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Canadian company buys AOL DVD business
A Canadian company is betting the house that the Big Five record labels will somehow get the multi-billion dollar pirate disc trade under control.
Montreal's Cinram International Inc has agreed to pay $US1.05 billion for AOL Time Warner's DVD and CD manufacturing, distribution and 'related' businesses in the US and Europe. It rationale is that DVDs will be the way everyone will eventually view images, including movies, in the future.
It says as part of the deal - expected to close this Fall - it'll sign exclusive long term agreements with Warner Home Video, Warner Music Group and New Line Cinema to make, print, package and physically distribute their DVDs and CDs in North America and Europe.
Cinram's buy includes manufacturing facilities in Olyphant, PA, Commerce, CA and Alsdorf, Germany as well as related US and European distribution facilities, as well as Ivy Hill Corp, a, "provider of packaging and printing services for DVDs and CDs of AOL-affiliated companies and third parties," and Giant Merchandising, "engaged in entertainment merchandising, retail licenses and private label marketing and distribution".
Not at all incidentally, three Cinram facilities in Louviers, Champenard and St Die, France, have 'completed' IRMA's (International Recording Media Association) Anti-Piracy Compliance Program.
"With nearly 100 plants enrolled worldwide, the IRMA Anti-Piracy Compliance Program (APCP) is well recognized as an effective weapon for replicators and duplicators in the combat against piracy," says Cinram.
"Cinram has always placed the fight against piracy at the forefront of its priorities," says Thierry Pasquet, CEO of Cinram France. "The certification of our French sites demonstrates once again our commitment to thwarting the plague of piracy and the importance for us of safeguarding our customers' intellectual proprietary rights."
Rumours that AOL Time Warner suits were laughing hysterically all the way to the bank are probably true.
User Comments
(These do not necessarily reflect the beliefs of this site)
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DamningEden
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Date: July 21, 2003 @ 3:09 PM
On behalf of all of the REAL Canadians, I'd like to apologize for Cinram. I believe that a boycott of Cinram should be considered and carried out. This shouldn't be a huge problem, because I've seen entirely too many Cinram productions,and they are nothing to write home about. Only a matter of time before the RIAA floods across the border, eh? Let them come. |
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wegikrmw4aeuf
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Date: July 21, 2003 @ 3:28 PM
How about boycott the RIAA, Cinram, and everyone else that has to do with them and their business partner's even the one's that they deal with. |
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Feisar
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Date: July 21, 2003 @ 3:36 PM
Wait a second. DVD's are what will be the future? I thought the future would be massive hard drives. For example, Tivo's, black boxes with internet integration. Oh wait a second. I'm thinking of my computer. MUH-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!!! |
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CodeWarrior
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Date: July 21, 2003 @ 4:36 PM
So, now, is AOL gonna be flooding our mailbox with DVDs offering a year free of AOL service with sign up>
More coasters on the way Marie...
BAN THE BASTARDS! BOYCOTT THE BASTARDS!
CINRAM BE DAMNED! |
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kneo24
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Date: July 21, 2003 @ 5:45 PM
"Wait a second. DVD's are what will be the future? I thought the future would be massive hard drives. For example, Tivo's, black boxes with internet integration. Oh wait a second. I'm thinking of my computer. MUH-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!!!"
"I want to watch TV!"
"Hold on, I need to boot the house up!" |
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mtekk
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Date: July 21, 2003 @ 7:36 PM
more AOL cds hmm.
"Hey guys Guess what, We will be getting more clays soon ;)"
I thought AOL got in some shlit for claiming that all those cds where their sole property, which most are in landfills now.
What DVD's the wave of the future? I thought the future was my massive 200GB hd. No the future will be a new type of disk that will hold over 12GB of data per a single layer. so max of 48+ gigs of data per a disc, they will also be slightly smaller than the DVDs of today. |
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jmweirick
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Date: July 21, 2003 @ 7:43 PM
so AOL no longer has any reason to fight piracy? that could explain why the are marketing AOL 9.0 with the words, "Spice Up IM's With Real-Time Speech, File Sharing & Video", take special note to the words "FILE SHARING", yes this could mean legal sharing, but still it is odviously using "illegal" sharing to get people interested. |
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Feisar
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Date: July 21, 2003 @ 7:53 PM
Yeah but mtekk, what's the point of that? Clutter is clutter no matter what the format. It only makes sense that hard drives will take over. Look at how you can carry not just mp3's, but now full length movies in a device the same size as a pack of cigarettes. I have 200 Gigs of files (mp3's etc) myself and I haven't touch any of my CD's in years. |
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diggit
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Date: July 21, 2003 @ 9:39 PM
mtekk, as we 've all found out, it doesn't matter what a disc CAN hold. It'll be held down to the package they want. Or, the new discs will cost $500.00 each. (more if these biotches get their way.) That'll sure make my clutter a lot smaller once I burn everything onto those, though, Feisar. As far as Cinram goes, I guess they think they got a good deal. Well, if they do, I got a bridge for sale-cheap. |
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theHERMlT
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Date: July 22, 2003 @ 10:34 AM
This seems to be a good time to remind everyone on the forum, that the RIAA get a portion of all money spent on any blank media, and the hardware that support it. |
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Feisar
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Date: July 22, 2003 @ 11:10 AM
I got it! Why doesn't the RIAA just sell blank CD's and give a percentage to the artists? Or sell Hard Drives, Burners and mp3 players? They'd make back all of the money they're "losing" and make a fortune. They have to have some $500 per hour Markting flunky who has thought about this. |
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EyeMWing
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Date: July 22, 2003 @ 11:51 PM
I don't think I'd be buying RIAA branded anything.
And since when does the RIAA get any money from my blank CD-R's, DVD-R's, CDRW drives, and DVD-RW drives?
I don't use *ANY* of those for any purpose related to their music. If they think I am, they're defrauding Lite-On quite severely.
Although my first two DVD burner purchases WERE Sony, but that's simply because they were the only +- capable drives on the market at the time. |
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EyeMWing
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Date: July 22, 2003 @ 11:53 PM
Just confirmed this, the RIAA earning money off blank media/recording hardware is 100% bona-fide rumor. They're evil enough without making crap up. |
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Manowar-1
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Date: August 3, 2003 @ 6:50 PM
Bull shit they don't make money off blanks. The RIAA even says so on their own site - it's a 2% levy on all blank media sales in the US since 1992, per the Audio Home Recording Act. It's 100% true. I couldn't confirm the second part (hardware), but I read on a reliable web site that they get $2 per CD recorder sold as well.
http://www.riaa.com/issues%5Clicensing%5Caarc.asp |
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