 AND THE WINNER IS?
We called it!! Almost 6 months ago, we called the winner of the Bluray / HD battle to be Bluray. And, now that Time Warner announced this past month that it would drop support for HD and release all new titles in Bluray only, the grim reaper commeth for HD.
Following Warner's announcement, Paramount also hinted that it too would drop HD and move to Bluray.With these two companies moving over to Bluray, the life of HD is only being kept alive by Bill Gates at this point.Within a week of the announcement by Warner, Bluray player sales jumped from a traditional 50/50% split with HD to an unprecidented 93%!
The good news is that Derek Signorini, Freedom Disc's Chief Operating Officer, had rolled the dice several months ago by making the call to support the Bluray Format. "With what I could see happening in the industry, and more and more players jumping on the Bluray format, I had a strong feeling that Sony would prevail in this battle, " says Signorini in a recent interview. "We dumped all of our eggs into the Bluray basket many months ago, and it paid off."
"Freedom Disc is fully Bluray Ready at this point, including Authoring, Replication, and Packaging," he concludes.Freedom Disc is offering the 25GB format of Bluray at this time, as well as Bluray recordables and plans on offering the expanded 50GB service sometime in late 2008 when demand warrents the move.
Here is another call: Superbowl XLII Winner: New England Patriots by 14.
INTRODUCING: PAUL PROX
By Paul Prox, VP Sales
Who am I? I am Paul Prox, the new VP of Sales here at Sonarus Freedom Disc. If I can't answer a question right away, I will get back to you with the answer. That is my mantra.
I have 15 years of sales experience and account management and will combine that with the knowledge I am gaining every day in this industry to get your job done the way you want it to be done.
I look forward to working with you in 2008 and beyond. Email me at paulp@freedomdisc.com or call 724-745-7646 ext. 121
OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW
By Derek Signorini, A.K.A. "The Big Kahuna"
We sure did one smack up job of confusing a lot of our old customers.Needless to say, the transition from Sonarus Evolved back to an independant operation called Freedom Disc has been quite exciting, and at the same time, somewhat confusing.
When things didn't quite work out with our partners down in Charlotte, NC, we found it necessary to "dissolve the bands which have connected them with another" and change our name from Sonarus to "Freedom Disc."
Well, the plan was that this change would go smoothly, but what we didn't anticipate was our former partner trying to confuse our customer's by interfering on a massive scale. Telephone numbers, identities, faxes, and falsehoods all created a soupy mess.
But, Freedom Disc has made it through the rough period, and we are now running at 100% effeciency to delivery excellent customer service, unsurpassed quality, and new services to our former and new clients.
Please be sure to change all of your contact information in your rolodex to Freedom Disc's new telephone numbers and contact information!
We are in Pittsburgh, not Charlotte, where we have been for the past 23 years! Please be sure to send this info to ALL people in your organization who may be purchasing DVD, CD, or Bluray Replication Services:
Freedom Disc USA, 1597 Washington Pike, Suite B14-265, Bridgeville, PA 15017
Telephone: 724-746-7646 Fax: 412-202-0719 Web: www.freedomdisc.com
Need to send US ART FILES? Easy. Just GO TO http://dropbox.yousendit.com/freedomdisc and the rest is easy!
A NAME IS JUST A NAME
by Derek Signorini, A.K.A The Big Kahuna
People ask me all the time why I carry the title "The Big Kahuna." And often answer quite simply "Why not?"
I mean, after all, I am kinda big. Having played football from the wee age of 6 through college, I kind of had to keep up with the linemen next to me. I was a tight end for the latter part of my career, and we all know that besides the brains, brawn, and beauty, we tight ends are nothing but glorified guards, right?
And why not? A movie from back in 1999 named the same, starring Danny DeVito and Kevin Spacey had become one of my most favorite movies, one which I would use to train salespeople who entered my ranks. The cult comedy about the concept of the big sale/big fish is really a great movie. You should rent it some time.
And third. The title simply is just simple.
