Vinyl

1973, New York City. Together with his partners, Richie Finestra, President of American Century Records, is on the verge of selling his struggling company to German Polygram, an impending distribution agreement with Led Zeppelin part of the package. But after an awkward encounter with Robert Plant, it's clear that the sale is in jeopardy. Heading home to Greenwich, CT, a detour leads Richie to an unplanned reunion with Lester Grimes, a musical artist with whom he has a complicated history. With thoughts of Lester weighing on him, Richie heads to the office, where he learns of another problem: bombastic Frank 'Buck' Rogers, owner of a chain of radio stations, is about to boycott American Century due to a perceived slight from their artist, Donny Osmond. In crisis mode, Richie gives his AR department a mandate to find new acts, prompting office assistant Jamie Vine to bring in The Nasty Bits, aproto-punk band unlike anything anyone has ever heard. Richie, meanwhile, enlists thuggish independent promotion man Joe Corsoto help with the Buck Rogers situation. After a three-day coke binge, Corso summons the sober Richie to Rogers' home, where things go horribly awry. Later, Richie learns that Polygram has agreed to buy the company, but with both Lester and the Buck Rogers debacle on his mind, he goes violently off the wagon, trashing the den of his home and jeopardizing his relationship with his wife Devon and their two children. Coked out and on his own in downtown Manhattan, Richie ends up being drawn by a crowd of young people to the Mercer Arts Center, where he sees The New York Dolls perform. It ends up being a night that sets Richie, and everyone close to him, on a new and unexpected course.

With German Polygram executives in town to complete the deal for American Century, Richie delivers a bombshell that shocks the prospective buyers as well as his partners: Zak Yankovich, ACR's head of promotions, and Skip Fontaine, head of sales. When the dust settles, the Germans storm out of the ACR offices, leaving Richie to face the ire of Zak, Skip and company attorney Scott Levitt. In Greenwich, Devon ponders what to do about her husband, who broke his promise by going off the wagon, though her anger is tempered by memories of the man she fell in love with back in 1966, when she was a fixture in the downtown art/music scene and a muse to Andy Warhol. Back at American Century, Richie gives the AR team members a mandate to land a cutting-edge act or lose their jobs. Jamie, pushing the Nasty Bits, is encouraged that Richie is interested in the band, but dismayed she'll be working with AR head Julius 'Julie' Silver, who vows to polish the Bits' sound. A devastated Zak considers changing his alibi for a recent injury, while Richie decides to pay a visit to an estranged mentor.

At a record producers' banquet honoring Maury Gold, Richie is embarrassed when the emcee, rival record exec Jackie Jervis, makes a joke about the failed German Polygram deal. Later, Maury and mob cohort Corrado Galasso pay a visit to American Century to probe a detective's recent inquiry, and Joe Corso drops by to pitch Richie a demo by his banquet date, Nora. As Richie cuts down his roster to free up money to sign and promote new artists, junior AR rep Clark Morelle courts Alice Cooper in an attempt to sign him to a solo deal. Trying to find purpose in the suburbs, Devon turns to Andy Warhol in hopes of raising funds to renovate a Greenwich barn that could house a displaced Russian ballet company. Approaching Lester about releasing some of his old blues demos, Richie reopens old wounds instead. The revamped Nasty Bits fail to win over Richie, prompting Jamie to change up their set list.

In lieu of attending a funeral, Richie takes out his anxieties on a couch during a marriage-counseling session with Devon. Later, over the course of a chaotic day at the office, Richie courts funk superstar Hannibal, agrees to let Robert Goulet record an original song on his upcoming Christmas LP, and gets fired up after an acrimonious meeting with Lester. Meanwhile, Zak and Scott ruminate on their futures in the aftermath of the lost deal with German Polygram. On the verge of signing with American Century, Kip and the Nasty Bits enlist a new manager to work out a favorable deal with Richie. Skip looks to unload an overrun of bootleg albums, but finds no takers. As he's about to be detained by two new detectives, Richie learns from Cece that Hannibal is being courted backstage by Jackie Jervis, and orders his assistant to do whatever it takes to keep the singer in the stable. Later, Richie visits a downtown jazz club in search of an alibi, while Devon has a meltdown at home.

Richie visits a close relative in order to leverage a favor to his advantage. Devon agrees to join Richie for dinner with Hannibal and Cece, playing up the vixen role to keep one of her husband's biggest clients signed. Kip faces a tough dilemma in the wake of the Nasty Bits' recent signing: fire one of his bandmates or lose a prime gig opening for the New York Dolls. Desperate to shore up PR at American Century, Richie tries to recruit Andrea Zito, a former employee and flame who now works for Jackie Jervis. Clark gets a new job after an emotional meeting with Julie, while an indignant Jamie ends up keeping her old one. Richie has an inspiration for the name of his new label.

Devon seeks refuge at the Chelsea Hotel with Ingrid, a friend from her Warhol days. Meanwhile, Richie falls into a deeper well of drugs and depravity, enabled by Ingrid's nihilistic boyfriend Ernst. Andrea Zito rejoins American Century and immediately outlines her plans to revive the label. Kip follows an unlikely path towards recruiting a new lead guitarist, Alex, for the Nasty Bits. Zak allows his raw emotions to surface at the end of his daughter's Bat Mitzvah.