Making Vinyl Memphis: Full Schedule

9:10am CDT

MEMPHIS’ RICH MUSIC SCENE: PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE

Tuesday June 3, 2025 9:10am - 9:50am CDT

The journalist Robert Gordon recently wrote: "Nashville is where you go to make a hit that sounds like everyone else. Memphis is where you make a hit that sounds like no one else. That’s what distinguishes the record labels, recording studios, and recording artists that Memphis is known for: They stayed in Memphis to pursue their independent visions outside the corporate headquarters in Nashville and on the coasts." Our opening panel features a who's who of the city's rich scene.

Moderators

Robert Gordon

Author, It Came Out of Memphis

Emmy and Grammy Award winning writer Robert Gordon is the author of 6 books, and producer/director of 8 feature documentaries. He has focused on the American south—its music, art, and politics—to create an insider’s portrait of his home that is both nuanced and ribald.Gordon’s... Read More →

Speakers

Jeff Powell

Vinyl Mastering Engineer, Vinyl Masters

Since starting my studio career in Memphis TN in 1987, I started to learn how to cut vinyl masters on the original STAX lathe that was housed in Larry Nix' mastering room at Ardent Studios in 2008. While learning the craft, I never thought that it would take me over completely and... Read More →

Jim Thompson

Owner & Chief Designer, Eggleston Soundworks

Zac Ives

Co-owner, Goner Records / Gonerfest

Co-owner of Goner Records. Co-founder of Gonerfest. Host of A Box of Records, Tuesdays 4-6pm CST on WYXR-FM.

Al Kapeezy "a.k.a" Al Kapone

Memphis Rap Pioneer

Pat Mitchell Worley

CEO, Soulsville Foundation

Tuesday June 3, 2025 9:10am - 9:50am CDT
Ballroom C, Level 2

PANEL SESSION, BACKYARD ADVANTAGE

9:50am CDT

NAVIGATING UNCERTAINTY: HOW U.S. PRESSING PLANTS ARE COPING

Tuesday June 3, 2025 9:50am - 10:30am CDT

Ballroom C, Level 2

Just when we thought the vinyl pressing industry was getting used to a post-pandemic "new normal," new uncertainty abounds. Is vinyl demand still growing? If so, why are some small plants going under? Will tariffs impact costs and margins? How will an economic slowdown impact the vinyl market? We'll get answers – and an up-to-date pulse on how the vinyl business is faring – from the heads of five leading U.S. vinyl manufacturers.

Moderators

Tony van Veen

CEO, Disc Makers

Tony started his career at Disc Makers way back in 1987, when the company was a vinyl pressing plant in Philadelphia. In the decades since, Tony has navigated Disc Makers through many technology cycles – from vinyl to CD to CD-R, and later to downloads and streaming (through the... Read More →

Speakers

Mark Michaels

Chairman/CEO, United Record Pressing

Mark Michaels is the CEO & Chairman of United Record Pressing, LLC, the largest manufacturer of vinyl records in North America, based in Nashville, Tennessee, and its sister company, URP Music Distributors, LLC, a leading one-stop wholesaler of vinyl records serving retailers around... Read More →

Chad Kassem

Owner CEO, QRP/Acoustic Sounds

Connie Comeau

COO, The ADS Group/Copy Cats Media

"Chief Operating Officer at The ADS Group/Copycats Media for 24 years—and loving every minute of it! Leading (working alongside) an incredible team with dedication, loyalty, and a whole lot of hard work, I’m passionate about people and this industry. I thrive on business strategy... Read More →

Brandon Seavers

Co-Founder & CEO, Memphis Record Pressing

A lifelong Memphian and musician, Brandon Seavers, co-founder and CEO of Memphis Record Pressing, began his dynamic career in 1997 alongside Mark Yoshida when they launched AudioGraphic Masterworks, the Mid-South’s only full-service CD and DVD manufacturing facility. In 2014, the... Read More →

Ali Miller

CEO, Furnace Manufacturing

Tuesday June 3, 2025 9:50am - 10:30am CDT
Ballroom C, Level 2

PANEL SESSION, FUTURE PROOF: WHAT’S NEXT FOR VINYL?

