Vinyl has undergone one hell of a renaissance.
In 2006, the format was effectively dead.
While in Germany, sales went from 0.3m in 2006, to 4.5m last year.
Those numbers are somewhat misleading though and their exuberance hides a darker story.
Vinyl sales are strong, but the industry itself is at breaking point.
And, of course, to make some money along the way.
In this instance, that mantle is being taken up byelasticStage.
Who or what is elasticStage?
Well, elasticStage is a British company co-founded by two Austrians: Steve Rhodes and Werner Freistaetter.
Each of them have worked in the music industry as recording artists and behind the boards.
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Rhodes and Freistaetter started elasticStage to take this idea further.
For all intents and purposes, they believe theyve found the magic bullet that can transform vinyl.
To find more out, I spoke with Rhodes, elasticStages CEO.
Effectively, making a record is one of the hardest things to do.
The issue is the gap between the formats heyday and its modern era.
This means much knowledge was lost.
Rhodes believes elasticStage can fix this.
As succinctly as possible, it begins with a master disc.
This is when a lacquer is cut, which is effectively carving music onto an acetate disc.
After this comes the galvanics.
Here, the lacquer is sprayed and, using electrolysis, is nickel plated.
This creates a reverse of the record.
This step is repeated, creating a reverse of the reverse.
Errors, as you’re able to imagine, abound in such a fiddly process.
Of course, this is just a high-level overview, and theres a lot more complexity.
With its machine, elasticStage wants to completely change this.
He said theres no electroplating and neither do they heat up plastic.
It then quickly prints it with little hassle.
Despite this, he believes the records that elasticStage can produce maintains the vinyl sound people love.
Now this is where I want to put a caveat.
I understand the secrecy, but I do question why people havent cracked this case before.
So there is hope.
It could be a good bet.
The first is the rise of independent creators in the last few years.
This is where the genesis of elasticStage began and you’re free to see the logic.
At the end of 2021,Spotify announced in its Q4 earnings callthat it hosted 11 million creators.
This was an increase of 3 million from the year before.
The potential here is clear.
That is a huge market of hungry consumers ready to sell to.
48 hours later, their record would be arriving.
We want to build the go-to destination for physical records in the world, Rhodes told TNW.
The company is already in discussions with major record labels and a big streamer.
If they can manage such a feat, itd be a goldmine.
This can go even further.
Whats the future for elasticStage?
ElasticStage has its eyes set on the big time.
Its currently set on moving its production facilities from Germany into the UK.
Of course, the elephant in the room is the miraculous technology the company is currently patenting.
Its hard though not to be swayed by elasticStages mission.
Thats an admirable goal.
And if it can achieve its mission, elasticStage will be responsible for dragging vinyl into the 21st century.
