One of only two vinyl presses in Quebec stops production. The owner company, the Société des loisirs, files for bankruptcy. At the same time, artists and music lovers lose one of their landmarks here.
The Recreation Society has been pressing records in downtown Quebec since 2021. She sought protection from her creditors this week.
“I’m at a time when I can’t talk about the story that brought us here,” sighs the Société des loisirs’ sole administrator, Audrey Lapointe, over the phone.
Tensions between the company and certain record labels in Quebec have been rising lately, according to Le Devoir. Artists even had to delay the release of their album because their vinyl couldn’t be ready in time.
The discs produced by the company were often unique and colourful. Artists such as Valaire, Tire le coyote, Les Louanges, Dumas, Mon Doux Saigneur, Thierry Larose and Flore Laurentienne have done business with her. About 120,000 copies came from his printing shop.
I’m at a moment where I can’t talk about the story that brought us here.
Administrators of the Société des loisirs recently abandoned ship, leaving Audrey Lapointe little room for maneuver. “I decided to leave the company to go back to architecture. [ma formation professionnelle]. My exit seemed to falter,” she explains.
The pandemic and the resulting ban on opening a café next to the press certainly also contributed to this failure. “I bought the equipment 100% upfront and then a commercial rental… I remember having an A, B, C plan.” […] There’s nothing in it that would have predicted a pandemic that would prevent us from opening for an extended period of time,” she says.
“Right now my focus is on honoring the contracts we had with Quebec artists to house them elsewhere to have as little impact as possible. All of our customers who have purchased vinyl will be contacted shortly so they can collect it. If they are unable to collect them, they can file a claim. I try to do the right thing at every level. It will take a while, there will be small clashes here and there, but it should go smoothly. »
The other press still “healthy”
There is currently only one vinyl press in operation in Quebec, at Le Vinylist, also in Quebec City.
The latter’s co-owner, Pierre-Luc Savard, says he’s saddened by the news, but immediately reassures physical album lovers: his company is “in very good shape”. The vinyl market has grown steadily since production began in 2019. “It’s become the number one commercial object for artists.” When it became popular again, we talked about something that was hidden. So far it has exceeded expectations. »
Several music lovers already spoke of an “overheated” market in 2021.
While the Recreation Society’s printing press required a human hand to print each time, the Vinylist machine is fully automatic and can produce about a hundred albums an hour. ” It works very well. We are positive about the future. […] We focus on volume,” notes Mr. Savard.