"It's been more than a decade since the first MP3 digital downloads and music players were introduced to the public," said John Anderson, Vice President of Home Entertainment & Sound, Sony Europe. "Now is the time to offer high-resolution audio products that bring music enthusiasts closer to their favourite recordings, and allow them to experience those recordings the way the artists, producers and engineers originally intended."
This new high-resolution audio initiative was conceived to ensure 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 historically on LPs and CDs.
According to research that was recently conducted by the Consumer Electronics Association, nearly 90% of all consumers cited sound quality as their most important criteria when listening to music. Additionally, more than 60% of these respondents said they would expect to pay a premium for higher quality audio content.
The focus of this initiative is to make the high-resolution audio 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 has recently 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 possible digital sound quality, and reproduce all of the details and nuances found in our customers' favourite music," said Alberto Ayala, Director of Home Audio Video, Sony Europe. "Each of these solutions will provide music enthusiasts with everything needed to enjoy an outstanding listening experience - right out of the box."
A key component of this initiative calls for select Sony high-resolution players to come pre-installed in Europe with 15 hi-res audio tracks, featuring some of the greatest recordings ever from the outstanding catalogues of Sony Music Legacy Recordings, Universal Music and Warner Music.
"In a world in which there are more ways than ever of finding and listening to music - be that at home or on the move - there has never been a better time to develop a high quality audio experience," said Niamh O'Reilly, Senior Director of Digital, Sony Music Entertainment. "We are very excited about the possibilities of bringing the warmth, detail and nuance of sound that previous generations of music lovers have enjoyed to people of all ages and music tastes."
"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's 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."
In order to educate and engage with consumers about high-resolution audio, Sony has launched a new portal at www.sony.co.uk/hub/high-resolution-audio, which highlights the leading hi-res digital music stores and also incorporates a convenient guide to high-resolution audio. Additionally, Sony will provide authorised dealers with a variety of support, including product brochures,
