Hi-Rez Highway: c-o-s-t, cost, COST by Michael Bishop

SACDs are still more than the double the cost of CDs to manufacture. If we were to manufacture SACDs in the quantity needed for the overall worldwide release of a title, the increased cost would make many releases unprofitable. If a release looks like it'd be unprofitable, it won't be recorded in the first place. Lots of music performances would never make it into the marketplace under those conditions. A difference of a few cents per piece times worldwide quantity can kill a project.

Additionally, SACD manufacturing capacity is not high enough to fulfill orders in the number and quantity we'd need worldwide if we were to release a single inventory. We release an average of 6 titles a month and every title is in worldwide release. Unfortunately, Telarc business alone isn't enough to encourage expansion of SACD manufacturing capacity. If it only was...

Telarc is not a non-profit arts organization and must turn a profit, just as the business you're in must. We love presenting music on SACD. It is the best-sounding and easiest-to-use hi-rez consumer format on the market. We can't let dedication to a format run us out of business, however.

Best Regards,

Michael Bishop
Recording Engineer