{
  "slug": "vinyl-pressing-economics",
  "title": "Vinyl Pressing Unit Economics Calculator",
  "heading": "Vinyl Pressing Cost & Profit Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/vinyl-pressing-economics",
  "summary": "Break down per-record cost, breakeven units, and profit per run.",
  "description": "A vinyl pressing run has a large fixed setup cost (lacquer cutting, plating, labor minimums) plus a per-unit cost that drops as run size grows — pressing 300 records might cost $9-12 per unit while 1,000 can drop to $5-7. This calculator takes your total quote for a run, splits it into per-unit cost, factors mechanical royalties owed on top, and shows the breakeven number of units sold at your target sale price before profit.",
  "formula": "Per-unit cost = total pressing cost ÷ units; breakeven = fixed costs ÷ (sale price − variable cost per unit − royalty per unit).",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=vinyl-pressing-economics",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "totalCost",
      "label": "Total pressing plant quote",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 3200,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "units",
      "label": "Units in the run",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 500,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 1,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "salePrice",
      "label": "Sale price per record",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 25,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "royaltyPerUnit",
      "label": "Mechanical royalty owed per unit",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 1.2,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "shippingPerUnit",
      "label": "Packaging/shipping cost per unit",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 3,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "marginPerUnit",
      "label": "Profit per record sold",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "perUnitCost",
      "label": "Pressing cost per unit",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "breakevenUnits",
      "label": "Units to sell to break even",
      "format": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "profitIfSellOut",
      "label": "Total profit if run sells out",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Total pressing plant quote: 3200 $",
      "Units in the run: 500",
      "Sale price per record: 25 $",
      "Mechanical royalty owed per unit: 1.2 $",
      "Packaging/shipping cost per unit: 3 $"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Profit per record sold: $14.40",
      "Pressing cost per unit: $6.40",
      "Units to sell to break even: 222",
      "Total profit if run sells out: $7,200"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter total pressing plant quote ($).",
      "Enter units in the run.",
      "Enter sale price per record ($).",
      "Enter mechanical royalty owed per unit ($).",
      "Enter packaging/shipping cost per unit ($).",
      "Read your profit per record sold on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "totalCost": 1900,
        "units": 300,
        "salePrice": 15,
        "royaltyPerUnit": 0.72,
        "shippingPerUnit": 1.7999999999999998
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "totalCost": 3200,
        "units": 500,
        "salePrice": 25,
        "royaltyPerUnit": 1.2,
        "shippingPerUnit": 3
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "totalCost": 5100,
        "units": 800,
        "salePrice": 40,
        "royaltyPerUnit": 1.92,
        "shippingPerUnit": 4.800000000000001
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "Why does per-unit cost drop so much on larger runs?",
      "a": "Lacquer cutting, plating, and label setup are fixed one-time costs regardless of run size, so spreading them over 1,000 units instead of 300 cuts the per-unit fixed-cost share dramatically even though total spend is higher. Larger runs also tend to get better per-unit material and labor pricing from the plant."
    },
    {
      "q": "Do I really owe mechanical royalties if I wrote the song myself?",
      "a": "If you're the sole writer and own 100% of the publishing, you don't owe anyone else, but if there are co-writers or a publisher involved, mechanicals are due to them per unit manufactured regardless of whether the record sells. Budget for it before ordering the run, not after."
    },
    {
      "q": "What's a safe number of units to press for a first run?",
      "a": "Most independent artists without an existing large audience should press 300–500 for a first run — enough to hit better per-unit pricing without tying up cash in unsold inventory. Pressing plants also have long lead times (often 4-9+ months), so order well ahead of a release date."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/mechanical-royalty-split",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/merch-table-profit"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Vinyl Pressing Unit Economics Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/vinyl-pressing-economics)"
}