Rex says
Money math without the spreadsheet headache. Plug in your numbers and I'll show you exactly where the dollars land.
Try a scenario
Click to load — tweak from there.Inputs
Result
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
$7,200
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One click, a permanent link with your numbers baked in.
How to use this
- 1Enter total pressing plant quote ($).
- 2Enter units in the run.
- 3Enter sale price per record ($).
- 4Enter mechanical royalty owed per unit ($).
- 5Enter packaging/shipping cost per unit ($).
- 6Read your profit per record sold on the right — it updates as you type.
- 7Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone.
About this calculator
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.
Worked example
Using the values the calculator loads with:
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 $
Results
- 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: $7,200
What each field means
Inputs
- Total pressing plant quote ($)
- The total pressing plant quote used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 3200 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Units in the run
- The units in the run used in the calculation. Starts at 500 so you have a working example on load.
- Sale price per record ($)
- The sale price per record used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 25 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Mechanical royalty owed per unit ($)
- The mechanical royalty owed per unit used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 1.2 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Packaging/shipping cost per unit ($)
- The packaging/shipping cost per unit used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 3 $ so you have a working example on load.
Results
- Profit per record sold
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars and shown as the headline result. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Pressing cost per unit
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Units to sell to break even
- Returned as a whole number. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Total profit if run sells out
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
FAQ
Why does per-unit cost drop so much on larger runs?
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.
Do I really owe mechanical royalties if I wrote the song myself?
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.
What's a safe number of units to press for a first run?
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.
Accuracy and 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.
Related tools
Cite this calculator
Writing about this topic? Grab a citation — every link helps keep these tools free.
RevenueLab. (2026). Vinyl Pressing Unit Economics Calculator. Retrieved from https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/vinyl-pressing-economics
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/vinyl-pressing-economics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Vinyl Pressing Unit Economics Calculator — RevenueLab</a> (2026).</p>
Source: [Vinyl Pressing Unit Economics Calculator — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/vinyl-pressing-economics) (2026).