45 r.p.m. Singles: ‘Key’ to the Future of Vinyl Releases? (Part 1 of 2)

Think Like a Key launches series of picture-sleeve singles

There was a time when singles – seven-inch, 45 r.p.m. discs with one song on each side – were the coin of the realm in the pop world. Fodder for portable phonographs and jukeboxes alike, singles were the preferred medium for consumers of popular music. But as the album era began in the mid 1960s, the LP supplanted singles as the format of choice. Yet singles never completely went away: they hung on – if tenuously – through the CD era. And as music morphed into a virtual, downloadable commodity, singles returned, enjoying a resurgence in the 21^st century in a purely digital format.

But with the return of the vinyl album as a popular medium for listeners and collectors alike, the humble 45 single has made something of a comeback. Helped along by scrappy indie labels, the 45 r.p.m. is once again taking a place on the musical landscape. Pressed in limited runs and housed in attractive picture sleeves, 45s of both obscure oldies and new music are finding their way into the hands of intrepid collectors.

Roger Houdaille heads Think Like a Key Music, an enterprise he proudly characterizes as a boutique label. “I’m passionate about the music we release,” he says, “So I find a way to do it.” While TLAK is a nominally for-profit business, Houdaille asserts that he runs the label “not for profit, but out of love” for the music.

Houdaille first used the Think Like a Key imprint for a self-released CD album by his psych-meets-power pop group, Ex Norwegian, in 2012. And when he launched a label-proper in 2021, he retained the Think Like a Key name. From the start, the label’s roster reflected Houdaille’s eclectic personal musical tastes, featuring archival releases from progressive/psych band Nektar and underrated British guitarist Ollie Hallsall as well as current-day pop acts like The Poppermost and Novelty Island.

Those and other TLAK releases were made available on CD and high-quality digital, with select titles pressed onto vinyl LPs. But Houdaille believed there was demand for a curated series of 7” singles as well. “I’ve wanted to do a seven-inch series since I started the label,” he says. “So it was just a matter of finding the right projects and the right manufacturer.”

But the surge in demand for vinyl LPs overwhelmed the industry’s capacity to keep up. Not even factoring in the logistical challenges brought on by the worldwide pandemic, vinyl pressing plants simply couldn’t keep pace with label’s orders for records. New plant construction is underway in various locations, but production bottlenecks often meant that lead times on vinyl titles was far longer than quick-turnaround of CD manufacturing.

Though it’s not as serious a concern as it was during the heyday of vinyl records, quality control remains a challenge. And with so many labels wanting to make their artists’ titles available on vinyl, short-run projects like the ones Houdaille had in mind were met with disinterest by some manufacturers. “Not every [plant] is dealing with seven-inch records,” Houdaille explains. “It’s hard to find one who will do short runs, and do them in a good-quality package.”

He says he considered some 20 companies before settling on a final choice. (Houdaille doesn’t name the plant, perhaps not wanting to encourage other labels to use them and cause his own orders to be filled in a less timely fashion.) “I did test pressings with six different manufacturers,” he says. Most didn’t meet his standards. “It’s always something,” he shrugs. But Houdaille finally settled on a plant that could give him the quality he required, and with fast turnaround. So he commenced production of Think Like a Key’s seven-inch series in September. “I ran with it,” Houdaille says. “I was like, ‘This is the chance; it might not be like this six months from now.’ You just don’t know.”

Houdaille had several artists in mind, and he had already begun the process of coordinating licensing for the release of selected titles. “That was pretty straightforward,” he says, though he admits that he would occasionally hit a snag, with an artist not wishing their music to be reissued on a single. “So if it became too much of a challenge” in that regard, Houdaille says, “I wouldn’t follow up.”

The singles are pressed in very limited runs – no more than a few hundred units per title – and distribution is limited as well. “Our singles are available on thinklikeakey.com and from independent retailers,” Houdaille says, “But not through Amazon.” The first brace of titles features six singles.

Houdaille is optimistic that these single releases will bring attention to the featured artists, whether they’re titles from the ‘60s or current-day recordings. “Hopefully these records will bring awareness of music that’s a little more obscure,” he says. “Sure, it’s a niche market, but I want to offer really nice product.”

In Part Two [click here] I take a look at each of the singles.