7A

The opportunity I want to pursue is selling small-batch customized vinyl records

Intended customers are people who want their own vinyl records


Vinyl records have returned to the mainstream recently, and the sales will likely surpass that of CDs. However, unlike CD-Rs, vinyl records can only be made by professionals.

First customer: classical saxophonist
This classical saxophonist is a friend of mine, we used to buy vinyl classical saxophone albums by early classical saxophonists as a last resort solution while other formats weren't available. When I interviewed him, he didn't show any interest in this type of service because he regarded vinyl records as obsolete technology. He also noted that vinyl records require an intensive amount of cleaning in order to keep the clarity of sound and extra care while handling to keep them from cracking and scratching.

Second customer: vinyl records collector
This collector is in his mid-20s, isn't an audiophile, just likes the sound of being played out of a vinyl record. He showed the interest in making his own voice on a vinyl record. The cost he would like to pay for a pack of ten identical records and a copy of master is 1000-2500RMB ($145-$350).

Third customer: pub singer
This singer sells some pre-recorded CDs made by him upon request. Although he has not tried to get his songs on vinyl records, he has ordered hundreds of his own novels and poetry to get professionally printed. With this experience, he agreed with this idea. He said he would definitely order dozens of them and use them as gifts.

Fourth customer: my father
He is an audiophile who recently gave up buying CDs and is currently very satisfied with his newly-bought Hi-Res audio player that doesn't take any physical medium. He said that he prefers digital subscription of Hi-Res over any other format for music now. But he would like to buy some recorded with some vintage computer programs and games that were usually recorded on cassette tapes.

Fifth customer: a highschool student
He is the student of my saxophonist friend. He has always wanted his own record. But he told me that he couldn't afford to spend money on such things that will become a "white elephant" right after delivery.

With five interviews conducted, I realized that this business much harder than I imagined. However, there are still chances of getting this business working if I optimize the arrangement of different packages I offer.