S4E9: Pressing Matters: Tariffs Are Killing the US Vinyl Business

Brought to you by the Artist Rights Institute www.artistrightsinstitute.org

Host: Chris Castle

In this episode of the Artist Rights Watch Podcast, we dig into a story that affects artists, fans, and the entire music ecosystem—how outdated U.S. trade policy is quietly strangling America’s vinyl pressing industry.

While demand for vinyl continues to climb, independent U.S. manufacturers face steep tariffs on the raw materials they need—like nickel, PVC, steel, and paperboard. Meanwhile, finished records can be imported tariff-free. It’s a textbook case of policy failure that rewards offshore production and punishes domestic creators.

We explore how this imbalance hurts artists, independent pressing plants, and local economies—and what can be done to fix it.

🔍 What We Cover:

• Why vinyl records are tariff-free but not the materials used to make them

• How the Berman Amendment protects culture—but fails U.S. producers

• The crisis around lacquer disc supply and the lack of DMM machines in the U.S.

• How foreign ownership and inter-company transfers create unfair advantages

• Actionable policy reforms to support domestic cultural manufacturing
  
  

  🔗 References & Resources:

  • Full blog post:
    Why Tariffs Are Quietly Undermining the American Vinyl Comeback (MusicTechPolicy)

  • Berman Amendment – 50 U.S.C. § 1702(b)(3):
    Legal Text – LII / Cornell

  • U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS):
    U.S. International Trade Commission

  • Vinyl Institute – Advocacy for PVC Producers:
    vinylinfo.org

  • Chlor-Vinyl Industry Alliance (CVIA):
    chlorvinyl.org

  • Overview of Direct Metal Mastering (DMM):
    Wikipedia – DMM
    
    

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      #VinylRevival #MusicPolicy #TradePolicy #Tariffs #PressingPlants #IndependentMusic #LacquerShortage #CulturalInfrastructure #ArtistRights #VinylRecords #MadeInUSA #MusicIndustry #SupportLocalMusic #AnalogIsBack #VinylManufacturing
      
      

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