The popularity of analog records has not stopped.

Record production has increased 12-fold over the last decade, as Internet music distribution services have flourished and CD sales have fallen.

Due to the growing popularity of records, production sites continue to be in full operation, and in some cases it takes longer to deliver than before.

According to the Recording Industry Association of Japan, the production value of analog records dropped to 170 million yen in 2010, replacing CDs, but since then, the number of popular artists releasing new songs on vinyl has increased. It has been on a recovery trend, and last year's production value was 2,117 million yen, which has increased 12 times in the last 10 years.



The Sony Group companies withdrew from the record production business in 1989, but due to their growing popularity, they started producing records at a factory in Yaizu City, Shizuoka Prefecture for the first time in 29 years.


Since the number of orders for this year has doubled from last year, we have been operating the factory at full capacity 24 hours a day since August, without taking a break on weekends and holidays.



Another record maker is also operating the press machine at the factory at full capacity for production, but in some cases the supply cannot keep up with the increasing demand and it takes about 4 months to deliver, which used to take about 1 month. It means that it is coming.

Mr. Isao Aoki of "Sony Music Solutions" said, "It has been in full operation 24 hours a day, including Saturdays and Sundays, and has peaked since the end of August. I am very grateful that the number of production is increasing year by year." I'm talking to you.

Specialty stores open one after another

With increasing popularity, analog record specialty stores are opening one after another.



Of these, Tower Records, a major music software sales company, opened a store specializing in analog records in Shibuya, Tokyo in September.


The store has about 70,000 new and used analog records.


According to the company, the sales of this year's records in all 75 stores nationwide have almost doubled.



In recent years, when popular artists from Japan and overseas release new songs, the movement to release CDs and records at the same time has spread, and records are becoming more popular, especially among younger generations such as those in their twenties.



A man in his twenties who came to the store said, "I knew that my favorite band had a record a year or two ago and decided to buy it. The jacket is big, so it looks great and it takes time. I'm addicted to listening to music. "

Taichi Aoki, the manager of Tower Records Shibuya, said, "I think that demand is increasing because many people, from young people to those who have been recording records for many years, are coming to the store. This momentum has not stopped. I think it will continue, "he said.

Record demand rises worldwide

Records are becoming more popular overseas.


In the United States, record sales exceeded CDs for the first time in 34 years since 1986, and in the United Kingdom, last year's sales were the highest since 1989, and the demand for records is increasing worldwide.

Japanese used records “well preserved” popular in the world

世界的に需要が高まる中、日本の中古レコードに注目が集まっています。


横浜市の輸出会社は4年前から日本で買い取った中古レコードを海外に輸出しています。


毎月3万枚ほどのレコードをコンテナに積み込んで、ドイツの拠点に運んでいて、ドイツにある倉庫には日本から届いたおよそ20万枚の中古レコードが保管されています。



日本で発売された洋楽のレコードのほか、山下達郎さんや、竹内まりやさんなど1970年代から80年代にかけて発表された「シティ・ポップ」と呼ばれる日本のアーティストのレコードも人気だといいます。



日本の中古レコードが世界で人気を集める理由の1つが、その保存状態のよさです。


欧米で出回っている中古レコードに比べて傷が少ないものが多く、帯の付いたジャケットなど貴重な商品も多いということです。



インターネットで世界中から注文を受け付けドイツの拠点から配送することで日本から送るよりも配送料を抑えることができるということで、去年の売り上げは2年前の2倍以上に増えたということです。

Yui Kosaka, president of the export company "Izard", said, "There is so much demand that there is no bottom, and if you buy it, it will definitely sell. There are many wonders if it is stored in Japan, and I feel that it is a business that can be established only in Japan. As long as there are used records in Japan, I would like to collect them and send them all over the world. "



Under these circumstances, many companies are entering the used record purchasing business one after another.


A Tokyo company that buys kimonos and brand-name products started buying used records in September, and last month, it sold about 1,000 records to an export company in Yokohama.



Mr. Naoyuki Ohno of BuySell Technologies said, "Although the same traders are also entering the record purchase, records are becoming more popular worldwide, so we started purchasing because our company also has a chance. Time to stay at home in Corona As the number of records increases, more and more people are disposing of records by decluttering. "

Record raw material prices soar due to rising crude oil prices

The record market is booming, but global raw material prices are rising.

The price of vinyl chloride resin, which is the main raw material for vinyl records, has risen sharply against the backdrop of rising crude oil prices.



Chemical manufacturers have been raising prices one after another, and Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. announced that it will raise the domestic sales price by 40 yen or more per kilogram, which is the largest ever from the delivery on the 21st of this month. Did.


This is the third price increase.



In the United States, the market price last month was $ 2022 per ton, more than double that of the same month.



Even at the factories of Sony Group companies, the price of vinyl chloride resin has just been raised by 5% from the manufacturer this summer, and we are concerned about the future impact.


Mr. Norio Aoki of "Sony Music Solutions" said, "If the material cost is raised, the profit will decrease, so I would like to purchase it as cheaply as possible. I want to keep an eye on it and carefully decide whether to raise the price of the record. "