UMG to Release Classic Out-of-Print CDs Using Cutting-Edge Disc on Demand Technology

[carlo]

Universal Music Group [[UMG) to Release Classic Out-of-Print CDs Using the CreateSpace Cutting-Edge Disc on Demand Technology

Initial titles to be available at Amazon.com feature seminal recordings from such chart-toppers as B.B. King, Loretta Lynn, Patti LaBelle, Judy Garland, the Mamas & the Papas, Louis Armstrong and Chuck Berry

CreateSpace hits milestone of more than 100,000 music titles available on demand


NEW YORK & CHARLESTON, S.C.--[[BUSINESS WIRE)--Universal Music Group [[UMG), the world’s leading music company, and CreateSpace, part of the Amazon.com, Inc. [[NASDAQ: AMZN) group of companies, today announced they will release a musical treasure trove featuring 50 seminal titles spanning a rich cross-section of acclaimed artists – from Chuck Berry and B.B. King to Judy Garland and Patti LaBelle – exclusively through CreateSpace’s Disc on Demand platform. The agreement with UMG marks a significant milestone, as all of the major labels are now utilizing the cutting-edge on-demand service to make their extensive catalogs of high-profile content readily available to the broadest possible worldwide audience. CreateSpace now offers more than 100,000 music titles on demand, making the groundbreaking service a one-stop shop where music lovers can go to find previously unobtainable releases.

The CreateSpace Disc on Demand platform allows music labels like UMG to bring their content to market quickly, efficiently and with very little risk since titles are manufactured only in direct response to customer orders. CreateSpace also has the added advantage of distributing a wide range of on-demand content through Amazon.com.

“The CreateSpace service provides fans with a dynamic new way to obtain many of their favorite catalog albums that have long been out of print,” said Bruce Resnikoff, president and CEO of Universal Music Enterprises [[UMe). “By offering an abundance of choice and an easy-to-use interface, CreateSpace allows current and future fans to discover and rediscover this beloved music with a simple click of the mouse."

“We are delighted to count industry powerhouse Universal Music Group among the growing number of top music companies choosing to capitalize on the innovative CreateSpace solution,” said Libby Johnson McKee, managing director, CreateSpace. “Our Disc on Demand technology allows labels to release their vast collections of catalog titles in the most effective way possible – and it gives music lovers everywhere easy access to a wide array of offerings that would not otherwise be available to them.”

Initial releases from UMG will include works by influential artists, such as Louis Armstrong, “Back Through the Years: Centennial Celebration”; B.B. King, “Take it Home”; Mamas & Papas, “California Dreamin’”; Loretta Lynn, “Greatest Hits”; and Conway Twitty, “The #1 Hits Collection.” More than 3,000 UMG titles will be made available via CreateSpace in the coming months.

To learn more about the CreateSpace Disc on Demand technology, go to www.createspace.com

[theboyfromxtown]

Can I order the complete works of the Funk Brothers please?

Where do I send my money?

[vcq]

Awesome news. Ditto on the Funk Brothers request...and can I please get the complete Junior Walker, Edwin Starr and Shorty Long catalogues?

[tamla617]

all they've got to do is make it affordable and dont overcharge the public.at the right price they'd sell very well.if they dont make it attractive it wont.its an unexpected chance for the industry to get back some hard earned against the wave of illegal downloads.and untap the the cellars.the prospects are mindblowing if they get it right.

how much would i be prepared to pay?at the moment about £8.99 post free for old lp to cd releases post free

[uptight]

I hope they will be pressed CDs instead of burned CDRs.

[theboyfromxtown]

Uptight

What's the difference?

[uptight]

With the recordable media lying on the top surface of the disc, CDRs are more delicate and last a much shorter time than pressed discs.

[vcq]

I first saw that Amazon.com was doing the CD-R on-demand thing with Phil Collins' new album "Going Back." Thought it looked sketchy at the time and ended up purchasing the MP3s and burning my own copy.

[soulster]

With the recordable media lying on the top surface of the disc, CDRs are more delicate and last a much shorter time than pressed discs.

