Packaged Media v. Digital Downloading


Great Lakes Media Technology recently attended the Home Media Expo in Las Vegas. The purpose was to examine the future of the entertainment and communications industry. Many in the packaged media industry feel threatened by digital downloading. We are not threatened as we see ourselves as a communications enabler and will invest accordingly as long as we are serving our valuable customers. As we look to invest in the future, we wanted to know where the consumer was headed. We obtained valuable information from not only research experts but also panels of regular entertainment consumers. When asked about the impact of digital downloading, Tom Adams of Adams Media Research said,"Never has a product with so little market share received so much press." His models showed in the video entertainment market, digital downloading represented 8% of the total market. By 2012 both Nielsen and Adams expect digital downloading to capture a max of 12% of the total market. An executive from MovieLink, a leading entertainment download site, discussed many of the quality, security, download time, and marketing pitfalls that they encounter with the service.We came away with the conclusion that the best experience for consumers of media will continue to be delivered on disc for the best experience, and digital downloading is best used as a supplement to the rich disc experience. If you wish to discuss, click discuss!

Increase Your Definition

We recently attended the HD Expo in Chicago and learned a lot about High Definition Video's emergence into a variety of presentations: DVD and streaming video. Regardless of the ongoing format war between HDDVD and Blu-Ray, High Definition footage can totally impact your standard DVD or online video. Are you capturing your footage in HD? The time has come to look into it. If you don't shoot your own footage, chances are your production company is. The difference is really profound, and everyone is upgrading to accommodate - not because of trend, but because of the superb quality it offers.

If your program contains HD footage, contact us to discuss presentation formats - both DVD and streaming. We'll help get your quality footage seen - and we guarantee people will be impressed.

The Selling of Media

Since I was a kid, media formats have changed, and now yet another has come into the fold: digital. Consumers by the boatload are sold on this format’s convenience. They know the quality of the audio is less, they know they won’t get much in the way of artwork, but they also know that they can take their music with them pretty much anywhere. Convenience is a value driver not used since the days of the original “boom box,” and later the walkman, in music and related advertising. Mostly, quality has always been the focus. But, times have changed.

Record labels and musicians all over the world are interested in getting their music in people’s ears, and if customers are buying into a new format, you can be sure that record labels and musicians are going to try to accommodate. It’s the basics of business. But let’s look a little deeper into the business of it, and see what’s really happening.

A record label initially determines the margins on CD sales. There are a variety of ways to approach this – packaging, limited editions, bonus material, etc. In essence, there’s room to control the perceived value in the product. Then, whether the product is sold to a distributor, retail, or directly to consumers, pricing can be based on those value points, and with smart planning, can better ensure that costs are covered, and profits are made.

With selling digital, there is not this freedom. Sale prices are determined by the digital stores (iTunes, eMusic, etc.), and royalties are paid after their expenses, sometimes leaving as little as .20 per track to go to the record label or artist. At .20 per track, selling 10 songs will get you 2 bucks. Not a lot.

Now, you might be thinking, “yeah, but I won’t have all the production costs associated with making discs.” True, but you’re not without costs. You likely paid something to record the music, you likely have produced some other marketing material to drive sales of said music, and, perhaps most importantly, there is a value to the material that you have created, a value that should be compensated for. Are you going to be able to recoup your costs on .20 per track? Good luck.

Think creatively. I’m not saying that digital is bad or useless to record labels and musicians. It’s very important to provide products and services to your customers in a way that appeals to them. But, you have to do it smart. Taking a black and white stance will only exclude you from the benefits of the other.

Now, send me an email and let’s talk about how to make your next disc drive more money your way.

Digital vs. Physical

Late last year, I got an mp3/video device. Without naming names (the brand isn't the focus of this post), it's one of the best available now - huge capacity, video capability, etc. Theoretically, it's the poster child for not using physical media (CD/DVD). I’ve been interested in this product for quite awhile now – no more road trips with piles of CD cases bouncing around the car, no more trying to decide in the morning what I wanted to listen to on the long commute to work. Now, I could have thousands of discs at my fingertips, no matter where I was going, and I could listen to whatever fit my mood. Great!

As I’ve spent about 4 months with the device, through daily commutes and two trips both national and international, I’ve certainly experienced the positive aspects listed above. But I’ve also realized some other things: batteries need to be recharged, I don’t like watching video on a 2” screen, I don’t like the effects of compression, I’m annoyed by the lack of information that accompanies purchased downloads, and ironically, I’ve started to bring CDs in the car because it’s quicker to simply put the disc in the player, than to plug in and scroll through 3,000 albums to get to the one I want to hear. That’s way too many choices before I’ve had my morning coffee!

