Sony Corp (ADR) (NYSE:SNE) is going to start making vinyl records again.
Sony will start making vinyl records again in March 2018. The records will be pressed at one of its subsidiaries factories in Tokyo. The company hasn’t yet decided what music will get the vinyl treatment.
It has been almost three decades since Sony last made vinyl records. The company says that interest from young customers and old fans are responsible for it getting back into the game. However, it is having to bring in older engineers to show a new generation how to make vinyl records.
Sony’s decision to start making vinyl records is an effort to cash in on the growing interest in the media format. The market has been growing over the last few years and is expected to generate $900 million in revenue in 2017, reports CNNMoney.
Reports claim that Sony is planning to stick to older albums when it starts making vinyl records again next year. These will mostly come from Japanese musicians and will be primarily sold in the country. The return to vinyl records is part of the company’s efforts to focus more on its core businesses.
Once the factory in Tokyo is capable of easily producing new records, there is talk that it will expand out beyond classics. This will likely have Sony making vinyl records for new bands and new songs that it can sell to fans of the format, CNBC notes.
SNE stock was down slightly as of noon Friday.
As of this writing, William White did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
