Exploring Life & Business with Matt Earley of Gotta Groove Records

Today we’d like to introduce you to Matt Earley. 

Matt, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I worked in a record store in college, and my first job out of college was for a record wholesaler. We sold primarily to independent record stores – and even in the year 2000, vinyl was a thing for most indie stores. In fact, if we could have got more titles in print back then, the sales numbers for vinyl would have been noticeably higher then. Vinyl has always been important to indie stores. 

Fast forward about 8 years, and vinyl sales had been growing every year I was in the business. So, I got the idea to get into the manufacturing side in addition to the wholesale part of the business. 

When calling around to pressing plants in the USA, I connected with the former owner of Dynamic Sun pressing plant, who told me “We just sold everything to somebody in Ohio yesterday!”. Sun’s owner would not reveal the identity of the investor, but after some sleuthing around, I was able to connect with Vince Slusarz, who was in the process of setting up Gotta Groove Records. We met, and over the next year, made the decision to go into business together. 

Through the course of GGR’s first five years of operations, it integrated many services connected to record manufacturing in order to be a vertically-integrated one-stop-shop operation offering lacquers, plating, pressing, label/sleeve/jacket printing, download hosting, pre-order fulfillment shipping, venue shipping, and distribution consultancy. Through the dedication and hard work of our employees (several of whom have been with us since the beginning), we have been fortunate enough to grow GGR into the pressing operation it is today. To date, GGR has worked on over 10,000 vinyl releases. 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I seriously doubt that launching any startup business is a smooth road. But, starting a vinyl manufacturing plant has its own inherent challenges – probably the biggest being, learning how to actually make records. 

When we opened, there were not as many resources for starting a new plant as there are today. So, while we did have some help from consultants who had worked for other pressing plants, most of it was learning on the fly. In retrospect, it makes me even more thankful for the customers who have stuck with us from our early days, because we really did not know what we were doing early on. 

We’ve been impressed with Gotta Groove Records, Inc., but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Gotta Groove Records is a vinyl record manufacturing plant located in Cleveland, Ohio. We have earned a reputation for making some of the best sounding vinyl records anywhere on the planet, and for offering unmatched customer service. We take a lot of pride in working on the projects we receive from customers, and we treat them as if they are our own releases. 

Gotta Groove operates three shifts, and we offer 7inch and 12inch records – color and black vinyl. We also offer graphics and print services, providing an end-to-end manufacturing process. 

What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
The vinyl record industry has experienced wild growth over the past 18-24 months. I do expect that rate of growth to tame a bit at this point, however, it does seem to be maintaining a certain level – and there are still more consumers being introduced to the format. So, I do believe that vinyl records are going to be a meaningful part of any artist/band’s release strategy for the foreseeable future. 

I am hopeful that many of the consumers who are being introduced to the format through their purchases at the many national chain retailers who are now selling records will ultimately find their way into independent record stores, and be exposed to an even wider selection of music. 

Contact Info:

• Email: sales@gottagrooverecords.com
• Website: https://www.gottagrooverecords.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gottagrooverecs/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gottagrooverecs
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/gottagrooverecs
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/gottagrooverecords
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/gottagroove
• Other: https://www.gottagroovestore.com/