Vinyl isn't dead. If it were, all those companies that do record manufacturing would have gone under.
Club DJs who do their own live spinning THRIVE on records. Vinyl is still an essential part of punk law. NOFX just released a new EP that is available ONLY on vinyl. Thousands of people continue to swear that vinyl is the ONLY pure form of analog sound reproduction. And then there are the posers who buy records because they like it when their friends come over and go "Oh...you have records. Man, you're so indie." And then there are people like me who buy vinyl versions of everything (because it's usually cheaper), record it onto my computer, digitally remove all the pops and clicks, and then burn it to a cd.
So...what you have to do is determine your audience. Vinyl isn't dead, but you may not have the audience for it.
As far as record cutting heads (and blank records for that matter)...you can still buy them. However, they are more expensive than they're worth. And unless you know what you're doing, you might as well throw your money out of an airplane.
If you want to release a record, your best bet is to have a professional do it for you. Someone mentioned United earlier, and they're great. But what the hell do I know?
[This message has been edited by busboy (edited 05-31-2000).]
[This message has been edited by busboy (edited 05-31-2000).]