INTERVIEW WITH JOEL WOODS OF HOLIDAY RECORDS
Holiday Records is an incredible Vinyl Print company based in Auckland.
We had a chat with Joel, one of the owners of Holiday Records about his business, the future of Vinyl, and the role CCS Packaging plays in the vinyl music experience.
Firstly, what inspired you to begin your business, and bring back Vinyl to New Zealand’s shores?
Aside from the fact that we are both into music and records — Ben was looking to get a record pressed himself for his band a few years back and realised you couldn’t do this in New Zealand as there wasn’t a pressing plant here (the last one closed down in the 80’s). He soon realised that there was a gaping hole in the market here in New Zealand which left local artists only offshore options to press records for them. It was at this point he got me involved and we started researching, made a couple trips to USA and Canada to learn and play around on a brand new automated vinyl press that just hit the market and the rest is history (along with a stressful but rewarding installation and training process).
Are there any specific genres of music that are particularly popular for Vinyl collectors?
Honestly we have realised since starting this venture that vinyl doesn’t discriminate from genres or demographics – we press records across the board!
I noticed on your website that your manufacturing process is quite sustainable! Is sustainability something that is important to your customers?
Yes – we have put a massive emphasis on sustainability as we acknowledge that pressing records has an inherent impact on our natural environment due, in part, to our essential use of PVC plastics in our processes. So instead of throwing our hands up in the air and ignoring this fact – we have decided to tackle it head on and make all of our processes as sustainable and waste-free as possible in our goal to be the world’s most sustainable pressing plant. We have found that a growing number of customers are concerned about the sustainability of the industry and find comfort that what we are doing here at Holiday Records will have the least impact on the environment when pressing their records. Check out our Sustainability Page on our website to see all the initiatives we have in place – including using printers like CCS who print on FSC® certified stocks.
How long have you been working with CCS Packaging? How did you find out about us?
We have been printing with CCS for about 12 months – we were recommended them by an Australian record label.
How many Vinyl records do you think you would press in a day, do you have multiply presses?
We can press around 1300 records per day with our one and only machine – so definitely putting it to work! We currently have two 8 hour shifts which we operate 6 days per week.
What do you think is the main reason why Vinyl is so popular again?
I think people have always needed a physical format of music to hold, collect and physically own – and now with the popularity and ease of streaming services it has made the CD obsolete. Vinyl has that distinct sound, amazing variety of colours and larger format artwork which makes them more of an art piece for the home and why I think it has become more popular than it’s compact counterpart. It also has that brand new younger audience that never had the opportunity to experience its beauty when it was the only medium available.
How important is the Vinyl packaging for you and your clients? Would you say it adds to the experience?
I think the packaging is almost as important as the vinyl record itself – as mentioned, the artwork is a huge reason why vinyl records are so popular – being able to display and hold the amazing large format artwork that is so synonymous with the albums they represent definitely adds to the experience.
How have you found your time working with the CCS Team?
We love to work with the CCS team – although we are in different countries (albeit just across the ditch) the team at CCS make printing so easy and the final product has been impressive. Thanks guys!
Thanks Joel!
You can check out the incredible work Holiday Records does via their website HERE.
