Streaming made music disposable. This vinyl seller is finding new ways to make records collectible
When English singer-songwriter Sienna Spiro released her highly anticipated debut album, Visitor, in July, it was available in a variety of formats: MP3, cassette, CD, and an array of colored vinyl records (red, gold, brown) that were exclusive to different retailers. But 3,000 fans received copies that look remarkably different: discs swirled with orange and black—deeply pigmented on some copies, nearly translucent on others.
The special-edition album— created by London-based Blood Records—started its journey at the Press On Vinyl record plant in Northern England. To create it, a worker extruded a snake of black plastic, wrapped it around a puck of amber-colored PVC that was heated to roughly 225 degrees Fahrenheit, then smashed them together between a master cutting of the album using a hydraulic press.
The $40 record sold out in 10 minutes on Blood Records’ website, where, since 2018, the company has sold limited-edition pressings from indie darlings like Spiro and chart-topping artists such as Olivia Rodrigo and Elton John. Currently, it drops new pressings every other day. Most sell out within 15 minutes.
“We learned early on that our audience didn’t want things that were standard,” says Craig Evans, founder and CEO of Blood Records. “We want people to have a visceral reaction when they see our records for the first time. The worst thing for me is when someone buys a record and they open it and go, ‘Oh, it’s an orange LP.’”
As single-color vinyl has become old hat, Blood Records’ pressings stand out. Its albums can feature multicolored starbursts, swirls, or zoetrope images that appear to move as the record spins. Alongside Press On Vinyl, Blood Records has also developed machines that can mass-produce filled vinyl. Under its Bad World imprint, it has created pressings that contain powder (a cheeky white substance for the remix version of Charli XCX’s Brat), liquid (coffee-colored for a two-year anniversary pressing of Sabrina Carpenter’s song “Espresso”), and even hair (for Chappell Roan’s single “The Subway”).
With the market for vinyl records growing—overall sales rose 8.6% in 2025, marking the 19th consecutive year of expansion for the medium—demand for exclusive pressings is surging. Evans says his business has increased 30% year over year since the company’s inception and is tracking to do the same in 2026.
Industry experts say the vinyl boom is partly the result of the listening experience being flattened by streaming. “Listening on Spotify is the same as listening on Apple or Amazon,” says Gary Kelly, general manager and chief revenue officer of Interscope Capitol, which has partnered with Blood Records for limited-run vinyl and sells its own special-edition pressings via the Interscope Vinyl Collective. “People don’t just want access to music. Ownership is still important to them.”
But owning the same black vinyl as everyone else is less appealing, particularly among younger fans. Discogs, an online marketplace for records, cassettes, and CDs, found in a recent user survey that 32% of 18-to-24-year-olds say they collect vinyl for the visual appeal. “I’ve often thought that records are the most perfect form of kinetic art,” says Jen Agosta, Discogs’s vice president of brand and product design.
According to Evans, after initially over-indexing with middle-aged men, its key demographic is now 14-to-25-year-olds—and the company is careful to keep its prices accessible for them. Blood Records, which has never taken outside investment, funds each pressing (which can range from 250 to 30,0000 albums) with preorders. Most albums go for between $40 and $60, depending on how elaborate the design is.
At the same time, Evans plans to keep “pushing the boundaries” and finding new ways to further elevate the medium. Blood Records is already experimenting with pressing 3D printed parts and flowers into albums as it works with musicians to realize their vision for limited-edition discs. “Artists are used to going to their record label and being told, ‘There’s no way that’s going to happen,’” he says. “They come to us and we say, ‘Yeah, we can probably do that. We just need to find a way.’”