“Revolutionary” on-demand vinyl platform gets spinning with £3.5m funding round

On-demand vinyl platform, elasticStage, has announced the latest closing of its seed round which has now raised £3.5m in total for the London based tech startup.

Yet to launch, elasticStage is the world’s first on-demand vinyl manufacturer which creates vinyl using “revolutionary” techniques new to this industry via its patent-pending technology.

Backed by music industry professionals, the latest investment represents industry confidence in the startup, which is set to present all types of artists a new way to create vinyl, offering a “better commercial opportunity in physical sales”.

After six years of development, elasticStage has created a new means to manufacture and distribute vinyl for the music industry which is both sustainable and ethical. With an on-demand D2C solution, fully packaged vinyl products can be dispatched immediately from the point of creation and in large volumes.

elasticStage replaces the current long lead times which can take up to 12 months. Artists can essentially sell vinyl on the same day when making a release available on the elasticStage web-platform, which can not only boost revenues, but potentially “bolster crucial chart positions based on physical sales”.

By eliminating the “old-fashioned” way of pressing vinyl and offset printing, the new method equates to a more sustainable and ethical way of creating records, as heat and energy from pressing is removed.

With investment from producers Paul Epworth (Adele, Paul McCartney) and Dan Grech-Marguerat (Lana Del Rey, George Ezra, Tom Grennan), artist managers Ryan Walter (Lewis Capaldi), and many more, elasticStage is being backed from within the music industry and beyond.

The closing of the seed round is just the first step for the tech startup in what promises to be the last word in vinyl manufacturing. The investment from the latest raise will drive the company to achieve its growth plans, continue developing its cutting-edge technology, and to enter into key industry partnerships with labels and DSPs.

elasticStage will also launch its first London-based production and fulfilment centre in Q4, which will give a selected number of artists, labels and DSPs the opportunity to join a trial run. It will afford them the ability to create their vinyl within minutes, which can be dispatched to fans worldwide immediately - a true mouse-click-to-delivery service.

Steve Rhodes, CEO and co-founder of elasticStage, commented: “We are already in talks with a major DSP for integrating our tech and we can’t wait to help the industry in meeting commercial demand for vinyl at speed.”

By Matthew Neville – Correspondent, Bdaily

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