How Tariffs on Vinyl Undermine the US Revival & Artist Incomes

Vinyl is making a big comeback, but hidden tariffs on vinyl and other key components are making it harder to press records in the U.S. While finished records can be imported cheaply, the raw materials needed to make them here are taxed, putting American jobs and factories at risk.

How Tariffs On Vinyl Are Undermine the US Revival & Artist Incomes

by CHRIS CASTLE via Music Tech Policy

The resurgence of vinyl records has been one of the most unexpected and encouraging trends in American manufacturing–that’s why we fought for the mechanical royalty rate increase on vinyl for songwriters. Across the country, demand for physical music is rising. Independent pressing plants are expanding, Artist’s love vinyl releases, and legacy catalogs are being reissued. It’s a textbook case of organic industrial renewal.

But the system is cracking. And the reason is simple: we’ve let trade policy punish the very people trying to build things here at home.

YOU CAN IMPORT THE FINISHED RECORD—BUT NOT WHAT IT TAKES TO MAKE ONE

Thanks to longstanding protections for cultural goods, it’s easy to import a finished vinyl record into the United States—even during trade emergencies. That’s by design.

But the raw materials required to press that same record in the U.S.—nickel, PVC, paperboard, and steel—aren’t protected. They’re subject to tariffs that raise costs by double digits. The result? U.S. manufacturers pay a premium, while foreign pressing plants face no such burden.

We’re taxing the inputs that build domestic industry—while letting the finished imports in for free.

A TARIFF SYSTEM THAT BACKFIRES

Tariffs are a tool. Like any tool, they only work if you point them at the right target.

In this case, they’re hurting the wrong side. Most of the world’s supply of vinyl-grade PVC and electroplating nickel comes from countries facing long-standing U.S. trade penalties. That raises costs for American producers. Meanwhile, no domestic lacquer disc production exists, and there are no Direct Metal Mastering machines operating in the U.S.—meaning we rely entirely on foreign inputs for the first step in the vinyl mastering process.

When a tariff punishes a domestic factory more than a foreign competitor, something is wrong.

AN OPEN DOOR FOR FOREIGN ACQUISITION

The ripple effects go further. As raw materials become more expensive for independent U.S. plants, some larger European companies are stepping in—not just as suppliers, but as buyers. They acquire U.S. pressing operations, then ship critical materials across borders through inter-company structures that bypass standard tariffs.

That’s not globalization—it’s vertical consolidation. And it’s happening right under our noses.

CULTURAL INFRASTRUCTURE IS STILL INFRASTRUCTURE

This isn’t just about music fans. It’s also about supply chains, job creation, and industrial capacity. The ability to manufacture media at home—books, records, instruments—is part of a sovereign economy. Cultural production isn’t a luxury; it’s a public good.

When we let foreign conglomerates own the means of production and shape the terms of trade, we lose more than profit—we lose independence.

TARIFFS ON VINYL: WHAT NEEDS TO CHANGE

Fixing this doesn’t require new spending or slogans. It just requires common sense:

– Reform the Harmonized Tariff Schedule so that inputs used in cultural manufacturing—like lacquer discs and nickel—are treated with the same strategic importance as aerospace parts or critical minerals.
– Create targeted exemptions for U.S.-based manufacturers whose supply chains don’t benefit from current trade rules.
– Ensure that small and mid-sized domestic producers aren’t outcompeted by offshore firms simply because they can’t game the system.

If we want a real manufacturing base, we can’t let tariffs reward imports over production. It’s time to get serious about aligning trade policy with domestic strength—before we press the last record anywhere but here.