Quiet Records

The record industry might not run out of vinyl to manufacture records after all. Like everyone else, the music business has its shortages -- especially in vinyl, the plastic used to make records. As regular suppliers are starting to run short, black market prices have begun soaring to more than double what they once were. However it was bound to happen, and this month, Keyser - Century has come up with a chemical extender that will stretch vinyl -- in the same way breadcrumbs stretch hamburger. The only drawback to this new idea is that records made with stretched vinyl will be a little bit quieter than they used to be. (ZNS)