Vinyl tariffs

Photo Credit: Mick Haupt

Vinyl, CDs, and cassettes remain exempt from tariffs in the U.S., but Discogs and Bandcamp are rolling out new guidance addressing the “evolving” situation.

Said guidance arrived in tandem with the August 29th suspension (itself set in motion by a July executive order) of the de minimis tariffs exemption. Translation: Some merch items are now subject to levies when imported to the States.

Time will, of course, reveal that point’s precise impact. Without getting bogged down in the tariff nitty gritty here, it’s worth noting that there are more than a few moving parts involved with the actual import duties, the Harmonized Tariff Schedule shows.

And while the situation will affect indies differently than massive companies, it seems safe to say that the latter can afford domestic manufacturing when they’re charging $125 per sweatshirt.

(Universal Music COO Boyd Muir during his business’s latest earnings call acknowledged “a need to find quick solutions for alternative manufacturing” and the ongoing exploration of “ways to reconfigure our manufacturing supply chain” in response to tariffs.)

In any event, as initially mentioned, physical music releases are exempt from tariffs because they’re classified as “informational materials.”

The relevant legal text is rather clear on this front; tariff powers don’t “include the authority to regulate or prohibit…[the importation of] any information or informational materials, including but not limited to, publications, films, posters, phonograph records, photographs, microfilms, microfiche, tapes, compact disks, CD ROMs, artworks, and news wire feeds.”

Notwithstanding the exception for vinyl and CDs, Discogs has warned that “customs and postal carriers may experience delays or mistakes as they adjust to the new requirements.” (Other national carriers are said to have paused U.S. deliveries altogether.)

The platform also indicated “that some carriers have taken an overly strict interpretation, applying a blanket 10%-15% tariff regardless of whether the items require a duty or not.”

Though less than ideal, the possible issue will presumably resolve sooner rather than later. And Bandcamp has taken things a step further by enabling artists and labels “to restrict shipping to the United States.”

The restriction would apply only to merch, once again, and would theoretically appeal to sellers in search of a temporary pause while they reorganize.

But a longer-term solution appears straightforward enough: the likes of FedEx and UPS offer Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) services that, in keeping with the name, deliver products to buyers with no additional payment due. In theory, then, listings could add the same amounts to shipping charges as necessary.