Norman Lear's Concord Records, which had its greatest commercial success by partnering with Starbucks on Ray Charles' final CD, is teaming with Monster Cable Products to bring high-quality CDs to electronics retailers.
Monster Cable, a leading manufacturer of high-end cables, is introducing the limited-edition SuperDisc starting with the Concord release "Genius Loves Company" by Charles, the Concord/Fantasy reissue of Vince Guaraldi's "A Charlie Brown Christmas," Peak/Concord's "40 Years -- A Charlie Brown Christmas" tribute record and Peter Cincotti's latest DVD, "Live in New York," which includes a copy of his 2003 album "On the Moon."
The albums will be released Nov. 9.
SuperDisc will be playing in the SACD and DVD-A arena and offering high-def surround sound.
Albums will be released in consumer electronics stores, many of which do not currently carry CDs.
"Currently, over 14,000 retail locations sell Monster products, and more than half of them do not sell music yet," said Monster Cable chief Noel Lee.
Monster's products are sold to national chains such as Best Buy, Circuit City and Target as well as to audio/video specialists like Ultimate Electronics, Fry's, Stereo Exchange, Ken Crane's and others. Concord and Monster execs say those retailers are equipped with the kind of on-site demonstration systems that can best promote a product such as SuperDiscs.
Most SuperDiscs include two discs -- one featuring a stereo mix that plays on any CD player and another that plays in any DVD player.
SuperDiscs include High Definition Digital Music files that are ready to drag and drop into any music program, including Apple's iTunes.
"This isn't a model for every artist. We want to stay focused on just a few great albums at a time," said Monster founder Kevin Lee.
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