Sony Helped Kill Vinyl. Now It's Doing an About-Face

In a sign that the vinyl revival isn't a flash in the pan, Sony Music has announced it will return to making vinyl records for the first time since 1989. Crediting a huge demand, a spokesperson says vinyl production will kick off at a factory near Tokyo by next March, reports CNNMoney. The rep says it's undecided which genres of music will make the cut. However, contemporary music and older Japanese music will reportedly be included, reports the AFP by way of Japanese media. The rep adds some of Sony's former engineers will take on advisory roles so Sony's less-experienced engineers can get a feel for how vinyl production is done.

Sony, one of the world's largest record companies, actually helped bring about vinyl's collapse in the 1980s and '90s through its role in introducing the Walkman and CD, reports NPR. It last made vinyl records 28 years ago. But with demand for vinyl only increasing since an initial upswing in sales in 2008—and with sales of CDs and digital downloads falling—Sony now looks to take advantage. It looks like a smart move: Consulting firm Deloitte expects vinyl sales to see double-digit growth for the seventh consecutive year this year; nearly a fifth of all physical music revenue for 2017 could come from vinyl sales, per CNNMoney. (More Sony stories.)