11:05am CDT

VINYL INNOVATIONS FUELED BY SMALL TO MEDIUM PRESSING PLANTS

Tuesday June 3, 2025 11:05am - 11:45am CDT

Ballroom C, Level 2

Small to medium-sized pressing plants have different challenges than their larger counterparts, especially amid an uncertain economy. One way they can stay ahead of the curve while best serving their customers is introducing innovation in their production processes, infrastructure and products. The panelists will discuss some of the trends emerging in 2025.

Moderators

Kevin Da Costa

Vinyl Manufacturing Consultant & Technical Director, Evolution Music, Evolution Music

I'm a vinyl record manufacturing pressing & production consultant, specialising in supporting companies to develop and grow their record manufacturing businesses: from inception, through design & development of the factory, value proposition & business planning, supply chain development... Read More →

Speakers

Yosef Becher

Founder, CEO, Hot Wax

Tom Norwood

CEO, Loop Fans

CEO of Loop Fans, a Web3 platform for the music industry. Our flagship product is Smart Vinyl, a way for labels, artists, and manufacturers to add a digital experience to a physical vinyl, increasing revenue and fan engagement.

Dustin Blocker

Chief Creative Officer, Hand Drawn Pressing // VRMA

After spending 17 years as the lead singer the rock band, Exit 380, Dustin Blocker co-founded Texas-based independent record label Hand Drawn Records in April 2011. Spending several years building the community of artists through live events and regional record releases, Blocker and... Read More →

Tuesday June 3, 2025 11:05am - 11:45am CDT
Ballroom C, Level 2

PANEL SESSION, THE POWER OF CONNECTIONS

11:50am CDT

LA FIRES CAME TO 2 BLOCKS FROM OUR VINYL FACTORIES

Tuesday June 3, 2025 11:50am - 12:10pm CDT

Ballroom C, Level 2

In January 2025 several fires completely large swaths of the sprawling Los Angeles metropolitan area. The flames came within blocks of these two boutique pressing plants. Hear what was going through minds. Btw, among those from our industry who lost homes include mastering/cutting legend Bernie Grundman, who Making Vinyl honored in 2019 with a Lifetime Achievement Award, renown mixing engineer Bob Clearmountain, and AIX Records owner Mark Waldrep. .

Speakers

Bryan Hollon

Co-owner, Vinyl Ceremony

Bryan Hollon, known as Boom Bip, is a Mercury Award-nominated music producer and one-half of the bands Neon Neon and Belief. He started his career in the ‘90s, building a reputation in Cincinnati through vinyl sampling, DJing, and his local radio presence, introducing downtempo... Read More →

Alberto Lopez

Owner, Belu Music Press

After 3 years of preparation, Belú Music Press opened its doors for business in January 2024, aiming to primarily serve independent artists and musicians in California and the Southwest. Founded by Grammy, Oscar, Emmy, Juno, Platinum and Gold award nominated and/or winning producer... Read More →

Tuesday June 3, 2025 11:50am - 12:10pm CDT
Ballroom C, Level 2

PANEL SESSION, BUSINESS RESILIENCE & SECURITY

2:20pm CDT

HOW RECORD STORES BECAME COMMUNITY CENTERS

Tuesday June 3, 2025 2:20pm - 2:50pm CDT

Ballroom C, Level 2

Clifton Muhammad just finished his MBA when he inherited a record store from his uncle, who passed away. Clifton's first inclination was to sell the business but then his wife Connie Anderson suggested he reconsider. Their store The Record Track has become an important pillar of their Chicago community, in a similar manner that Goner Records and Shangri-la Records have been in Memphis for years.

