Thread: Number crunching SACD releases (rate steady over long stretches of time)

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Post by Cornan March 6, 2011 (1 of 12)
Sorry for the waffling title, but I haven't taken a snapshot in a long time, and the rate of new releases may well have spiked and then gone down.

"Lying with statistics" aside, I was happy to see that over long stretches of time the SACD release rate (1.68 per day since the last sample) SEEMS to have held up worldwide. This in spite of the fact that the only references to SACD in the audio press still link it with the commercially extinct DVD-AUDIO format.

This is the fourth time I've "crunched the numbers" provided by SA-CD.NET (thanks as always). You can see the previous postings at /showthread/30638/30638#30638, /showthread/27548/27548/y#27548 and /showthread/24873/24966/y#24966.

With more data in my database some of the figures are more ambiguous that in the past, but "NEOS Classics" seems to be the most active "new" label (since previous counts). The following shows "new" releases for each label (since I started collecting information):

new - label (total)

113 - Exton (249 total)
96 - Universal (Japan) (147 total)
96 - BIS (181 total)
71 - PentaTone Classics (199 total)
55 - Channel Classics (135 total)
54 - Neos Classics (54 total)
53 - Analogue Productions (88 total)
51 - MDG (91 total)
49 - Ars Produktion (78 total)
45 - Linn Records (121 total)
41 - Praga Digitals (93 total)
38 - Triton (52 total)
32 - Oehms Classics (52 total)
32 - 2L (51 total)
27 - Alba Records (37 total)
26 - Aliud (41 total)
26 - Sony Classical (116 total)
26 - LSO Live (50 total)
25 - RCA (31 total)
25 - Mobile Fidelity (69 total)
25 - Chandos (68 total)
23 - Dacapo Records (42 total)
22 - Harmonia Mundi (87 total)
22 - Avex-classics (83 total)
21 - CPO (53 total)

Perhaps more interesting are the new LABELS over the last 2+ years:

new - new label
54 - Neos Classics (first noted 3/6/2011)
19 - Esoteric (first noted 3/6/2011)
19 - EMI (Japan) (first noted 3/6/2011)
11 - Akdang (first noted 3/6/2011)
10 - Alia Vox Heritage (first noted 3/6/2011)
9 - Mariinsky (first noted 3/6/2011)
8 - BR Klassik (first noted 3/6/2011)
7 - Warner Music (Japan) (first noted 3/6/2011)
6 - Non Profit Music (first noted 3/6/2011)
6 - OUR Recordings (first noted 3/6/2011)
5 - BMOP/sound (first noted 3/6/2011)
5 - SibaRecords (first noted 3/6/2011)
4 - Preiser Records (first noted 3/6/2011)
3 - Wergo (first noted 3/6/2011)
3 - Evolution (first noted 3/6/2011)
3 - Myrios (first noted 3/6/2011)
3 - Neos Jazz (first noted 3/6/2011)
2 - Sterling (first noted 3/6/2011)
2 - Inedita (first noted 3/6/2011)
2 - Festivo Classics (first noted 3/6/2011)
2 - Katzenberger (first noted 3/6/2011)
2 - KMa (first noted 3/6/2011)
2 - EMI (Germany) (first noted 3/6/2011)
2 - Etendue (first noted 3/6/2011)
2 - Rondeau (first noted 3/6/2011)
2 - Muse Entertainment (first noted 3/6/2011)
2 - Gloriae Dei Cantores (first noted 3/6/2011)
1 - Blüthner Records (first noted 3/6/2011)
1 - Aeon (first noted 3/6/2011)
1 - DIP Records (first noted 3/6/2011)
1 - Lohas Classic (first noted 3/6/2011)
1 - Gideon Boss (first noted 3/6/2011)
1 - Arte dell' arco (first noted 3/6/2011)
1 - ORGANpromotion (first noted 3/6/2011)
1 - Uranienborg Vokalensemble (first noted 3/6/2011)
1 - TUTL (first noted 3/6/2011)
1 - Summit Records (first noted 3/6/2011)
1 - Slovart (first noted 3/6/2011)
1 - Sigillum (first noted 3/6/2011)
1 - Pro-Cathedral (first noted 3/6/2011)
1 - LCS (first noted 3/6/2011)
1 - Oscar Edelstein (first noted 3/6/2011)
1 - Glor Classics (first noted 3/6/2011)
1 - MSR Classics (first noted 3/6/2011)
1 - Mitra (first noted 3/6/2011)
1 - Little Hartley Music (first noted 3/6/2011)
1 - Acousence (first noted 3/6/2011)
1 - Jienat (first noted 3/6/2011)
1 - Herman Records (first noted 3/6/2011)
1 - Pin Point (first noted 3/6/2011)

