Randi-Lynn Crowther is the co-founder of Burlington Record Pressing (BRP), a mother of two and wife to co-founder Justin Crowther. She balances her personal life with serving as human resources at Equal Vision Records while managing the business side of Burlington Record Pressing, bringing her organizational insight to this exciting indie pressing plant.

Burlington Record Pressing, historically known as Burlington Record Plant, is a boutique vinyl pressing facility devoted to high-quality, custom 12" records. Based in Albany, New York, the plant combines traditional and modern machinery to deliver carefully hand-inspected pressings with an emphasis on consistency, artwork fidelity, and sustainable practices. They specialize in small runs, custom colors, and eco-friendly materials and shipping methods. Originally located in Vermont before being acquired and relocated to Albany, Burlington Record Pressing now operates alongside Equal Vision Records, consolidating label, pressing, and merchandise functions under one roof to better serve artists and independent labels.

When Randi-Lynn isn't immersed in record pressing she spends her time gardening, is into fitness, and spending time with her kids, family, cooking, dancing, reading.

How did you get into your industry / What motivated you?

My husband, and co-founder of BRP, Justin, was touring in a band for many years and came home from a tour with this "idea" to learn how to make records. This was just before the huge vinyl boom so was very serendipitous in some ways. When I saw how serious he was, we immediately hit the library and started working with the small business development center. It just kept rolling from there. My background is in the arts, and I had solid administrative experience so I was able to help him organize the business from the start.

What is a day in the life like?

Busy! Up early, kids off to school, work at the office/pressing plant, then home to take care of the kids, cook, clean, do it all again! Working mom!

In your opinion what has been your favorite / the coolest thing you've worked on?

Each project is so unique and since our focus is custom vinyl I get drawn into the artistry of it all. Too many projects to name. We never advertised so when we were in our small plant in Vermont, I can remember there was a street festival in Burlington with a female group, Flor de Toloache (all female mariachi band) and we got to press one of their records through the Peace n' Rhythm label. That was cool. I remember one of the women was super pregnant and performing in the summer heat, and then we got to put some of their work on vinyl.

I also loved the Orquesta El Macabeo record, Salsa Macabra, also Peace n' Rhythm release - the music is so fun to dance to and passionate. M.A.K.U. Soundsystem... we brought that record to Making Vinyl Detroit and put it on in the listening room, that was an incredible feeling and is a great memory..

What has been / is the most difficult part of your job?

Being a small family run business starting out was very hard. Endless hours and high overheads. Building out two facilities in the last 11 years has been an undertaking and also rewarding. Machines are in constant need of maintenance, and managing expectations is something we still experience to this day. Making vinyl records is challenging work and while Justin is managing the plant, being his wife and managing the business side, it can be hard to hold up the boundaries between work and home life. But we manage!

What advice do you have for someone wanting to get into pursuing what you’re doing?

Be prepared to work harder than you can imagine... Be authentic.

Don't do it. LOL. Be prepared to work harder than you can imagine, secure financial resources and utilize organizations and networks that help businesses. Be authentic.

Are you a vinyl collector yourself? What drew you to it? If not, why the vinyl industry?

As a family, we have a large vinyl collection. A lot of the records we have were Justin's Dad's. I did not grow up with them, in my house my parents had cassettes.

Over the years we have grown our own vinyl collection all genres, nothing is off the table. We have also inherited a vintage kids collection and small turntables which is pretty cool.

What types of things are happening in your industry / with vinyl that you’re excited or worried about? i.e. innovation, or trends you’re seeing.

I'm excited for more sustainability. This has been at the forefront of our manufacturing since the beginning. I'm worried that there is too large of a monopoly in the market making it harder for smaller plants to keep going. It's a challenge to be competitive and fairly priced.

Who has been influential to you and your growth as a professional in this industry? 

We've been fortunate to meet folks across the industry who have been in it before the resurgence. This spans across pressing plant owners, to mastering engineers to plating and print. I think the biggest influences for me have been mentors in my immediate community, teachers, advisors, bosses, and now, at Equal Vision, the team I work with here is next level!

Anything else you’d like to add; if not tell us what you're listening to: 

Favorite artist over this last year is TEMS.