Music fans are in a spin as pressing plants struggle to meet surging demand for vinyl records.
Vinyl sales are the highest they have been since the early 1990s, but the small number of surviving vinyl factories are failing to cope with orders.
Nearly 4.2million vinyl records were sold in the UK last year, generating £90million in sales.
Ed Sheeran , Arctic Monkeys and The 1975 are among musicians who have issued new releases in vinyl.
Latest figures show that vinyl sales have risen by 128 per cent in the past three years, and now account for 6.6 per cent of industry income.
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Most major and independent records in Europe are pressed by two plants – in the Czech Republic and Germany.
But their output is not enough to satisfy a suddenly expanding global market, say industry experts.
Record distributor and music author Graham Jones says it’s a “huge” problem.
“There are not enough pressing plants in the world to cope with the demand for vinyl,” he said.
“We have to be careful that the vinyl revival doesn’t clatter
out and that is a slight danger at the moment.”
Graham, 59, whose latest book The Vinyl Revival and the Shops That Made It Happen has just been published, says one UK pressing plant has a six-month backlog of orders a year after it opened.
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He added: “We find it quite interesting that sometimes artists themselves will make a record and arrange a tour but by the time the tour starts they are still waiting for the vinyl to come in.”
Arctic Monkeys’ Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino was last year’s biggest-selling vinyl album and the fastest-selling in 25 years, shifting 24,500 copies in just a week.
Chris Green, of the British Phonographic Industry, said: “The possible supply issues mean that its rate of growth may come down to a more consolidated, stable level.
“This arguably may not be such a bad thing if it helps to sustain the excitement and appeal of the format.”
