Solving The Vinyl Comeback's Big Problem, One Antique Machine At A Time
Saturday is Record Store Day, when independent music retailers around the country host parking-lot concerts and sell limited-edition pressings of vinyl records, which have made a small but forceful comeback in an age dominated by digital listening habits. But if there's one problem with the vinyl resurgence, it might be this: The machines that press vinyl records are decades old, and no one's building new ones, so keeping up with increased demand is hard.
One vinyl pressing plant in Salina, Kan., will soon be able to meet some of that increased demand. Salina is basically at the dead center of the country, and here, alongside the railroad tracks, in the shadow of grain elevators, next to a gravel lot filled with industrial propane tanks, is the headquarters of Acoustic Sounds, run by Chad Kassem.
"Back in the mid-'70s, every teenage boy had a stereo — or most in my neighborhood — [a] stereo and maybe a hundred albums," Kassem says of growing up in Louisiana. "So I wasn't any more of a collector than most of my friends."
By the time he was 21, Kassem was in trouble with the law, and packed up for Kansas at the order of a judge. "I came to Kansas to get sober in 1984," he says. Kansas had alcohol, but in general, there were fewer distractions for a man who needed to dry out. He had his stereo shipped there, and built up his record collection. "Since Kansas was kind of out of the way, most of these records that were very rare and sought-after, they still had plenty of them in Kansas and I found a couple of motherlodes."
Eventually, his collecting hobby turned into an international business. "You sell albums and you sell pre-owned albums and people are looking for particular albums nobody is putting out and they're very valuable. [So] you decide to reissue it," Kassem says. He founded Acoustic Sounds and contacted record labels about reissuing classic albums. He built up a staff to recreate the artwork, negotiate rights and handle sales. At first, he contracted out the vinyl pressing.
"[The] next natural step is to have your own pressing plant," he says. "[It] just took me 20 years and two million dollars to do it."
Kassem bought his first presses in 2010. He found some of them in England; others came from Los Angeles. Most were in pretty bad shape. Kassem hired two experienced technicians to get them up and running, and he lined up an influential customer: the estate of Jimi Hendrix.
A Hamilton record press.
"In 2010, we reissued the entire Jimi Hendrix catalog on vinyl," says John McDermott, the producer and catalog director for Experience Hendrix. "At the forefront of that was a new album we produced, Valleys of Neptune, which was an unreleased studio recording that Jimi Hendrix had made in 1969. ... It was a remarkable success."
Now, all of Hendrix's music goes to Kassem's plant, Quality Record Pressings. Each of his presses in his plant is about the size of a Volkswagen Bug. They're intricate systems of steel and hydraulics, and in addition to Hendrix's Are You Experienced, Axis: Bold As Love and Electric Ladyland, they're pressing records by Leonard Cohen, KISS, Pink Floyd and The Doors.
There are about 16 records pressing plants now operating around the country, and Kassem says it's an arms race to find any remaining presses that aren't already being used and get them back into production. He hit his latest motherlode in Chicago, where he discovered thirteen rusting presses owned by a guy named Joell Hays, who runs a rehearsal studio and bought the abandoned presses on eBay a decade ago, thinking he always wanted to make records.
"[I] didn't have any idea how much it was going to cost to get them going at the time," Hays says. "At first I thought a couple hundred thousand to build the factory, which after tons of research turned out to be closer to a million."
Hays tried to line up investors, but he never could. Meanwhile, a lot of people tried to buy them from him. Kassem's approach set him apart.
"I went up there," Kassem says. "I was willing to help him get his pressing plant, give him all the advice and everything I learned. I was willing to share this with him and I would. And the last thing I said was, 'Or, if you want, I'll just buy 'em all.'"
A technician works on one of Quality Record Pressing's newly acquired presses.
Eventually, that's exactly what he did. All 13 of Hays' presses are in pieces now, spread out all of the floor of Kassem's warehouse. It looks like a mechanic's garage, and it smells like rust and grease. Three guys are working on the machines.
"[We're] stripping everything down and getting ready for paint. Paint the frames and then go from there. A lot of stuff has to be replaced," says Robert Drenton, from Abilene, Kan. "I actually worked on tractors, did a lot of painting and assembly work, so I've got a lot of mechanical skills when it comes to stuff like this. I was surprised that there was machines like this still."
It could take a year before these presses are up and running. But that's OK with Chad Kassem.
"Basically, the first time you see these old, rusty presses, it looks like scrap metal," he says. "But it's not scrap metal. It looks like gold to you once you've seen what they can do and make."
For Kassem, make that black gold.
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Transcript
RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Vinyl records have made a small but forceful comeback in recent years. While total vinyl sales are a tiny fraction of overall music retail, the demand is such that the few remaining plants that actually press LPs are running virtually nonstop. Their machines are decades old, and no one is building new ones. But one man has made it his mission to get as much music on this old format into as many ears as he can. C.J. Janovy from member station KCUR has his story.
