As vinyl makes a comeback, this startup lets anyone crowdfund an LP

While the vast majority of people consume their music digitally, a small but steadily increasing number of collectors, audiophiles, and vintage-loving hipsters are embracing vinyl records. That’s good news for Tokyo Digital Music Syndicates (TDMS), a Japanese startup that just launched a new site for customizing and crowdfunding original LPs.

Music streaming services like Tidal and Spotify have been stealing the headlines so far in 2015, but vinyl record sales are up 53 percent in the first quarter compared to the same period in 2014. Approximately 8 million LPs were sold in the US last year, making up about 2 percent of total music sales. That might seem like an insignificant number, but it represents an increase of nearly 50 percent year-on-year.

“In Japan, Europe, and the US, vinyl sales are rising,” Gregory Gouty, head of international business development at TDMS, tells Tech in Asia. “People love having a physical thing to hold on to and collect. Other [physical] formats like CDs aren’t growing, but it seems that LPs will never die. Vinyl is here to stay.”

Qrates, which went live in beta on Friday, resembles Kickstarter for vinyl. Artists can use the service to create record preorder campaigns with a minimum pressing of just 100 copies – lower than the industry standard of 300-500 vinyl copies per order when dealing with similar online services or pressing companies directly.

WAV to vinyl

Qrates’ sleek customization interface allows artists to personalize 12, 10, and 7-inch records with 15 opaque and transparent color options. There’s even a splatter effect that combines any two of the available colors for a really unique effect. Artists can also choose from a variety of sleeve and label options or upload their own designs. Adding music is as simple as dragging and dropping WAV files to the A and B sides.

Once an artist has customized their record and set a minimum pressing order, fans can preorder as many copies as they want toward the campaign’s funding goal. Artists can choose to limit availability to boost a LP’s collectors appeal or increase the quantity to raise more money when fans show a high level of interest. The startup has also also partnered with GZ Media, the biggest producer of vinyl records on the planet, to ensure that meeting demand is never an issue.

Both content creators and analog aficionados will find Qrates surprisingly affordable. Gouty says that the most basic option – 100 copies of a plain black 12-inch, shipped within Europe – costs about US$750. Add a colored sleeve and labels and the price increases to just US$900 for 100 copies. If an artist wants to go all out with splattered vinyl, custom sleeve printing, and one-off labels, the price goes up to about US$1,500-2,500 per 100 records.

It’s up to the artist to decide the final cost for the consumer, based on Qrates’ pressing cost. The startup takes a 15 percent cut for each record sold.