News

Super Audio CD Set For Christmas Sales Blitz With 320 New Titles (11/12/2003)

Super Audio Forum Highlights Significant Progress in Establishing High-Resolution Surround Sound Format

The recent Super Audio Forum highlighted strong growth in the Super Audio CD in terms of both hardware and software market penetration. Coming in to the critical pre-Christmas sales period there are over 320 new Super Audio CD titles being released by the 150 record companies that currently release music on the format. This takes the total number of titles available worldwide to more than 1,600 with the majority being hybrid, surround sound Super Audio CDs, including a CD layer.

The Super Audio Forum in Amsterdam attracted 66 senior representatives from a range of record companies, recording studios, mastering facilities, disc replicators and equipment manufacturers. Against a backdrop of significant progress in terms of interfacing and format issues, brand identification and format promotion, the Forum heard about a number of initiatives from a range of companies intending to raise the profile of Super Audio CD.

Alongside the rapidly growing group of record companies that support SA-CD, some 25 consumer equipment manufacturers have developed players of various types and there are currently some 85 different models available to buy. This year has seen strong growth in the Super Audio CD format and every indication suggests exponential development in the coming 12-month period. The Forum heard that there would be 21 million Super Audio CDs in circulation by the end of this year and this volume is forecast to grow to around 100 million Super Audio CDs by the end of 2004.

The two-day conference is geared towards the creative community and allows key individuals and organisations to come together, share ideas and develop joint initiatives aimed at taking the format to the next level of market acceptance.

Universal Music

One significant contributor to the Forum was Universal Music, which has added some 78 titles to its Super Audio CD catalogue for the Christmas market. Including some of its top-selling popular artists, such as Sting, Shania Twain, Ronan Keating, Elton John and Texas, Universal Music voices strong support for Super Audio CD.

"Super Audio CD is an important new format for Universal, "comments Dirk de Clippeleir, Director, New Formats at Universal Music International. "Its superb audio quality, CD compatibility and robust copy protection measures make the format ideally suited to our needs."

Christmas Sound Shower

Another initiative geared towards the Christmas season sees Universal Music, Philips and Sony instigating a major promotional campaign in Germany. Thanks to a multi-million Euro campaign, over 3.5 million German cinemagoers had the perfect opportunity to experience Super Audio CD in their local CineStar and UFA cinemas this autumn. A project team comprising representatives from Philips, Sony and Universal Music in Germany instigated the campaign.

For a six-week period in October and November a network of 466 cinemas across Germany have been running a 60-second promotional video which has succeeded in raising the profile of this advanced surround sound technology amongst an audience well used to the power and potency of multi-channel surround sound. "In many ways cinemas represent the ideal environment to promote Super Audio CD," commented Florian Lamp from Universal Music Germany. "As a result of this campaign, we can detect a significantly higher level of awareness in SA-CD with more people buying players and their favourite music on the format."

The cinema campaign represents just one element of a comprehensive promotional project, which include a major print advertisement campaign, and point of sales promotion in over 150 music stores throughout Germany. The print campaign saw the latest music from stars such as Sting, Shania Twain and Ronan Keating advertised in 20 publications ranging from Playboy magazine to Der Spiegel.

The point of sales promotion included Super Audio CD listening posts being constructed in 150 music retail outlets across Germany. Installed within a range of stores including Karstadt, Media Markt and Saturn, each listening post provided shoppers with a great opportunity to experience the power and potency of multi-channel Super Audio CD within custom-designed 'Sound Showers'. Each Sound Shower was stocked with the cream of the latest Super Audio CD releases from Universal Music, including Sting's top-selling Super Audio CD, Sacred Love.

"The Christmas run-up represents a major opportunity to promote this fantastic surround sound format," comments Dan Waite, International Marketing Manager at Universal Music International. "Through this targeted campaign we demonstrated to a large audience how Super Audio CD creates a unique and powerful musical experience. Based on the success of this project in Germany, we intend to roll-out the Sound Showers in other key European markets."

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