NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- During the six decades since United Record Pressing stamped out the Beatles’ first U.S.
single, the country’s oldest vinyl record maker has survived 8-tracks, cassettes, CDs, Napster, iPods and streaming services. Now, the Nashville-based company has rebounded so dramatically that some of its equipment and technology has been retrofitted to keep pace with an ever-growing demand for old-school vinyl. The 75-year-old company has adjusted its business from filling jukeboxes to helping DJs spin and stocking shelves despite a pandemic.
On shelves in its warehouse are master versions by Johnny Cash, Kanye West and The Black Crowes. When Mark Michaels bought the company in 2007, vinyl was fading — its 38 employees mostly made singles for rap artists, often promos for clubs. Michaels wanted a hands-on chance to build a business and thought he could keep this one steady, but not grow it substantially.
It also came with a rich history as the first record pressing plant in the South, including an apartment atop the factory that housed Black artists and music executives during segregation. “You walked into this building and you just felt 50, 60 years of history and just the importance of what it stood for," said Michaels, the company's CEO and chair. “And yeah, you you get choked up, you get gooseflesh just experiencing that.
” Today, United Record Pressing runs a newer factory six times bigger than what Michaels bought, with about 125 employees who make up.
