Would you pay extra for an Audio Fidelity Surround SACD?

[fredblue]

Yes

How many copies were there in a run of one of the Audio Fidelity SACDs that had Surround included on it?

1,000?
2,000?
5,000?
10,000?
20,000?
50,000?

 

[privateuniverse]

How many copies were there in a run of one of the Audio Fidelity SACDs that had Surround included on it?

1,000?
2,000?
5,000?
10,000?
20,000?
50,000?

Well, since they're all numbered....what's the highest number anyone has on their slip cases? My copy of Blood, Sweat & Tears is # 3499.

 

[bmoura]

An interesting article on this topic from Cookie Marenco in today's Blue Coast Music Newsletter. A highlighted section:

"The cost of producing a great album of solo piano from recording to delivery is about $25,000 in stereo. Adding instruments is exponential in cost -- just like surround. Very few albums sell more than 1,000 units. A good album sells 200 downloads.

The same kind of question came up in a surround forum last week -- why isn't there more quality surround sound? It's the same issue. The cost of mixing, mastering and delivery is magnified by 6x. I'll let you do that math.

So how do we survive? We love what we do and believe there is a future. "

Thank you, again, for all your support and enjoyment of what we do,

Have a Great Week!
Cookie Marenco
founder and producer
Blue Coast Records/Music

http://us5.campaign-archive1.com/?u=9ea1a8ad7eaf87b20c24eeb2e&id=775952897c&e=0cd9b73a8a

 

[kap'n krunch]

Dang!

 

[Robert van Diggele]

An interesting article on this topic from Cookie Marenco in today's Blue Coast Music Newsletter. A highlighted section:



http://us5.campaign-archive1.com/?u=9ea1a8ad7eaf87b20c24eeb2e&id=775952897c&e=0cd9b73a8a

that surround forum is our own QQ. Cookie mentioned those numbers hear, but it is hard to believe surround albums by Nosound, Pineapple Thief and Rob Reed cost up to $250.000 and more, as that were the numbers Cookie mentioned if I am not mistaken.

Also his 6 fold thing is strange. Why would a 6 channel recording/mixing/mastering cost 6 times more than a 2 channel recording/mixing/mastering. If it would cost more, a 3 fold increase seems to make more sense than 6 fold.

 

[fredblue]

An interesting article on this topic from Cookie Marenco in today's Blue Coast Music Newsletter. A highlighted section:



http://us5.campaign-archive1.com/?u=9ea1a8ad7eaf87b20c24eeb2e&id=775952897c&e=0cd9b73a8a

Bloody hell.. the numbers are so small... :yikes

How does Cookie Marenco make any money at all at that rate..!?

So from these numbers cited, would it be off the chart to presume its the same handful of people that are chasing all those copies of stuff like the OOP Ship Ahoy SACD, etc...!?

Wow.. that's mind-blowing.. but its tough to accept since there's a fellow on the SHF board who was part of the team behind those long out of print Sony Single Layer SACDs said they Sony made 5,000 copies of each and then re-pressed those when they sold out (and most of the time the inference was that they didn't sell out, so 5,000 was the print run of many of those Sony Single Layer SACDs).. but stuff like that old Ship Ahoy SACD wouldn't be so hard to obtain if there was a market of 200 to 1,000 people who wanted it and 5,000 copies floating about out there, would it, surely..?

Ps. Not whinging because I love that Cookie Marenco is a member of QQ now and that Cookie has been so kind and forthcoming and generous with time and info, etc. but I kinda wish Cookie had given QQ a little tiny quick plug in that Blue Coast Music article..

PPs. This isn't just "a surround forum", donchya know.. this is THE surround forum..

 

[ubertrout]

Wow.. that's mind-blowing.. but its tough to accept since there's a fellow on the SHF board who was part of the team behind those long out of print Sony Single Layer SACDs said they Sony made 5,000 copies of each and then re-pressed those when they sold out (and most of the time the inference was that they didn't sell out, so 5,000 was the print run of many of those Sony Single Layer SACDs).. but stuff like that old Ship Ahoy SACD wouldn't be so hard to obtain if there was a market of 200 to 1,000 people who wanted it and 5,000 copies floating about out there, would it, surely..?

As I understand it, Sony pressed up 5,000 copies, but just like any other release, if they didn't sell within 2 years or so, the retailers would write off the inventory and return it to Sony, who had the discs destroyed.

 

[4-earredwonder]

As I understand it, Sony pressed up 5,000 copies, but just like any other release, if they didn't sell within 2 years or so, the retailers would write off the inventory and return it to Sony, who had the discs destroyed.