Ironically, downloading music is designed to get music that people might not have heard before to the public in a quicker and more accessible way. However, once you have it, you might not know any more about it. I recently purchased a download and have been listening to the record repeatedly for a few weeks, amazed by the drumming it featured. “Who is this guy?” I thought. I scanned through the pages of my player, only to see a small jpg of the cover, which I couldn’t even really tell what was on it. This single jpg, and the band name and title were all it posted; essential yes, but who was the drummer? It was this moment where I longed for the gatefold LP jacket – featuring giant pictures, liner notes, creative design, imagery to match the music, creating a memorable experience – not just ‘a song.’ Oh, yes, and the name of the drummer could easily be found on most packaging.

Convenience is a fine thing, and music and video on the go is certainly useful, but physical material serves a larger purpose – it acts as a reference guide, it supports the design and concept of the content, and its serves as a physical reminder of something we cherish – much more effective than an ambiguous sea of 1s and 0s.

Sharing Business Ideas Through Digital Media

Featuring presentations from renowned authors and business experts, the LeaveSmarter series, hosted by 800ceoread, offers Milwaukee area business people a forum for new business ideas. Each event will be captured on video, compiled with other exclusive footage and author related documents, and presented on CD media which will then be distributed by 800ceoread within a limited number of author-signed books. To accomplish this, 800-CEO-READ has partnered with us. This partnership creates a platform where multiple publishing formats and live experiences create interaction between attendees, authors, and the business community at large.

GLMT Receives Government Contract
The U.S. General Services Administration offers government agencies a resource of vendors for a variety of services. GLMT is now a certified vendor within this resource. If you work within a government agency or know someone who does, contact us through the GSA vendor network at www.gsa.gov.

Versatile Media
Looking for a convenient media format that can be carried in your pocket, has unlimited file-transfer capabilities, works with any USB drive, and has your logo printed on it? GLMT now offers in-house duplication of USB drives. Available in a variety of capacity sizes (256MB - 1GB+), our duplication process also includes verification of content to ensure that the duplicated files are exact matches of the input files. After duplication, we can print your logo on the shell, and package the drive in a variety of methods for your distribution; lanyards, gift boxes, and other options are available. Contact us to find out more about how to utilize this unique portable media format.

The Added Quality of Premastering

For many of you, getting discs made simply involves mailing off your master, and then getting a shipment of replicated discs at your door days later. Of course, a lot happens during that time that you might not be aware of. For instance, each master we receive for replication goes through a pre-mastering process, where playability and authoring (if applicable) are analyzed. Even if an audio CD or DVD master plays fine on your player, the data itself could still contain errors; errors which could cause compatibility issues on certain players. Using our Eclipse system, structural elements of the discs are examined, including sectors and VOBU length, coding, IFO and BUP files. As complicated as this might sound, pre-mastering essentially lets our customers know that their replicated discs will be as accurate as possible. By testing each master before we replicate, and notifying you of any potential concerns, we ensure a higher quality replicated disc. It's just another way we strive to get you the best quality product possible.

Double Duplication Capacity

Speaking of recordable media, we've doubled our capacity for CD-R and DVD-R duplication. Adding multiple new towers to our system, with the ability to print and record a larger variety of media types (like the high resolution disc mentioned above), we are your essential source for any kind of media duplication imaginable. Literally, whatever you need, whenever you need it, we can do it.

Short Run, High Resolution

There are times when you only need a few discs, but you want them to look like you pressed a million. There are times when you also need them extremely quick. No problem! We now offer a quick turn CD-R/DVD-R that features high resolution, high gloss, smudge-proof, waterproof inkjet printing. Similar looking to offset printed discs, these discs are perfect for quick-turn, short-run projects that include photographic elements within their design. Ask us about adding high resolution printing on your next CD-R or DVD-R project.

Ready, Set, Retail!

A growing number of our customers are looking to sell their digital media projects in a retail environment. But most large retailers do not accept products without a barcode. Fear not, GLMT can print and apply barcode labels for a variety of CD and DVD packages. People working in entertainment sectors, film, software, and publishing need to follow standards for retail tracking and processing in order to have their products placed. Now we will be able to help those people get their products to market.

The process is simple. Customers can either provide existing barcodes or purchase them through Great Lakes Media Technology. The labels are then printed with the corresponding product information and applied to the spine of the packaging. Once these products arrive at retail locations, the barcode labels are scanned upon purchase for the retailer's inventory. Let us know if you need spine barcode labels on your next project.

Video Master Formats

Interested in transfering video footage to a different format? Or, just interested in making some more copies? Here's a handy list of our format capabilities for whatever your needs might be. Bring in your master on any of these formats and we'll help you out.

Betacam SP
Digital Betacam
Betacam SX
MPEG IMX (Betacam)
Beta
VHS
S-VHS
D-2
3/4"
1"
Mini-DV
DV-CAM
DVC PRO
HI-8
Digital 8
DVD-R/RW
D9 HD

Also, if you're bringing in your master for a project and you're concerned that the shell or tape might be damaged, it may be possible to repair. Let us know your concerns and we'll do our best to fix it before proceeding with the job.

Anti-Piracy

GLMT has added HexaLock CD Copy Protection Technology to our CD services. Now, virtually any content type distributed on CD-R or CD-ROM can be protected from illegal copying and use. Be sure to ask us about copy protecting individual files, or the entire program, on your next project.

