How to use the Can You Afford Vinyl Calculator
My Can You Afford Vinyl Calculator is a handy tool with a simple purpose: making sure artists don’t get in over their heads when it comes to vinyl record production.
Coming out with your first vinyl record is a big rite of passage as an artist, and something really cool to do. But, it’s not cool to either lose our hat on a production project, or end up with hundreds of unsold records sitting in our closet.
The goal is to at least break even on our very first record pressing. Here’s how to play around with the numbers to make that happen.
Hit File > Make a copy to add to your own workspace, and enter your own numbers (requires a Google account).
A sample page from the Can You Afford Vinyl Calculator.
How to use the calculator
Any fields marked in blue are options you can experiment with. Here’s a review of each.
Cost of vinyl mastering
I always recommend having your mastering engineer make dedicated vinyl masters, for your vinyl project to sound its best. Enter the cost of just the vinyl mastering portion of your project in this field.
Production cost per unit
When you get a quote from a vinyl pressing provider, you’ll typically see how much each individual record costs to make. Enter that value in this field, and get a few different quotes.
Lowering this number by small amounts can lead to large changes in your profits. Be careful.Don’t make this number so low that you end up making a record that’s a flimsy, crappy piece of junk: that doesn’t reflect well on you.
Number of units produced
Enter how many records you’re manufacturing here. Try to strike a balance between producing enough records to at least break even on your first pressing, but not so much that you end up with hundreds of unsold records sitting in your closet. This number should reflect what you think you might realistically sell, in a conservative scenario.
Remember, if you end up selling out a smaller run unexpectedly, that’s a good thing! You can always do an additional pressing later.
Shipping from the factory to you
Enter the costs of shipping from the factory in this field. Some providers include those shipping costs in their per-unit quoted price, others don’t.
Other production costs
Total up any other production costs, and enter them here. These might include graphic/packaging design costs, advertisement costs, etc.
Sales price per unit at the merch table
Experiment with this field to see how the numbers change, depending on what you decide to charge at the merch table for your record. For your pricing, try to strike a balance between: reasonable fair market rates, what you want to charge your fans, and what you need to charge to at least break even on your project.
For those of you who aren’t artists and are wondering why vinyl records cost so much more now, this should be enlightening for you. Artists aren’t pocketing as much of those price increases as you might think.
There are a lot of different costs involved in making any type of manufactured physical product, the artists are the ones who pay those costs, and they always increase over time.
Results and red flags
Once you've filled in all of the blue fields, you’re ready to check your results, shown in the following fields.
Sales price needed to break even
This field shows the sales price you would need to charge to break even on your project. Make sure this field is not greater than the field just above it.
Number of sales needed to break even
This field shows the number of sales needed to break even on the project. Make sure this is not a negative number.
This number should reflect a number of units you think you can realistically sell, and make it a conservative estimate. If the calculator shows that you would need to sell 10,000 records just to break even on your project as a small DIY band, that might not be something that’s realistic for your current fanbase.
Units remaining after break even
This field shows the number of units remaining in the run, after you’ve broken even on sales. This should not be a negative number. If it is, you’re likely to lose money on this project.
Gross profits after costs, if sold out
This field shows your potential gross profits, if you sell out your entire vinyl run. Use this to decide whether your project makes good financial sense.
Keep in mind: this isn't the money you'll actually pocket. You'll also need to subtract taxes, shipping costs, sales fees, and other expenses from this number to calculate your net profits (what you'll really take home).
These additional expenses often only become fully apparent 6–12 months after release. So, when you’re really ready to level up your financial admin, you’ll also want to track your sales figures over time to get a more accurate picture of your net profits.
