Musical Space

A fire destroyed an obscure factory in California a few weeks ago. Apollo Masters Corporation ran one of only two plants in the world that supplied lacquers, crucial components in the creation of vinyl records. The source of three-quarters of the world’s lacquers is now gone. I had never thought much about this process before, but the prospect of a lacquer shortage has given me a new appreciation for the arcane art of making records. Music: Bo Diddley, “Make a Hit Record,” The London Bo Diddley Sessions (1973) A lacquer is a disc coated with a proprietary material and shipped to cutters who scribe the music into a spiral groove with a lathe. It’s plated with metal and then destroyed when the metal layer is separated so it can be used as a mold for a disc called a “mother.” From the mother are made the stampers, which go into the pressing machine to make the vinyl. Stampers and mothers eventually wear out, so there’s a constant need for new lacquers, which can only be used once. Vinyl