Thread: Hyperion drops SACD

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Post by diw August 23, 2008 (11 of 43)
Anyone have any idea as to what the multichannel release will be?

Post by Jay-dub August 23, 2008 (12 of 43)
bissie said:

If Hyperion indeed released SACD after the RBCD as a dual inventory and at a higher price, it is to me natural that they cannot make the numbers come out positively. I am surprised that a person with Simon Perry's acumen can make such a basic mistake.

I am sad that we're losing one of the few really good labels out there to the cause of superior sound recordings, not because the system cannot make money, but because they went at it the wrong way.

In the USA, the marketing of Hyperion SACD's was a disaster in many ways. Typical Amazon.com prices were around $26, which is well above the customary price for a CD and at least $5 more than the list price of most Hyperion CD's. In addition, the CD-only versions of several major Hyperion SACD releases were made available on BMG Direct Marketing and subsequently flooded the used market at prices well under $10.

It probably didn't help sales that Classics Today panned the surround mixes on several important Hyperion SACD's. Also, some recordings were released with mislabeled boxes. My copy of the Bach/Hewitt English Suites is labeled "Stereo" only, although the disc includes a multichannel mix.

Post by audioholik August 23, 2008 (13 of 43)
let's hope Reference Records will fill the gap... I'm looking forward to their SACD releases.

Post by Perigo August 23, 2008 (14 of 43)
Peter said:

That isn't true - the reference to poor sales concerns SACD only.

Peter

Is it your impression or you have any real information more?

Post by toddao August 23, 2008 (15 of 43)
andrewb said:

Disappointing, if this is confirmed. The new web design on the Hyperion site has no section for SACD unlike the old.
A year or so ago, I understood from Simon Perry that they were intending to continue releasing Angela Hewitt's recordings on SACD because she is Canadian and sales of SACD have been good there.

She will be in Sydney in October and is doing a public forum so if someone else
doesn't raise this, I will.Her recordings in SACD have been regular buys for me-the CD's won't.

Post by bissie August 23, 2008 (16 of 43)
toddao said:

She will be in Sydney in October and is doing a public forum so if someone else
doesn't raise this, I will.Her recordings in SACD have been regular buys for me-the CD's won't.

That's actually an interesting statement. Since we at BIS only have single inventory, it would have been interested to know what the incremental sales is because of the SACD is, since we do offer the Hybrid SACD for the CD price. Unfortunately I know of no way to find it out.
Anyway, without intending to offend toddao, for me the contents amd musicality of the disc is the all-important thing - the sound it is presented in is but an added advantage, well, harrrumph, at least in our case.

Best - Robert

Post by Arthur August 23, 2008 (17 of 43)
bissie said:

That's actually an interesting statement. Since we at BIS only have single inventory, it would have been interested to know what the incremental sales is because of the SACD is, since we do offer the Hybrid SACD for the CD price. Unfortunately I know of no way to find it out.
Anyway, without intending to offend toddao, for me the contents amd musicality of the disc is the all-important thing - the sound it is presented in is but an added advantage, well, harrrumph, at least in our case.

Best - Robert

Robert:

I have dozens of BIS SACDs, but I haven't purchased a BIS RBCD in over 5 years.

Content and musicality is also of extreme importance to me, but I guess our tastes tend to differ. With over 4000 RBCDs and 600 SACDs, I only buy an RBCD if it's an artist I really admire doing a work I'm extremely interested in getting rave reviews from reviewers I respect; or on rare occasion, a work I've never heard before, but have been interested in for a while. That works out to less than half a dozen discs a year.

But if I'm going to simply take a flyer on something, it will for sure be an SACD. I don't like the sound of RBCDs and find that they make me feel fatigued if I listen for extended periods.

I have all of the initial 3 of your extended play single layer discs (I would never have bought any of them on RBCD).

I own no Dowland. I have no interest in buying them in a big box, but I may just check them out now that they're coming as an extended SACD!

Thanks,
Bret

Post by Polly Nomial August 24, 2008 (18 of 43)
Arthur said:

I own no Dowland. I have no interest in buying them in a big box, but I may just check them out now that they're coming as an extended SACD!

Not quite what you were suggesting, but Honey from the Hive - Emma Kirkby, Anthony Rooley is wonderful...

Post by Peter August 24, 2008 (19 of 43)
Perigo said:

Is it your impression or you have any real information more?

The statement from Hyperion clearly referred to SACD.

Post by Johnno August 24, 2008 (20 of 43)
bissie said:

If Hyperion indeed released SACD after the RBCD as a dual inventory and at a higher price, it is to me natural that they cannot make the numbers come out positively. I am surprised that a person with Simon Perry's acumen can make such a basic mistake.

I am sad that we're losing one of the few really good labels out there to the cause of superior sound recordings, not because the system cannot make money, but because they went at it the wrong way. The Court case has nothing to do with this, the earning power from an SACD, marketed correctly, has. We at BIS are deriving our best-sellers from our Hybrid SACD:s (which of course can have something to do with what products we select for that treatment...)

It for sure doesn't help the future of this system. Sad, really sad. I still think that the only way is to offer the Hybrid SACD:s to the public at no price increase, and as the only alternative, i.e. single inventory.

Robert

I wrote to Mike Spring at Hyperion early in the proceedings about the company's dual inventory policy and was given the following reason for it. Firstly he said the company felt it was impossible to make SACDs and sell them for the same price as RBCDs. As a consequence, it was worried that it would lose sales if it adopted a single inventory policy because of the unavoidable (in its view) price increase.

Is that reasoning flawed? Clearly some companies believe so.

One should also not forget the court case that cost the company a considerable amount of money.

I agree it is very sad because it now means another independent label -- and a very fine one at that -- will not longer be participating in our favourite audio format. Thank goodness for the likes of BIS and Pentatone.

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