Sting SACD hits #1 in Europe Billboard Chart (1 Viewer)

[Lee Scoggins]

http://www.highfidelityreview.com/ne...umber=11854177

This is very good in terms of visibility for the format. It was also interesting to note this is the 3rd Super Audio album to make the charts along with DSOTM and the Sympathy for a Devil remix.

No doubt helped greatly by redbook purchasers, this is at least a step in the right direction for the marketing effort.

Also of note is the new Stereophile Guide to Home Theater which has three full page ads on Super Audio, each from a different record label.

 

[Al B. C]

Yeah - well I thought about buying it, but every review I have read says it's pretty much a dog of an album.

The days have come to an end where I buy something just because I'm starving for Hi Res material.

 

[John Kotches]

Ummm... How do you differentiate between the sales of those purchases that are strictly for CD layer and those that are for the SACD layer? You can't.

If this were a standard Redbook CD, it would be #1 on the billboard charts anyway, who's kidding who here?

Regards,

 

[Angelo.M]

If this were a standard Redbook CD, it would be #1 on the billboard charts anyway...

Absolutely.

 

[Justin Lane]

I am confused. The european market got a single inventory disc, while us here in the states got the shaft with two seperate releases. What is Universal US thinking?

J

 

[John Kotches]

Justin asks:

What is Universal US thinking?

That they won't have to deal with 100s of thousands to millions of Crest crackers in the US marketplace

Regards,

 

[Michael_T]

That they won't have to deal with 100s of thousands to millions of Crest crackers in the US marketplace

Yes, but the Sting hybrid in the US was not pressed by CREST. It appears to be pressed by a Sony SACD plant.

And as much as I rallied against CREST when I was getting A LOT of cracking SACDs.. their newer issues seem to hold up much better without cracking (so they may have firmed up their manufacturing process).

Anyway, I know you were being sarcastic.. but I just felt I needed to add more to this discussion.

 

[Rachael B]

Uni-RE-versal USA blew the chance of advertise SACD compatibility to a bunch of buyers. Judgeing by their actions, they don't have much faith in the format and not much at stake. BIG-5 Muzak Kompanies percieve SACD & DVD-A as hobbies!

 

[Michael St. Clair]

Yes, but the Sting hybrid in the US was not pressed by CREST. It appears to be pressed by a Sony SACD plant.

If it were single-inventory in the US, they probably would have had to use Crest for its capacity. And this disc is a guaranteed hit worldwide, regardless of whether a single-inventory hybrid is used. Just look at Sting's track record.

 

[Lee Scoggins]

If it were single-inventory in the US, they probably would have had to use Crest for its capacity.

Not with Indiana up and running. There is a lot more capacity now Michael.

I think you need to think about the "signal value" here friends. Having the ability to advertise a few #1s just makes it much easier to get more artists on board.

We don't see any DVDAs at #1, for example, do we?

 

[robertLP]

Holy moly, not this again. Talk about apples and the Orange Bowl. Obviously, people don't listen to their music on DVD nearly as much as on CD - whether it's piggybacked by HDCD, SACD, XRCD, Enhanced CD, etc.

Lee, please, put away the cheerleading skirt and the pom-poms for awhile and give us a break. Doesn't Sony ever give you any vacation time?

Rob

 

[John Kotches]

Lee,

Do you actually believe your own rhetoric? Surely you aren't ignorant enough to believe that it's the SACD capability is what put this #1 are you?

Congratulations, you're now just 1 step below Mr. Moura on the SACD hype-o-meter, and rising fast with a bullet.

Regards,

 

[Angelo.M]

Having the ability to advertise a few #1s just makes it much easier to get more artists on board.

Ugh.

What precisely would you be claiming in that advertisement? Seems to me that the issue is that a Sting album hit #1, not that a SACD hit #1. Sorry, but the success of Sting's record won't buoy the SACD format; the rising tide won't lift that ship.

And neither will the latest full-page add for the Gaucho SACD in Maxxim Lite (aka, Rolling Stone), most of whose readers are, I'm certain, more interested in the half-naked photos off Britney and Justin on the cover than in high-rez audio.

 

[Justin Lane]

Not with Indiana up and running. There is a lot more capacity now Michael.

Lee,

How can you make such a statement? Unless you work for Sony and know their production capability and scheduling, speculation of the sort is totally baseless. Obviously something was an issue or we would have received a single inventory disc here in the US.

J

 

[Justin Lane]

Congratulations, you're now just 1 step below Mr. Moura on the SACD hype-o-meter, and rising fast with a bullet.

I think they may actually be the same individual (multiple personalities perhaps?). Moura posts an article on HFR and then Lee posts a thread and link to every single article here on HTF almost in unison. It is a little too spooky for me.

J

 

[Lee Scoggins]

What precisely would you be claiming in that advertisement?

I am talking about providing case studies and evidence to artists considering releasing their albums on Super Audio. The more comfortable they are with the economics of the move and the potential quality (which is an easier sell) then the more likely these artists/labels will be to agree to the new format.

The music business is really hurting and here you have two formats that are attracting a small but steady amount of interest. Most record executives I talk to think that's a good thing. Not all agree that it is a long term solution, but some do, and most think there is a viable niche market at a minimum.

 

[Michael St. Clair]

Lee,

I thought we weren't going to respond to each others posts. I guess you just can't help yourself. :rolleyes

As far as capacity goes, this Sting CD will sell more discs in the US than all of the Stones, Dylan, and DSotM reissues combined.

 

[Angelo.M]

...most [record company execs] think there is a viable niche market at a minimum.

Right. It's a niche market now, and it's going to be a niche market. And, really, what's wrong with that? Lee, we've agreed to disagree before, but for the life of me I cannot fathom what your investment is here. Who cares if John and Jane Doe never pony up for that SACD player? Enjoy the music, right?