Michael Jackson, Manufacturing Automation and Thou
It takes more than a good voice and catchy tunes to sell a 100 million records.
As the world mourns the untimely death of pop icon Michael Jackson, who sold hundreds of millions of records in his long career, take a moment to think about how automation made it possible to produce all those vinyl albums, cassettes and CDs quickly, affordably and at a high quality level. Think about all the manufacturing jobs that even a single best-selling recording can produce-jobs in printing, converting, plastic molding, electronics and automation.
Turns out Jackson’s mega-hit record, Thriller, was produced at the CBS Records album and cassette manufacturing facility in Carrollton, GA. The plant is shuttered now-a victim of the digital music sea change-but 20 years ago, it employed a whopping 1,500 people.
In November 1982, when Thriller was released, the plant was running three shifts a day, seven days a week, for eight months. In all, the plant manufactured 68 million copies of Thriller. Estimates of worldwide sales range upward of 100 million.
You can read the Atlanta Journal-Constitution piece here.
And next time someone tells you entertainment is more important in this economy than manufacturing, you can respond, “Beat It!”