Sony DADC's first plant, in Terre Haute, Indiana, opened May 2, 1983,[1] and produced its first CD, Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A., in September 1984.[2] It was the first CD manufacturer in the United States, is the company's principal CD manufacturing facility, and is the company's research and development center.[1]
The plant was initially a subsidiary of CBS/Sony Group, but Sony bought out CBS's stake in October 1985.[3]
LaserDiscs, primarily 12-inch disc prints of feature films and concerts, were manufactured by Sony DADC in the 1980s and 1990s. Some of the laserdiscs made at DADC currently show laser rot, more than those from any other manufacturer.[8]
Sony DADC now manufactures the majority of CDs sold in the United States.[citation needed] In November 2008, the company bought the American disc-manufacturing capabilities of Glenayre Technologies, which manufactured the discs of Universal Music Group.[9] In the summer of 2009, the company assumed the physical distribution of EMI's North American operations.[10] This left WEA as the only major label whose discs are not manufactured by the company,[citation needed] as its discs are manufactured by the operations of the former WEA Manufacturing that were sold to Cinram.
On August 8, 2011, a Sony DADC distribution center in Enfield was destroyed during the 2011 England riots.[11][12] The warehouse was used by independent music distributor PIAS Entertainment Group to distribute CDs, LPs, and DVDs for over 100 European independent labels.[13] The total stock loss in the fire was reported to be between 3.5 million[14] and 25 million units.[15]
On January 17, 2018, the DADC plant in Terre Haute, Indiana, announced that they would be laying off 375 employees, and shifting manufacturing of audio discs to another manufacturer, Sonopress. It was later determined that manufacturing of most audio discs would be facilitated by CDA Inc. The majority of audio discs manufactured for Universal Music Group US and Sony Music Entertainment US are presently manufactured by CDA Inc, while the discs are packaged and assembled into jewel cases in the US. Technicolor sometimes also assists in the facilitation of disc manufacturing for Universal Music Group US.
On January 13, 2022, the DADC plant in Terre Haute, Indiana, announced that they would be laying off 100 employees, and shifting gaming and disc manufacturing capacity out of Terre Haute to Salzburg, Austria. Assembly and distribution will remain in Terre Haute, Indiana.[16]
Printed on the discs or packaging of Sony DADC-manufactured CDs are codes indicating master copies (matrix numbers) of discs. These codes begin with a 4-letter prefix followed by a series of digits. Common prefixes include the following:
DIDC – Classical recordings released on Sony-affiliated record labels.[citation needed]
DIDP – Popular (i.e., non-classical) recordings released on Sony-affiliated record labels.[citation needed]
DIDX – Recordings pressed by DADC for release on non-Sony-affiliated record labels.[citation needed]
DIDY – Recordings pressed by the US division of DADC for the Columbia House Record Club.
DIDZ – Recordings released on WEA Japan. (This code was only used from 1983 to 1985.)
CDRM - CD-ROM titles
LDVS - Standard Laserdiscs
LDTA - THX & AC-3 Laserdiscs
LDTX - THX Laserdiscs
LDAC - AC-3 Laserdiscs
DVSS - Single-layer DVDs
DVDL - Dual-layer DVDs
DDLD - "CD" side of DualDiscs
DDHD - DVD side of DualDiscs
AULD - "CD" side of DualDiscs containing DVD-Audio
AUHD - DVD side of DualDiscs containing DVD-Audio
SUSS - Single-layer Super Audio CDs
SUDL - Dual-layer Super Audio CDs
STLD or SULD - CD layer of hybrid Super Audio CDs
SUHD - Super Audio CD layer of hybrid Super Audio CDs