First: the recording layer/playing layer of either type of disc is protected by a coating of plastic. The top of disc, or the label side, is not well protected. That is why if you scratch the label side you can ruin a disc a lot easier than if you scratched the bottom, play surface.

Second, that CD-R does not last is a myth. It all depends on how it is stored. I have seen CD-R that were burned in 1990 that still play fine. Those were TDK blanks with yellow dye. I have twelve-year-old CD-R that I burned that still play fine. The BLER checks out too.

See, there is something I understand: if you burn CD-R with the track-at-one method, more errors develop at the track transition points because the laser must turn itself off and back on at those points, than if you use the disc-at-once method, where the laser stays on the full time of the burn. The TAO discs will always have a two-second gap between the tracks.

Never use paper labels, and never leave a disc exposed to sunlight. Those two things will ruin a CD-R and the disc will develop errors that will likely be unrecoverable over a relative short period of time.

[soulster]

I first saw that Amazon.com was doing the CD-R on-demand thing with Phil Collins' new album "Going Back." Thought it looked sketchy at the time and ended up purchasing the MP3s and burning my own copy.

Here's the problem: The companies have their choice of using either uncompressed files or mp3s. If you had ordered the disc, you could have gotten a CD with an uncompressed source. Yet, you opted to download lossy files where the sound was compromised. Problem is, you'll never know what you order unless you rip the disc in an audio program and check out the frequency spectrum. If it's 320kbps, you're better off than if it's 256kbps.

[tamla617]

as usual a load of details that hadnt even crossed my mind.i assumed they would be the same as shop bought cd's. and not compressed. they'll tell us they're mp3. but not the compression rate.i would want to know what that was before buying.
while on the subject of cd's.does anyone remember the problem with a certain companies discs.these were for use by record companies not cdr,rw etc.it was around 2002.people were noticing the playing surface had a "misting up" appearance.the layers were either delaminating [[separating)or a kind of plastic equivalent of corrosion/ decomposition.i havent read or seen anymore reports of this since 2002/03.anybody,soulster? shed any more light on this?i especially want to know the record companies that used them.thanks in advance.btw it may have only been a uk and possibly earopean thing.i dont remember the american market being affected

[soulster]

In the 80s, Polygram in Germany produced CDs with a hazy film on the play side, but it does not affect the playability or durability of the discs. I have many in my collection.

Back in the late 80s, there was a European plant [[Nimbus?) that produced a relatively small number of discs that were subject to "disc rot" if exposed to high humidity. The discs were defective in that the polycarbonate seal was defective. This allowed the moisture to seep into the disc. However, there has been a big "disc rot" scare in the media almost since the introduction of CDs that have largely not panned out. But, there were scattered incidences of "disc rot" a few years ago. It seemed these reports were coming from the coastal areas where the average humidity was high. CD/CD-R like dry, cool climates.

Many warnings of "disc rot" come from anti-digital/anti CD types.

[tamla617]

well done soulster,knew you'd know!
problem now is..i've lived by various coasts since 1989!no i havent seen anything on mine [[yet!)

[theboyfromxtown]

I have the phone number for that plant in Europe. I think it was in Blackburn and I got all my 4 discs on my Dusty Springfield Box set changed by them after a few years. I was devastated when I found them all yellow.

[tamla617]

that was good,you managing to get them changed.

[marxthespot_]

I am still wondering where Universal Music Group or CreateSpace get the justification for using the term "cutting edge" to describe this "process."

[jobeterob]

There was a Billboard report recently that there another record low sales week for CDS; but it caught no attention because that's been the way it is every January for the last 10 years and the story of the CD Sales collapse is old news.

This is part of a PR campaign for survival.

For the young, the CD is long gone; none of them buy CDS anymore; there have also been records set recently for the most digital sales; I believe there was some record set by Britney Spears.

In any case, I don't think there is much argument anymore; the CD is finished and digital downloads are the "new record".

This is an attempt to stay relevant and provide old consumers with old product in the new format.