QRATES Facilitates Small Batch Vinyl Pressing For Smaller Labels Internationally

QRATES is a newly launched, kickstarter like platform for funding, pressing and selling vinyl records.

Vinyl culture is slowly bubbling up once again around the world (to a smaller extent in India) but that doesn’t make pressing wax any easier or cheaper. Most plants demand a minimum of 300 to 500 pressings at least, and then there’s the added issue of finding a decent distributor.

QRATES offers an easier way to get your music out on vinyl out to people who are willing to purchase it through a direct artist to fan platform. You begin the process by logging on to their website and customising your vinyl, creating a mockup of the release from sleeve design right down to vinyl colour. QRATES will calculate the cost according to your design and the number of records you want pressed (the minimum being 100).

Once you’re done, it goes up on the QRATES website where customers can pre order it. And here’s the key, pressing only begins once you’ve reached a set number of pre orders, so you and your label aren’t left in debt among piles of unsold vinyl. QRATES also facilitates bundle releases which include merch and concert tickets, exclusive digital streams, bonus cuts and exclusives.

QRATES is free to use, but it takes 15% on each sale if the funding is successful and 10% on the back catalogue records sold.

We think the initiative could seriously kick off on an international level if its executed properly, though, based on some of the comment sections and forums we’ve scanned online, not everyone is keen on their pricing. Have a look at QRATES' website for yourself and see what you make of it, and check out their vinyl designing tool here.