How the Apollo Record Fire Could Affect Detroit’s Vinyl Collectors
There’s only a few factories in the world that make blank lacquer, one material vinyl records are made of. Luckily, with its supply unaffected, Detroit’s Third Man Records wants to help the industry stay on schedule.
A devastating fire at the Apollo Masters factory in California earlier this month is raising huge concerns for the vinyl record industry.
Apollo Masters is one of only two factories in the world that makes the blank lacquers used to press many records in the U.S. Detroit’s Third Man Records is one of the plants that mainly use lacquers.
“There’s been a lot of energy in trying to solve [the lacquer] problem with no real breakthrough.” — Roe Peterhans, Third Man Records
“Everyone needs lacquers,” says Third Man’s Dave Buick, except those who use a direct-to-metal vinyl method, which is primarily only in Europe. “Lacquers are basically an aluminum disk with a nail polish-like coating on it, and that’s what the grooves are cut onto.”
Third Man says the its supply of lacquers comes from a Japanese factory and its pressing plant in Detroit won’t be affected, but the industry overall could have trouble in the near future.
Roe Peterhans, Third Man’s operations manager, says, “A lot of people are trying to figure out what else you could [use] other than lacquers.”
Peterhans says Third Man’s vinyl operations are in a much better position than some other plants in the U.S., which could face obstacles in meeting production demands.
Click the player above to hear CultureShift’s Amanda LeClaire speak with Third Man Records about what the fire means for vinyl lovers.
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