Super Audio Compact Disc (SACD)

The super audio CD has been available since 1999 and is a dual-layer disc that offers 16-bit stereo, which is used for conventional CD’s and also a high-resolution six-channel mix. The benefit to this CD is that it can be played through normal CD players, however in order to playback the SACD in surround the consumer must use a SACD player or DVD player that supports SACD.

This format is precisely what the music industry needs if the 5.1 surround sound system was to become a popular playback format for music reproduction: a medium which can playback normal stereo material but also surround sound material. However, this compact disc is used rarely in the music industry. Jack schofield (2007) from the Guardian Newspaper states some interesting findings while investigating this subject in more depth:

"The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) says only 2m SACDs were sold last year (2006), compared to 1.7bn CDs. (This may understate sales, because IFPI doesn't track hybrids separately, and almost all SACDs are now hybrids. But how would we know if buyers were going to play the SACD layer?)"

Even though the IPFI do not track hybrids, which are both CD and SACD, the sales figures for non-hybrid SACD's are incredibly low compared to CD, especially considering these figure were taken seven years after its release. It can be seen from this that the SACD is failing to become the new standard medium for storing music. There are a few reasons as to why the release of this new compact disc was not successful. 1999, was the same year that peer-to-peer file sharing service Napster began, this allowed people to acquire music for free and share it via MP3 files. Although this service was shut down in 2001 due to the copyright infringement it was causing, many other internet based services would take its place and begin the uprising of music piracy. 

The SACD was competing in a battle that it couldn't win. Two new ways of acquiring music were available to the public, both released in the same year. One where the consumer could access their music for free via low quality MP3 files which could be stored on your computer in mass quantities. And the other a compact disc, which would still cost the consumer money and they might even have to purchase a new playback system to enjoy the high quality surround sound that it can offer. When faced with this choice, the consumer is obviously going to choose the option where they can access their music for free. Unfortunately this is obviously had a detrimental affect on the fate of the Super Audio Compact Disc.