Sony Electronics Joins Industry Effort To Promote High Resolution Audio With New Products That Offer Outstanding Digital Music Reproduction

NEW YORK, Sept. 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Sony Electronics today announced that they are joining with the Consumer Electronics Association and other leading electronics companies in a new approach that will provide music enthusiasts with a better way to experience their favorite recordings.

The initiative includes a new line of Sony products that make high resolution audio a more convenient, compelling and cost-effective listening experience for digital music enthusiasts everywhere. To support this, select Sony products will come pre-installed with hi-res tracks from Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment.

"It's been more than a decade since the first MP3 digital downloads and music players were introduced to the public," said Phil Molyneux, president and COO of Sony Electronics. "Now is the time to offer high-resolution audio products that bring music enthusiasts closer to their favorite recordings, and allow them to experience those recordings the way the artists, producers and engineers always intended."

Because You Care About Music™
This new high-resolution audio initiative was conceived to insure that in addition to greater convenience, the latest generation of music enthusiasts has an opportunity to enjoy digital downloads with the type of sound quality that's been available on LPs and CDs. 

According to research that was recently conducted by the Consumer Electronics Association, nearly 90 percent of all consumers cited sound quality as their most important criteria when listening to music. Additionally, more than 60 percent of these respondents said they would expect to pay a premium for higher quality content.

Meeting Lifestyle Needs
The focus of this initiative is to make the high-resolution downloading and transfer process easy to use and convenient, while reducing confusion over the many high-resolution formats available.   

To help drive this initiative, Sony today unveiled a number of new high-resolution digital music products that are designed to meet virtually every consumer lifestyle need. 

"All of Sony's new high-resolution audio devices have been designed to deliver the best digital sound quality possible and reproduce all of the details and nuances found in their favorite music," said Neal Manowitz, director of Sony Electronics' Home Audio group. "Each of these solutions will provide music enthusiasts with everything needed to enjoy an outstanding listening experience – right out of the box."

Variety of Compelling Content
A key component of this program calls for select Sony hi-resolution players to come pre-installed with nearly 20 hi-res audio tracks, featuring some of the greatest recordings ever from the outstanding catalogs of Sony Music Legacy Recordings, Universal Music and Warner Music.

The list also includes hi-res tracks from new albums like "Pleasant Valley" by John Mayer, "Feels Like Home" by Sheryl Crow, and "The Last Ship" by Sting. 

"With the arrival of the on-line high resolution audio experience, a generation of music lovers raised on digital downloads can enjoy the warmth, detail and nuance of sound that audiophiles and vinyl enthusiasts rave about," said John Jackson, Vice President of A&R and Content Development, Legacy Recordings, Sony Music Entertainment. "At Legacy Recordings, we're always striving to give the consumer the best listening experience and it's exciting to be able to release classic recordings from the Sony Music archives in an easily accessible state-of-the-art audio format."

"Universal Music Group has a long track record of supporting high resolution audio in both physical and digital formats," said Jim Belcher, Vice President, Technology & Production, Global Digital Business, Universal Music Group. "We're pleased to add Sony's latest initiative to our range of high-resolution audio offerings, and look forward to continuing to make music available in ways that lets fans feel like they are in the mastering studio with their favorite artist."

"Warner Music is a committed pioneer of dynamic experiences that bring artists' visions to fans in the highest quality ways. As such, we are passionate supporters and enablers of High-Resolution music offerings," said Matt Signore, President, Artist & Label Services, Warner Music Group. "Given Sony Electronics' global footprint and marketing expertise, these pre-loaded devices will be a great way to excite a wider audience about the possibilities and benefits of high resolution sound."

Comprehensive Marketing Support
In order to educate and engage with consumers about high-resolution audio, Sony has embarked upon a comprehensive marketing campaign. 

Sony will be launching an extensive print and digital advertising campaign, as well as a new portal at www.sony.com/hires which will highlight the leading Hi-Res digital music stores and also incorporates a convenient guide to high-resolution audio.

Additionally, Sony will provide authorized dealers with a variety of support, including product brochures, white papers, training and displays. The company will also sponsor Hi-Res listening parties, in cooperation with participating music companies.

The following music tracks will come pre-installed on select Sony high resolution audio products:

- Blood, Sweat & Tears, Spinning Wheel
- Dave Brubeck Quartet, Blue Rondo A la Turk
- Miles Davis, So What
- Herbie Hancock, Watermelon Man
- Yo-Yo Ma, Cloverfoot Reel
- Wynton Marsalis, Lazy Afternoon
- Willie Nelson, Georgia On My Mind
- Santana, Black Magic Woman
- James Taylor, Your Smiling Face
- Luther Vandross, Never Too Much
- John Mayer, Paper Doll
- B.B. King / Eric Clapton, Come Rain or Come Shine
- Aretha Franklin, Baby, I Love You
- Sheryl Crow, Easy
- Ella Fitzgerald / Louis Armstrong, They Can't Take That Away From Me
- Nora Jones, Miriam
- Sting, Practical Arrangement
- The Beach Boys, Good Vibrations

SOURCE Sony Electronics