And shortly thereafter, SONY suddenly dropped SACD altogether and started producing dualdiscs with Dolby Digital 5.1 surround. Is it me or are NUT JOBS running the music industry? Especially considering that dualdisc's CD side did NOT conform to SONY/Philips very own Redbook standard and were unplayable in MOST players of the time....and in some cases actually damaged some mechanisms.

 

[fredblue]

And shortly thereafter, SONY suddenly dropped SACD altogether and started producing dualdiscs with Dolby Digital 5.1 surround. Is it me or are NUT JOBS running the music industry? Especially considering that dualdisc's CD side did NOT conform to SONY/Philips very own Redbook standard and were unplayable in MOST players of the time....and in some cases actually damaged some mechanisms.

Yes..!! They're all mad... mad I tell you..!!

It's not us (us.. us.. us.. us.. us..) it's them (them.. them.. them.. them..)

Didn't Sony get some fellow in from their movie division to run the music side of the corporation around about the time of DualDisc or something..!?

 

[fredblue]

As I understand it, Sony pressed up 5,000 copies, but just like any other release, if they didn't sell within 2 years or so, the retailers would write off the inventory and return it to Sony, who had the discs destroyed.

Aarrgghh... :violinNo wonder there's no copies left! :yikes
(With that Titanic-esque news, you've reduced a reformed former SACD-aholic to a puddle of tears..! )

Ship Ahoy, Ship Ahoy, Ship Ahoy, Ship Ahoyyyyy..... that ship's sunk without trace.. glug glug glug..

(ponders how many copies are left in existence after the sad destruction of all those unsold copies.. I imagine there must have been quite a few left unsold back in the early 00's that "nobody" wanted... )

Suddenly 1,000 copies of any Quad reissue seems almost extravagant.. Ok, so how about 500 copies, on a DVD-R, in a plastic bag.. or better still a MultiCh download..!

Ship Ahoy can sail again..! Quad A-HOY..!!! :banana:

 

[4-earredwonder]

Yes..!! They're all mad... mad I tell you..!!


Didn't Sony get some fellow in from their movie division to run the music side of the corporation around about the time of DualDisc or something..!?

That I don't know, Adam. All I know is for years the music industry was rife with tales of rock artists being paid with massive amounts of cocaine....and I wouldn't be surprised if the music executives kept mounds of it for themselves because as long as I can remember one BAD idea after another emanated from the powers that be at these record companies [like the early QUAD fiasco]. An occasional toot once in awhile isn't injurious but as with all banned substances over time one's personality does change....and NOT for the better.

SHIP AHOY.......MAN [MEN] OVERBOARD!

 

[fredblue]

That I don't know, Adam. All I know is for years the music industry was rife with tales of rock artists being paid with massive amounts of cocaine....and I wouldn't be surprised if the music executives kept mounds of it for themselves because as long as I can remember one BAD idea after another emanated from the powers that be at these record companies [like the early QUAD fiasco]. An occasional toot once in awhile isn't injurious but as with all banned substances over time one's personality does change....and NOT for the better.

SHIP AHOY.......MAN [MEN] OVERBOARD!

If only they'd made their mantra;

"Quad is the drug
and I need to score.."

 

[bmoura]

Bloody hell.. the numbers are so small... :yikes

How does Cookie Marenco make any money at all at that rate..!?

So from these numbers cited, would it be off the chart to presume its the same handful of people that are chasing all those copies of stuff like the OOP Ship Ahoy SACD, etc...!?

Things have changed in the record industry as the sales of optical discs continue to fall.
We're a long distance from 2003 when Let It Bleed by the Rolling Stones sold over 2 Million copies on Stereo SACD.

The recent comment by Chad Kassem that he was very happy with Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" Multichannel SACD that has sold 40,000 copies to date show that.
A big hit today is quite a bit smaller than it was at the peak of the CD format and at the start of the SACD format.

What it also means is that recording costs (in the case of new recordings like those from Blue Coast) or transfer and remastering costs (for reissues on CD, LP and SACD) are spread over an ever shrinking number of sales.

 

[GOS]

Things have changed in the record industry as the sales of optical discs continue to fall.
We're a long distance from 2003 when Let It Bleed by the Rolling Stones sold over 2 Million copies on Stereo SACD.

The recent comment by Chad Kassem that he was very happy with Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" Multichannel SACD that has sold 40,000 copies to date show that.
A big hit today is quite a bit smaller than it was at the peak of the CD format and at the start of the SACD format.

What it also means is that recording costs (in the case of new recordings like those from Blue Coast) or transfer and remastering costs (for reissues on CD, LP and SACD) are spread over an ever shrinking number of sales.