Through most of my professional career, I have worn many hats that an entrepreneur finds himself having to wear. From accountant to sales manager to shipping manager to chief cook, an Entrepreneur has to assume many rolls, and many rolls must be mastered.
So the traditional titles of President, Chief, or Director just didn't quite fit all of the things that I did on a daily basis at Freedom Disc.
And in passing employees in the hallways, or down on the assembly floor, many were calling me "Big guy" or "Big D" anyway. So, the "Big Kahuna" just stuck.
So if you ever need to call, ask for me by name. Chances are, I will answer by it!
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IFPI CALLS FOR NEW MEASURES AFTER GLOBAL MUSIC SALES DROP
Sales of music fell at a faster rate in 2007 than 2006 despite digital sales soaring, and the gatekeepers of the Web must act if the industry is to beat piracy, the IFPI said on Thursday.
IFPI represents the recording industry worldwide, with a membership comprising some 1400 record companies in around 70 countries.
Global digital sales grew by around 40 percent in 2007, the IFPI group said, but this was not enough to offset the sharp fall in CD sales, meaning the overall market is expected to be down around 10 percent for 2007.
As part of its response, the industry is calling on Internet service providers to take more responsibility for illegal file sharing by either disconnecting those who repeatedly upload music or preventing illegal tracks from being downloaded.
"ISP cooperation, via systematic disconnection of infringers and the use of filtering technologies, is the most effective way copyright theft can be controlled. Independent estimates say up to 80 per cent of ISP traffic comprises distribution of copyright-infringing files," the IFPI said.
Many ISPs have so far proved reluctant to engage on the matter, but the music industry is hoping this could change following a move by French gonvernment to block Web access to those frequently downloading music or films illegally.
The industry has also been boosted by a landmark ruling in Belgium which ordered a service provider to block illegal file-sharing -- although the company is appealing -- while in Britain, the government has said it could impose legislation if an agreed settlement between both sides cannot be found.
The music industry says it has been forced to turn to legal remedies after rampant Internet piracy rocked its traditional revenue model.
The IFPI said tens of billions of illegal files were swapped in 2007, with the ratio of unlicensed tracks downloaded to legal tracks sold at about 20 to 1.
Away from the legal disputes, the industry has seen encouraging signs from the growth of legal sales.
Global digital music sales were estimated to be approximately $2.9 billion in 2007, a roughly 40 percent increase on 2006, and single track downloads, the most popular digital music format, grew by 53 percent.
Digital sales now account for an estimated 15 percent of the global music market, up from 11 percent in 2006 and zero in 2003. In the United States, online and mobile sales now account for 30 percent of all revenues.
IFPI's complete Digital Music Report 2008 is available here.
DVD6C ANNOUNCES NEW LICENSING PROGRAM
The DVD6C Licensing Group (DVD6C) revised its patent licensing program including a new license agreement, which offers reduced royalty rates and additional licensing options.
The group consists of developers of DVD technology and formats -- Hitachi, Ltd., Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (Panasonic), Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd., Sharp Corporation, Toshiba Corporation, Victor Company of Japan, Ltd. (JVC) and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc.
Key changes to the new licensing program include the reduction of royalty rates for DVD Read-Only Discs (i.e., the DVD-Video Disc, DVD-Audio Disc and DVD-ROM Disc) from US$0.045/Disc to US$0.040/Disc for sales of DVD Read-Only Discs beginning on or after the Effective Date of the New DVD6C License.
The new licensing scheme also adds the +R Discs and +RW Discs as new categories of licensed DVD Products. The royalty rates for +R and +RW Discs shall be the same as the current royalty rates for DVD-R and DVD-RW Discs, respectively.
In addition, Time Limited DVD Discs in the DVD-ROM Disc, DVD-Video Disc and DVD-Audio Disc categories have been included in thelist of the licensed DVD Products.
The Group said that interested parties would remain free to negotiate individual license agreements with DVD6C's member companies, rather than taking out a single portfolio license or license for a category of products.
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