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Millions of music fans all over the world love hearing their favorite songs on vinyl albums. Rock band Metallica recently sold so many vinyl records that they decided to invest in a pressing plant — a reminder that, when it comes to music, newer is not always better. 

Metallica just bought a majority stake in vinyl company Furnace Record Pressing

Furnace Record Pressing is one of the biggest vinyl companies in the United States. Founded in 1996, the company has worked with major artists like country star Eric Church, Norah Jones, and punk band Green Day.

Metallica also works with the company and recently decided to take that working relationship to the next level, buying a majority stake in the vinyl pressing company. The price of the purchase has not been disclosed, but members of the band will now sit on the board of Furnace Record Pressing. 

Metallica sold over 300,000 vinyl records in 2022

James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett of Metallica perform onstage
James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett of Metallica perform onstage. I Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images for P+ and MTV

The investment makes a lot of sense for Metallica, especially when you look at their recent record sales. Despite not releasing a new album since 2016’s Hardwired…To Self-Destruct, the band sold more than 387,000 vinyl albums in 2022, according to Gizmodo. 

The band has sold plenty of other albums through Furnace Record Pressing, including deluxe boxed set versions of albums like Kill ‘Em All and Ride the Lightning. Some have also hypothesized that their Master of Puppets album saw a sales boost due to its inclusion on the latest season of Stranger Things. 

These massive vinyl sales definitely spurred Metallica on to invest in Furnace. Now that they’re part of the company, Furnace Record Pressing will likely put out even more Metallica records. The metal band is expected to release their first album in seven years in the coming weeks, so this investment came just in time. 

Vinyl sales in 2022 increased by 17%

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Metallica isn’t the only band that’s enjoying major success in the vinyl market. According to a report from the Recording Industry Association of America, 2022 saw more sales of vinyl records than CDs — the first time that’s happened in three decades. What’s also impressive is the overall growth of the vinyl industry. In 2022 alone, vinyl sale profits increased by 17%, making it a $1.2 billion business, per Gizmodo. 

Metallica’s investment in Furnace Record Pressing is a reminder of how powerful and fast-growing this part of the music industry is, and a tip to other artists to invest in older forms of audio. 

Vinyl isn’t the only audio format making a comeback. These days, many artists are also releasing cassette tapes of their albums. Stars like Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, and Olivia Rodrigo have all put out their most recent albums on cassette tape. 

It’s also another growing industry. According to Billboard, sales of albums on cassette tape increased by 28%, moving 440,000 units. This is particularly impressive when compared to cassette sales from just a few years ago. For example, in 2015, cassette sales stood at just 74,000. 

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