect EVERYONE, not just Third Man Pressing and Third Man Mastering, but to what extent remains to be seen,” he added. “I don’t want to be an alarmist. But I’m attempting to be realistic as opposed to Pollyannish.”

Pitchfork also points out that the Twitter account for Duplication, a Toronto-based vinyl/CD/DVD duplication, pressing, and printing company wrote, “Disaster for the vinyl pressing industry,” and “There will be a lacquer shortage, and possibly plants having to close or scale back operations for a while.”

It’s unclear if any artists depend solely on vinyl sales for income, but many in the rock and metal world have seen a healthy boost of revenue because of vinyl’s popularity. An industry scale back would impact artists at every level, but let’s be honest: Major labels have negotiation power that smaller names do not. It’s most likely that indie artists and labels will be the ones who feel the pinch of this crisis.

Follow Haulix on Facebook and Twitter for more information as new details become available.