With all the record shapes being discussed the one defining feature will be keeping a needle at the correct pressure to read the groove irrelevant of gravitational orientation. Standard records can still be played.

I propose that at the end of the sprung armature resides a Mecanum wheel that allows bearing in any direction necessary. This head contains a special tracking needle, that reads the curvature of path and supplies platter bearing/drive rollers the rotational path, and of course, following behind, a standard read needle.

With the correct setup of shape conforming drive rollers any three dimensional shape, from a coffee mug to a vinyl doughnut can be rolled around in a 3D envelope with arm pressured to the tracks.

Coffee mugs with etched first words are now a possibility.
-- wjt, Oct 06 2019

Always bearing https://en.wikipedi.../wiki/Mecanum_wheel
A wheel of varied movement, for scaling and adaption. [wjt, Oct 06 2019]

random, halfbakery