Whoa! LIB sold 2 million? Wow!!!!!

 

[4-earredwonder]

Things have changed in the record industry as the sales of optical discs continue to fall.
We're a long distance from 2003 when Let It Bleed by the Rolling Stones sold over 2 Million copies on Stereo SACD.

The recent comment by Chad Kassem that he was very happy with Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" Multichannel SACD that has sold 40,000 copies to date show that.
A big hit today is quite a bit smaller than it was at the peak of the CD format and at the start of the SACD format.

What it also means is that recording costs (in the case of new recordings like those from Blue Coast) or transfer and remastering costs (for reissues on CD, LP and SACD) are spread over an ever shrinking number of sales.

I bought a lot of the Stones SACDs at a local Tower Records BEFORE I EVEN OWNED AN SACD player as the prices upon INITIAL release were ridiculously cheap and hey, it was REMASTERED. DITTO for DSOTM. The hybrid multichannel disc in a plain RBCD case was a fixture at a local Costco for $9.99. I think if SACD was plastered all over these Stones hybrid releases [ditto for DSOTM] they would NOT have sold in such quantity. Joe Public just thought they'd be getting a better sounding remaster. What did they know. Sometimes, Ignorance IS Bliss!

Very happy that Wish You Were Here did sell 40K units. Bodes well for future AP PF hybrid mch SACDs (like the MUCH anticipated The Wall).

 

[ubertrout]

Aarrgghh... :violinNo wonder there's no copies left! :yikes
(With that Titanic-esque news, you've reduced a reformed former SACD-aholic to a puddle of tears..! )

Ship Ahoy, Ship Ahoy, Ship Ahoy, Ship Ahoyyyyy..... that ship's sunk without trace.. glug glug glug..

(ponders how many copies are left in existence after the sad destruction of all those unsold copies.. I imagine there must have been quite a few left unsold back in the early 00's that "nobody" wanted... )

Suddenly 1,000 copies of any Quad reissue seems almost extravagant.. Ok, so how about 500 copies, on a DVD-R, in a plastic bag.. or better still a MultiCh download..!

Ship Ahoy can sail again..! Quad A-HOY..!!! :banana:

Not only a lot unsold, but a TON of returns of the single-layer discs. I think that's the core problem with multichannel or SACD only discs - there's no way to keep people from being confused by them, save perhaps by pricing them out, like the SHM-SACDs.

I can't per se confirm that the discs were destroyed, but it seems to have been the practice back in the day. There was an interesting book published last year, called How the Music Got Free, that describes how the process worked at the time.

The most depressing one is probably the Aerosmith Rocks SACD - presumably recalled to make room for a MCH reissue that never materialized, and almost all the copies destroyed. At least most of the others are at least somewhat available.

 

[milt]

Kinda funny.
8 pages of a What If? thread.
9 reviews of the latest Audio Fidelity actual Quad release.

Seems this forum isn't much different from the much maligned SHF.
Speculation is sometimes more engaging than an actual release.
Far more reviews of this title there.
Just an observation.

 

[rtbluray]

Kinda funny.
8 pages of a What If? thread.
9 reviews of the latest Audio Fidelity actual Quad release.

Seems this forum isn't much different from the much maligned SHF.
Speculation is sometimes more engaging than an actual release.
Far more reviews of this title there.
Just an observation.

Yes, this makes so much sense! Thank you!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[fredblue]

Very true..

..I can't speak for other topics of conversation at QQ but I don't think there'd be much need for speculation on this particular subject imho if a label (or labels) could consistently deliver the Quad and 5.1 reissue goods (and make money in so doing!) but seemingly no-one can.. so, here we are navel gazing..

..and on that note, I'm off to inspect the inside of my eyelids..
G'dnight all ye Quaddies..!

 

[4-earredwonder]

Kinda funny.
8 pages of a What If? thread.
9 reviews of the latest Audio Fidelity actual Quad release.

Seems this forum isn't much different from the much maligned SHF.
Speculation is sometimes more engaging than an actual release.
Far more reviews of this title there.
Just an observation.

We can dream, can't We?

My take on all this: unless you work in the music business (I certainly don't) from what this thread has taught me......this is probably the last QUAD/5.1 push we'll ever get as, IMO, AF was our last bastion of hope.

But then again, I divide my time equally between music and BD~Vs so as far as I'm concerned, there's NO paucity of GREAT surround titles from the motion picture industry.

Will the next BIG multichannel 'push' come from downloads. Only time will tell. But I'm NOT holding my breath.