Slipped discs

Back in October 2021 we warned you that a potential vinyl shortage was in the offing. Nigel Williamson confirms our darkest fear could be coming true

First it was queues at petrol pumps, then empty supermarket shelves. The government even appointed a minister for saving Christmas' to ensure turkeys and mince pies aren't rationed due to glitches in the supply chain. What we have heard less about is the vinyl shortage, which means you might not find that LP you were hoping for in your stocking.

The vinyl crisis has hit small independent labels the hardest. "We're facing six-to-eight month lead times after paying large sums up-front," Dominic Williams, label manager at Acid Jazz, told Investment Monitor. "Small labels don't have the cash flow to wait that long".

But even the majors have been affected. In 2020, Universal Music announced a 30th anniversary edition of Nirvana's Never mind as an eight-LP set - but it wasn't available until May. Even as mighty a commercial force as Taylor Swift had to wait for her vinyl to be produced: Evermore was released digitally in December 2020, but it was another five months before it came to vinyl.