Factory southwest of Tokyo will be pressing records by March as demand for format surges
A shop manager shows off a period Japanese pressing of the Beatles’ final studio album, Let It Be, at the RECOfan music shop in Tokyo’s Shibuya district.
A shop manager shows off a period Japanese pressing of the Beatles’ final studio album, Let It Be, at the RECOfan shop in Tokyo.
Three decades after it abandoned vinyl production, Sony will start making records again amid surging demand.
A factory southwest of Tokyo will churn out freshly pressed records from March, Sony Music Entertainment said.
The Japanese company stopped making vinyl records in 1989 as consumers flocked to CDs and other emerging technology. Nevertheless, Japan produced nearly 200m records a year in the mid-seventies, according to the country’s recording industry association.
Sony was a large global player in the development of CDs, which have since taken a back seat to downloads and music streaming.
Vinyl has been making a global comeback as it attracts nostalgic older consumers and younger generations.
Japan’s sole record maker, Toyokasei, was struggling to keep up with the resurgence in vinyl demand, the Nikkei newspaper reported. Sony was scrambling to find older engineers familiar with how to make records, it added.
RELATED ARTICLES :
Sony did not say what music it would release in record format. However, Nikkei said the lineup would include popular Japanese songs from the past, including Sony-owned titles, as well as chart-topping contemporary albums.
According to estimates from Deloitte consulting firm, global vinyl revenue will top $1bn this year while sales of CDs and digital downloads continue to fall.
Where vinyl’s rebirth has been particularly pronounced in Britain, records generated more revenue than advertising-backed tiers of streaming platforms last year.
Landscape category winner and photographer of the year: Frederik Buyckx
This year’s winning photographers have focused on everything from porn stars to hyenas. Here, in northern Montenegro, a shepherd is pictured walking to his herd. The top entries are on display at Somerset House, London, until 7 May
Facebook Twitter Pinterest
Landscape category winner and Photographer of the Year: Frederik Buyck’s picture of a shepherd in northern Montenegro
Portraiture category, third place: Ren Shi Chen
This image was taken in Gansu province, China. More than 61 million children in the country’s rural areas have been left behind by parents who have gone to the cities to work
Facebook Twitter Pinterest
Portraiture category, third place: Ren shi Chen – a picture of a lone child in Gansu province, China
Contemporary issues category, third place: Lorenzo Maccotta
A cam model poses after his day shift in Bucharest, Romania. The adult webcam industry is worth $1bn annually and is growing fast as technology becomes better and cheaper. Romania, a country with one of the highest rates of youth unemployment in the EU, is now the undisputed world capital of studio-based cam operations; the models are paid by platforms such as Luxembourg-based LiveJasmin, which has 25 million visitors monthly
Facebook Twitter Pinterest
Contemporary issues category, third place: Lorenzo Maccotta A cam model poses after his day shift in Bucharest, Romania. The adult webcam industry is worth $1bn annually and is growing fast as technology becomes better and cheaper. Romania, a country with one of the highest rates of youth unemployment in the EU, is now the undisputed world capital of studio-based cam operations; the models are paid by platforms such as Luxembourg-based LiveJasmin, which has 25 million visitors monthly
Architecture category, second place: Julien Chatelin
A new hot spring spa complex in Fuling, China, where Chatelin charted the incredible pace of industrial and urban development
Facebook Twitter Pinterest
Architecture category, second place: Julien ChatelinA new hot spring spa complex in Fuling, China, where Chatelin charted the incredible pace of industrial and urban development
Contemporary issues category, winner: Tasneem Alsultan
In her work, Alsultan confronts her experiences as a Saudi single mother. ‘I’ve made peace with the sacrifices I’ve had to make, but I managed to find happiness,’ she says. ‘I was married at the age of 17, but living as a single parent for the final six years of an unhappy 10-year marriage. Many family members commented on how foolish I was to ask for a divorce. Only later did I realize that many Saudi women had had similar experiences.’
Facebook Twitter Pinterest
Contemporary issues category, winner: Tasneem AlsultanIn her work, Alsultan confronts her experiences as a Saudi single mother. ‘I’ve made peace with the sacrifices I’ve had to make but also found happiness,’ she says. ‘I was married at the age of 17, but living as a single parent for the final six years of an unhappy 10-year marriage. Many family members commented on how foolish I was to ask for a divorce. Only later did I realize that many Saudi women had had similar experiences.’
Contemporary issues category, second place: Li Song
Li Hang, who suffers from Prader-Willi syndrome, in Changchun, China. The syndrome’s classic symptom is insatiable hunger. Hang’s eyes revealed passion and helplessness – he was being treated daily with traditional Chinese medicine, including massage, acupuncture, fire treatment, and cupping therapy
Facebook Twitter Pinterest
Contemporary Issues category, second place: Li SongLi Hang, who suffers from Prader-Willi syndrome, in Changchun, China. The syndrome’s classic symptom is insatiable hunger. Hang’s eyes revealed passion and helplessness – he was being treated daily with traditional Chinese medicine, including massage, acupuncture, fire treatment, and cupping therapy
Natural world category, winner: Will Burrard-Lucas
‘To show hyenas in their element, I wanted to photograph them at night,’ Burrard-Lucas says. ‘The stars in Africa are so beautiful that I also wanted to include them in my image. I used a remote-control “BeetleCam” to position my camera on the ground to photograph the hyena with the beautiful starry sky behind it. This is a single exposure. I lit the hyena with two wireless off-camera flashes and used a long shutter speed to expose the stars’
Facebook Twitter Pinterest
Natural world category, winner: Will Burrard-Lucas‘To show hyenas in their element, I wanted to photograph them at night,’ Burrard-Lucas says. ‘The stars in Africa are so beautiful that I also wanted to include them in my image. I used a remote-control “BeetleCam” to position my camera on the ground to photograph the hyena with the beautiful starry sky behind it. This is a single exposure. I lit the hyena with two wireless off-camera flashes and used a long shutter speed to expose the stars’
Architecture category, winner: Dongni
Working from above, the Chinese photographer Dongni reframes the geometries of urban architecture
Facebook Twitter Pinterest