05-08-13: Brf
Mold release is applied to album stampers to prevent the vinyl from sticking to the stamper. Some of the mold release will be transferred to the new album; therefore, new albums should be cleaned prior to play. What you are hearing is the phono cartridge needle cleaning the mold release from the grooves of the album after each subsequent play.
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Do you know this to be factual? A little background:
I was the original Quality Manager at Record Technolgy, Inc., still one of the finest pressing plants out there. I started in 1973, and was their 2nd employee. For the 15 years I worked in that industry, NO-ONE ever knew anything about the "mold-release agent" I now see blogged about every few years. Even our PVC suppliers knew nothing about it. We never applied anything other than a vinyl biscuit & labels to the stampers.
Please, cite your source