Choosing the Right DVD Authoring Software

There are a variety of DVD authoring software options available today, and there will likely be even more of them in the future. While some might be low-cost, "easy-to-use," or bundled with another program you've purchased, there are definite differences in the capabilities of each program, which can seriously affect the functionality of the disc if you choose to have it replicated. For professional quality authoring, we recommend using the following software products to ensure your program is created "replication ready":

Apple:
DVD Studio Pro 3 and higher
Compressor 2 or higher

Adobe:
Encore 2 or higher

Sonic:
DVD Producer 5 or higher
Scenarist (any version)
DVDit

Ulead:
DVD Workshop 2

Sony:
DVD Architect

When a DVD master fails in the pre-mastering testing process, it usually can be traced to the version or format of software used to author the content. If you are authoring a program yourself, we recommend using one of the products mentioned above. Of course, having your content encoded and authored by Great Lakes Media Technology will ensure that there are no issues with your master when it goes into production. Call us with any questions on how we can help you with your authoring project.

Jewel Case Alternative: The Hardbox

Tired of cracked cases? Like the hefty outer graphic real estate of DVD cases? Then your solution is here. The Hardbox combines the best of both worlds: A DVD styled case with a jewel case size. Because it's a clear case surrounded by a wrap sleeve, the outer wrap can be printed in color on both sides to provide a continuous image on both the outside and inside of the case - something that's more challenging to produce on the multiple printed pieces within a jewel case. Also, it's one solid piece - disc tray and case, which brings the material cost per unit below that of a jewel case. The Hardbox is a fine alternative to a long-time standard. Call us for more info.

Scratch and Theft Proof

Have you ever purchased a disc only to open it and find that the hub that held the disc had broken, leaving the disc to shake freely within the case, scratching the bottom to the point of playback issues? Have you ever produced a retail disc where thieves slipped the case open to take the disc, bypassing the security tag? Both of these scenarios can be avoided with the GLMT Security Case. The Security Case is identical in size to a standard DVD case, but includes two movable braces that securely hold the disc within its tray against hub breakage or attempted theft. A simple but ingenious new way to add extra protection for your discs.

GLMT Adds Another Piece to the Da Vinci Code

On the heels of this popular novel and film comes the nationally distributed board game, available through Barnes and Noble, Borders, Target, and other retailers. The Da Vinci Code game includes a variety of components for playing the game with, and also an instructional DVD, manufactured and printed by Great Lakes Media Technology. It's no mystery that we were delighted to take part in such a high profile project, and it's another great example of using digital media capabilities to enhance print formats and products. More info on the game can be found here.

LP or CD?

It certainly looks like a vinyl record, but it's actually a CD. Canadian Brass recently approached us with a project idea for their next disc. In order to tie the theme of the music (Dixieland Jazz) to the release, they wanted a look that would bring past and present together. So, they had us design the face of the CD to look like an older media format - the vinyl LP. The group thought it was a perfect combination. Here's what founding member Chuck Daellenbach had to say:

"Luther Henderson has placed the Canadian Brass in direct touch with the music of the America jazz era-the first half of the twentieth century. We tried to create the mood of that era in several ways, and then we hit upon one of the most obvious links to the past . . . the grooved disc. As soon as one sees the old-disc look, the association is undeniable. We thought that this visually prepares listeners for the classic jazz music they are about to experience."

To experience this package and music yourself, pick up a copy by going here. If you're thinking about creating a similar look for your next project, or something entirely unique, let us know. We'll make it happen, and possibly feature your project in an upcoming newsletter.

A New Level In Print Advertising: e:Patch

A lot of people get information from magazines. While many publications have switched to web, many are still printed due to consumer demands. At some point, magazine readers have likely turned the page to find a CD-ROM attached to an advertisement. This is known as an e:Patch, and can be applied in large quantities to any magazine or catalog publication in order to supply a disc in conjunction with the ad. As competitive and challenging as it is to get your ad noticed, it would be pretty hard to miss a disc attached to the page. If your company does higher volume advertising in magazines, or produces a catalog that you wish had a stronger direct link to online ordering, call us today to find out how the e:Patch can work for you.

As we approach our tenth year in business, it's amazing to realize all of the stories we've helped people tell over the years. From individuals to Fortune 500 companies, everyone has a story, and we're proud to have been able to help so many people through digital communication. This very email is an example of how we've helped people stay in touch with each other. Plus, corporate training videos, product catalogs, audio CDs, independent films; the stories that have been told are nearly endless, and we look forward to hearing and seeing many more. Here are some words from our partners that reflect these sentiments:

"Thank you for your efforts with my price book project. I am very pleased with how everything turned out." - S. Bemowski

"I can't tell you how beautiful they (DVDs) look--so professional. I sold quite a few at the event this past weekend so I thank you for all your help!!" - A. Nemanic

What's your story? How are you telling it? Give us a call and we'll help you tell your story.