As usual, my intent here is to not only bolster enthusiasm but also to help my compatriots locate active labels for further shopping.

If the folks at SA-CD.NET can provide me with a label name, date (release date, added to database date, "whatever is available" date) and count per date I'll take the time to do a more granular chart and post it here. For example:

CBS 2/2/2003 (6)
CBS 4/14/2002 (5)
CBS 5/3/2003 (1)
Pentatone 3/4/2005 (3)

and so on...

Post by Kal Rubinson March 6, 2011 (2 of 12)
Cornan said:
This in spite of the fact that the only references to SACD in the audio press still link it with the commercially extinct DVD-AUDIO format.

Really? I think that is more likely a good characterization of users on most of the (other) audio forums. Every time someone starts a thread on SACD, there will be inevitable postings on DVD-A. Sometimes, the poster is ignorant of the difference, sometimes the poster chooses to lump them together despite knowing the difference.

Kal

Post by Claude March 7, 2011 (3 of 12)
Thanks for this list. I think it's interesting to check the number of new SACD releases per month, which shows how much the format is still being supported.

But it's also important to look into the details. If Universal Japan launches a new SHM-SACD series at $50 per disc, this will not compensate in terms of SACD market relevance the loss of a popular classical label abandoning SACD (like Telarc, Chandos or Hyperion).

The total number of SACDs is also increasingly irrelevant, as a significant part of the SACDs listed on this site are no longer easily available. If a disc goes for $60 and more on the second hand market, it's practically non-existent for reasonable music buyers.

Post by Daland March 7, 2011 (4 of 12)
Claude said:

But it's also important to look into the details. If Universal Japan launches a new SHM-SACD series at $50 per disc, this will not compensate in terms of SACD market relevance the loss of a popular classical label abandoning SACD (like Telarc, Chandos or Hyperion).

I am very sad to hear that Chandos, too, has abandoned SACD.

Post by Polly Nomial March 7, 2011 (5 of 12)
I think the news that Chandos is abandoning SACD will come as something of a surprise to Chandos - their releases have started ramping of late after a bit of a lull.

Post by DSD March 7, 2011 (6 of 12)
I'm hoping Chandos sticks with SACD at least until they finish the Holst Orchestral Works series. Holst: Orchestral Works Vol. 1 - Hickox and Holst: Orchestral Works Vol. 2 - Andrew Davis were great.

Post by nucaleena March 7, 2011 (7 of 12)
Daland said:

I am very sad to hear that Chandos, too, has abandoned SACD.

Where has this rumour come from? its presented here as fact but there is absolutely nothing about it on the Chandos website and Chandos' list of all their SACDS is up to date and extensive. Can people please stop posting unsubstantiated rumours here.

Post by Kutyatest March 7, 2011 (8 of 12)
Cornan said:

Sorry for the waffling title, but I haven't taken a snapshot in a long time, and the rate of new releases may well have spiked and then gone down.

"Lying with statistics" aside, I was happy to see that over long stretches of time the SACD release rate (1.68 per day since the last sample) SEEMS to have held up worldwide. This in spite of the fact that the only references to SACD in the audio press still link it with the commercially extinct DVD-AUDIO format.