C.J. JANOVY, BYLINE: Salina, Kan., is basically dead-center of the country. Here, along the railroad tracks, in the shadow of grain elevators, next to a gravel lot filled with industrial propane tanks, is the headquarters of Acoustic Sounds. It's run by Chad Kassem.
CHAD KASSEM: Back in the mid-70s, every teenage boy had a stereo and maybe 100 albums. So I wasn't any more of a collector than most of my friends.
JANOVY: That was back in Louisiana where Kassam grew up. By the time he was 21, though, his drinking and drug abuse landed him in court where a judge ruled that he needed to get away from Louisiana's party culture.
KASSEM: I came to Kansas to get sober in 1984. That's where the judge picked.
JANOVY: Kansas has alcohol, but in general, there were fewer distractions for a man who needed to dry out. He had his stereo shipped here, and he was looking to build up his record collection.
KASSEM: Since Kansas is kind of out of the way, records that were very rare and sought after, they still had plenty of them in Kansas. And I found a couple of mother loads.
JANOVY: ...Hard-to-find collectible audiophile editions and classic LPs.
(SOUNDBITE OF JETHRO TULL SONG, "AQUALUNG")
JETHRO TULL: (Singing) Sitting on a park bench, eyeing little girls with bad intent.
JANOVY: Kassem scooped them up, and began reselling them through mail order. Then he took it a step further.
KASSEM: You sell pre-owned albums, and then people are looking for particular albums that nobody is putting out. And they're very valuable, so you decide to reissue it.
JANOVY: ...Yourself. He founded Acoustic Sounds and contacted record labels about reissuing classic albums. He built up a staff to re-create the artwork, negotiate rights and handle sales. At first, he contracted out the vinyl pressing.
KASSEM: The next natural step is to have your own pressing plant. It just took me, like, 20 years and $2 million to do it.
JANOVY: Kassem bought his first presses in 2010. He found some of them in England, others came from Los Angeles. Most were in pretty bad shape. Kassem hired two experienced technicians to get them up and running. And he lined up an influential customer - the estate of Jimi Hendrix. John McDermott is the producer and catalog director for Experience Hendrix.
JOHN MCDERMOTT: He had had a very large audience that he served by mail order, certainly selling a lot of Jimi Hendrix products. So when he decided to get into the manufacturing process, we knew, given his commitment to quality, that it was going to be an interesting thing to monitor. And once it got up and running, we began shifting all of the Jimi Hendrix vinyl manufacturing to his company in Kansas.
JANOVY: Now everything Hendrix on vinyl goes through Chad Kassem's plant.
(SOUNDBITE OF JIMI HENDRIX SONG, "HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO ELECTRIC LADYLAND")
JIMI HENDRIX: (Singing) Have you ever been, have you ever been to Electric Ladyland?
JANOVY: Kassem's press is now run 24/7 to meet demand. On this day, they're pressing records by Leonard Cohen, KISS, Pink Floyd and The Doors. Each press is about the size of a Volkswagen bug, intricate systems of steel and hydraulics. There are about 16 such plants around the country. Kassem says it's an arms-race to find any remaining presses and parts and get them back into production. So he was excited in January when he heard about 13 idle presses in Chicago owned by a guy named Joell Hays. He'd bought them on eBay because he'd always dreamed of getting into the business.
JOELL HAYS: Didn't have any idea how much it was going to cost to get them going at the time.
JANOVY: Turns out it was close to a million dollars. He tried to line up investors, but he never could. Meanwhile, a lot of people wanted to buy them from him. He always said no until he heard from Kassem.
HAYS: I liked him. I was familiar with his company. I knew he did quality work.
KASSEM: I went up there, and I was willing to help him, give him all the advice and everything I learned. I was willing to share this with him. And the last thing I said is I said if you want, I'll just buy them all.
HAYS: Ended up just selling everything over to him knowing that he was the right guy to do the full restoration and do justice by them.
JANOVY: All 13 presses are in pieces now, spread out all over the floor of Kassem's warehouse. It looks like a mechanic's garage, and it smells like rust and grease. Three guys are working on the machines.
ROBERT DRENTON: Stripping everything down and getting it ready for paint.
JANOVY: That's Robert Drenton, from Abilene, Kansas.
DRENTON: I actually worked on tractors and stuff. And I did a lot of assembly work. So I've got quite a bit of mechanical skills when it comes to stuff like this. I was surprised that there was machines like this still.
JANOVY: It could take a year before these presses are up and running. But that's OK with Chad Kassem. He never stopped believing in vinyl, and he plans to be pressing it for a long time.
KASSEM: The first time you see these old rusty presses, it looks like scrap metal. But it's not scrap metal. It looks like gold to you once you've seen what they can do and make.
JANOVY: For Chad Kassem, make that black gold. For NPR News, I'm C.J. Janovy in Kansas City.
(SOUNDBITE OF JIMI HENDRIX SONG, "HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO ELECTRIC LADYLAND")
HENDRIX: (Singing) I want to show you... Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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