P.E.I. vinyl-pressing company creates platform to aid production costs

Kaneshii Vinyl Pressing in Charlottetown has created an online platform that allows artists to pre-sell their records to help cover the cost of production.

Record Fund launched during East Coast Music Week as a way to help artists with up-front costs and a half-dozen artists signed up that first week.

An order of 300 records usually costs around $3,000 but using Record Fund, an artist can pre-sell 100 records for $30 each which covers the cost, said Kaneshii co-owner Ghislaine Cormier 

Then Kaneshii will ship the albums to the buyers, and the remaining 200 to the artist.

"Going over processes with potential clients and whatnot, we saw that a lot of them, the main factor that would come into play that they wouldn't start a project right away would be the funding," Cormier said.

She said this is a promotional tool that helps artists proceed with their projects.

'Huge demand' for vinyl

"When we got into the vinyl production of it all, we saw that there was a huge demand for it," Cormier said.

"Then we realized a lot of our clients, that was the big thing — the upfront cost of it. They couldn't really afford it so this is how the platform became a tool we want to develop."

Cormier said the company and industry are seeing a lot of demand in the vinyl market. People who remember records are nostalgic, and a new generation used to digital media is curious.

"The Record Fund platform actually gives artists a means to be able to press vinyl," Cormier said.

There is a $250 fee to register a project on the site.

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