As any finance bro will tell you, it's all about supply and demand. In light of their "Running Up That Hill" moment with "Master of Puppets" on Stranger Things 4, Metallica sold nearly one million vinyl records in 2022 [via Billboard] — and with the ongoing worldwide vinyl shortage, they've decided to take matters into their own puppet-clad hands.
The band has now acquired most of Furnace Record Pressing, a plant located in Alexandria, VA, to keep up with their fans' voracious appetite for wax. Furnace and Metallica have been partners in pressing since the plant made their 2008 audiophile pressing of The Black Album.
However, with the immense demand for their records, the band had to utilize additional manufacturers to press a total of more than 902,500 pieces of vinyl for more than 620,000 packages — about half of which sold in the US — last year, according to their management. They're not Taylor Swift, but those are still some pretty big numbers.
"We couldn't be more happy to take our partnership with Furnace," and its founders, "to the next level," drummer Lars Ulrich said in a statement. James Hetfield added that Furnace had been "great to Metallica and more importantly to our fans," and that the decision to buy it would would guarantee that vinyl buyers "will have continued access to high quality records in the future."
The band are set to release forthcoming new album 72 Seasons through their own Blackened Recordings on April 14.
Metallica join the likes of Jack White, who has his own vinyl manufacturing plant for label Third Man Records. Last year, the former White Stripes member called on major labels to build their own pressing plants to keep up with the demand and help support the vinyl ecosystem.
The band has now acquired most of Furnace Record Pressing, a plant located in Alexandria, VA, to keep up with their fans' voracious appetite for wax. Furnace and Metallica have been partners in pressing since the plant made their 2008 audiophile pressing of The Black Album.
However, with the immense demand for their records, the band had to utilize additional manufacturers to press a total of more than 902,500 pieces of vinyl for more than 620,000 packages — about half of which sold in the US — last year, according to their management. They're not Taylor Swift, but those are still some pretty big numbers.
"We couldn't be more happy to take our partnership with Furnace," and its founders, "to the next level," drummer Lars Ulrich said in a statement. James Hetfield added that Furnace had been "great to Metallica and more importantly to our fans," and that the decision to buy it would would guarantee that vinyl buyers "will have continued access to high quality records in the future."
The band are set to release forthcoming new album 72 Seasons through their own Blackened Recordings on April 14.
Metallica join the likes of Jack White, who has his own vinyl manufacturing plant for label Third Man Records. Last year, the former White Stripes member called on major labels to build their own pressing plants to keep up with the demand and help support the vinyl ecosystem.
