This new pressing plant opening in Southern California next year aims to be the country’s “premier vinyl production facility.”
As vinyl production continues to face delays and plants experience continued backlogs, Fidelity “is strictly focused on quality – not quantity,” according to the release. “The biggest opportunity is the increased capacity for our related record label, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab,” Davis tells.
“Conversations about opening a new record pressing facility started mid-2020 when it became apparent that demand for vinyl was far exceeding capacity,” continues Davis. “My partners and I viewed this not just as an opportunity to capitalize on a growing music sector, but also to advance the quality standards for vinyl.”
He says the biggest challenge has been coordinating the acquisition of record presses and their required infrastructure, especially in a supply-chain-challenged environment. Fidelity will open with eight presses, all of which are manufactured by Nashville’s Record Pressing Machines. According to the release, the hydraulic presses mechanically mirror presses from the 1960s, but with the addition of more innovative operational controls. “Fidelity’s blend of the finest of older, proven technology and new, enhanced methods — combined with the staff’s intelligence, skill, care, and ingenuity — make it distinct from any other U.S. pressing plant,” the release states.
At a time when more plants are popping up across the country – and when the vinyl format continues to grow in eye-popping popularity – Davis says there are really two misconceptions about opening a new pressing facility: “[That] it can’t be done without experienced record-pressing veterans,” he says, “and they are hard to find.”