But for now, the big push is with the upcoming launch with Target, and so far, existing collectors are curious.
A sampling of the first batch of records.
Credit:
Chris Foresman
“I absolutely adore these 4-inch records,” Christina Stroven, an avid record collector from Arkansas, told Ars. “I think they’ll be super fun to collect and bring back all of the nostalgia of the cassette singles from the ’80s and ’90s,” she said, noting that she has over 1,500 records in her collection already.
“It is nice to have another format that still works on my turntable. I will for sure be picking up the Alessia Cara ‘Here’/’Scars To Your Beautiful’ single and The Rolling Stones and Kasey Musgraves, too.” Stroven said.
“I’ve already pre-ordered two Tiny Vinyl records,” Fred Whitacre Jr, a teacher, drummer, and record collector from Warren, Ohio, said. “But, I don’t think it’s something I’m going to delve very heavily into. I always like when vinyl pressings try something new, but for me, I’m probably going to stick with LPs and 45s.”
For Tiny Vinyl, this is really just the beginning. “This launch is being driven by Target,” Kohler noted. “It’s mostly because of my background in the toy industry. When I talked to the management team at Target, they said, ‘You know, let’s try and do something here, and we’ll help organize the labels.’”
Target already has relationships with major record labels, which have supplied the company with exclusive album variants in the past. “Really, the labels are supplying what Target is asking for, and we’re supplying the labels,” Kohler said.
And all this is to help establish Tiny Vinyl as a standard format. “We just wanted to get the ball rolling and make sure this is a success,” Kohler added. “We’ve been contacted by Barnes and Noble, and Walmart, and Best Buy, and other retailers. But Target jumped in with both feet.”