Moderators

Michael Palm

Associate Professor of Cultural Studies and Media and Technology Studies, University of North Carolina

Michael Palm is an Associate Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He's writing a book about the contemporary vinyl economy and the labor of making and selling records today.

Speakers

Clifton Muhammad & Connie Anderson

Owners & Operators, The Record Track

John Miller

Owner, Shangri-La Records

Eric Friedl

Co-Owner, Goner Records

Founded Goner Records in Memphis, TN in 1993 as a way to release unreleasable records, primarily in the Garage Punk genre. Started selling mailorder out of my bedroom then partnered up with Zac Ives to create the brick and mortar Goner Records in 2004, which lead to an upturn in records... Read More →

Tuesday June 3, 2025 2:20pm - 2:50pm CDT
Ballroom C, Level 2

PANEL SESSION, BACKYARD ADVANTAGE

9:30am CDT

THE LATEST IN SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING

Wednesday June 4, 2025 9:30am - 10:15am CDT

Ballroom C, Level 2

There's no shortage of sustainable packaging options thse days, as we'll hear from industry suppliers.

Moderators

Ruben Planting

Assistant Program Manager Making Vinyl and Vinyl Manufacturing Consultant, Planting Consultancy

Assistant Program Manager for Making Vinyl (US/EU) and Strategic Consultancy for Music Industry Manufacturers: Pioneering Greener Solutions in (Vinyl) Production!

Speakers

Jack Stoughton

Chairman Emeritus, Stoughton Printing

I have been in this industry for 7 decades now, starting in my father’s firm in 1964, specializing in record labels at a time there were 27 pressing plants in Greater LA. We grew into printing back liners, jackets, inserts, sleeves, posters and boxes, supporting the majors, the... Read More →

Mackenzie Crigger

Sustainability Manager, International Paper

Sustainable packaging!

Rick Gasparini

Sales, Ross-Ellis

Gary Gonzales

Dorado Packaging

I promote custom vinyl and music packaging produced in the most sustainable fashion possible.

Wednesday June 4, 2025 9:30am - 10:15am CDT
Ballroom C, Level 2

PANEL SESSION

11:30am CDT

CUTTING, MASTERING & QC MATTERS

Wednesday June 4, 2025 11:30am - 12:15pm CDT

Ballroom C, Level 2

As anyone in the vinyl manufacturing industry knows, a hiccup can impair a record at any point in the complicated process, including mastering, lacquer cutting, plating, and pressing — to name just four. Our all-star panel will trade war stories and the latest trends, such as supply chain issues, test pressings, and quality control.

Moderators

Andreas Kohl

Conference Director MV Europe/ European Operations Manager, Making Vinyl/ Key Production

Growing up behind the Iron Curtain but in a household with a deep admiration for rock ’n’ roll, my earliest memories date back to my father turning up the volume of a Gene Vincent tape after my mom claimed the boy was listening to too much music. The effect might have lead to... Read More →

Speakers

Piper Payne

Partner / Operator, Physical Music Products

Dave Rawlings

Co-Owner & Recording Artist, Paramount Pressing

David Rawlings is a Grammy-winning guitarist, singer, and record producerknown for his partnership with singer and songwriter Gillian Welch. Dave co-founded Paramount Pressing & Plating with Gary Salstrom to provide a home for one of the industry's true masters of vinyl production... Read More →

Jeff Powell

Vinyl Mastering Engineer, Vinyl Masters

John Town

Chief Technology Officer, CONECTIV

John Town leads Conectiv’s Technology, Quality and Environmental Compliance activities. “I still have my first vinyl record from the 1960s (Yellow Submarine/Eleanor Rigby Double-A-side!) and have been a lifelong music appreciation fan. After spending way too much time (and money... Read More →

Wednesday June 4, 2025 11:30am - 12:15pm CDT
Ballroom C, Level 2

PANEL SESSION, PRESSING MATTERS: MASTERING QUALITY CONTROL