I'm an eternal optimist by nature, so any news of SACD releases I see as very positive. I don't normally read the hi-fi press, but was given a copy the January 2011 edition of What Hi-Fi the other week. Very disappointing I thought, how superficial and patchy the information contained within seemed to be. There was barely a reference to SACD - at least nothing relating directly to any current models shown within the magazine, and absolutely nothing on DVD-A, which I can somehow understand though. Anyone familiar with this magazine will be aware that equipment is listed at the back, and there are tables showing formats supported by particular players. A range of Sony Blu-ray players were shown, but no mention that they support SACD, which I believe they do.

With regard to DVD-As though, I would understand "commercially extinct" to mean that they are no longer available to buy and/or no longer produced. Whilst I admit that the future for this format doesn't look anywhere near as rosy as SACD, I'm led to believe that they are still being produced and released - and there are still plenty to buy. Funnily enough, I accidentally discovered an internet post recently from 2002, where the demise of DVD-A was mentioned. How premature, I thought! I'm sure it'd be easy to find old posts mentioning the demise of the SACD format also - and up to date ones.

Post by rammiepie March 7, 2011 (9 of 12)
Kutyatest, DVD~A, as a format is "nearly" extinct as Blu~Ray Audio (especially Dolby True HD) is an "extension" of that format in terms of audio codec (96/24 5.1).

A few are still being released, namely, the King Crimson DVD~A remasters and a rumoured upcoming Stephen Stills 5.1 remaster of his first solo album.

Rhino's last two 4.0 releases were DTS 96/24 DVDs based on the original quadriphonic masters of the early 70's which is simply not true DVD~A.

Beware, a lot of so~called 5.1 DVD~As are actually DTS or DD encoded. A true DVD~A usually has an MLP (Meridian Lossless Packing) moniker somewhere on the disc.

Post by Kutyatest March 7, 2011 (10 of 12)
rammiepie said:

Kutyatest, DVD~A, as a format is "nearly" extinct as Blu~Ray Audio (especially Dolby True HD) is an "extension" of that format in terms of audio codec (96/24 5.1).

A few are still being released, namely, the King Crimson DVD~A remasters and a rumoured upcoming Stephen Stills 5.1 remaster of his first solo album.

Rhino's last two 4.0 releases were DTS 96/24 DVDs based on the original quadriphonic masters of the early 70's which is simply not true DVD~A.

Beware, a lot of so~called 5.1 DVD~As are actually DTS or DD encoded. A true DVD~A usually has an MLP (Meridian Lossless Packing) moniker somewhere on the disc.

You're probably quite right, Rammie. There's always a danger that a post appears confrontational - or at least deliberately contradictory - and my intention was not to cause offense. Hopefully none was taken by you or the OP.

You're dead right with regard to hi-res wannabes, but I'm quite lucky that I've learnt fairly quickly how to negotiate my way around false hi-res offerings, and those that are genuine. I have no preference whatsoever of DVD-A over SACD, and in my naive way, would like both to prosper. It'll probably not happen, but whilst I keep thinking that I've exhausted the number of (genuine) DVD-A titles that I can buy, I suddenly keep finding new ones! In the last 14 months alone, I've managed to expand my DVD-A collection by about 30 new albums - the latest one bought earlier today. I musn't drag this thread off course, but Silverline is a label that appears to have had an odd way of marketing their MCH music. Some - a large percentage - are genuine MLP DVD-As, but others are "just" audio-only DVD-Vs, and it can be tricky to know which is which. The difference in the packaging of genuine Silverline DVD-As over those that are not is very subtle, and online retailers don't help though either.

Having said that though, I've found myself enjoying a few non hi-res MCH music albums a lately, and I did something recently that only a few years ago I thought I'd never do. I was keeping my eyes on the Santana "Abraxas" album on both SACD and DTS-CD on eBay. I decided to buy the DTS-CD as it was MCH, rather than going for the stereo-only SACD. I've no regrets, but I'm still curious as to how the SACD would sound.

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