MUSIC Feature-packed DualDiscs appealing

Studios hope CD/DVD combos persuade listeners to buy, not download.
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
NEW YORK -- Record companies keep coming up with new schemes to lure listeners away from illegally downloading their albums. First, they ran nifty contests fans could enter only by shelling out for the physical CD. Then, they drastically lowered the price of legal downloads -- a move wildly aided by the runaway success of iPods.
Now, they've come up with what may be their most convincing trick yet.
DualDiscs are two-faced contraptions that feature a full CD on one side and a DVD packed with extra stuff on the other. They have begun to take off dramatically.
When the debut album by R & amp;B singer Omarion hit stores Feb. 22, 30 percent of its 180,000 first-week sales came on DualDisc. That helped boost the album to No. 1.
The next week, Jennifer Lopez's CD "Rebirth" drew 32.6 percent of its 256,000 copies from DualDiscs, according to Sony/BMG.
At the retail chain Trans World Entertainment, executive Jerry Kamiler says J.Lo's bulkier disk accounted for a full 50 percent of their copies moved. "They're doing extremely well for us," he says. "Consumers love it."
$1 more
And why not? DualDiscs generally cost just $1 more than the regular CD, and they offer extra tracks, live performances and documentary footage. They also feature a second version of the CD in 5.1 surround sound.
Some observers compare the dual format to the doodad-packed treatment of movies on DVD.
"You get these grandiose versions of the film with extra content and commentary," explains Paul Bishow, who oversees DualDiscs for the Universal Records Group. "This is the music companies' way of providing that."
In the past few years, music fans have also been asked to consider DVD Audio and Super Audio CDs. But those were both high-end audiofile formats that required new equipment to realize their sonic potential.
Both formats tanked.
Even with the easier-to-fathom DualDiscs, some buyers are confused.
"If they're not looking close," says Kamiler, "they may think that the version marked $1 more is mispriced and buy the cheaper one."
Stores have been busy educating buyers. At the Virgin chain, buyer Jerry Suarez says they're extending through May a high-profile, in-store DualDisc campaign.
At the Music City chain, buyer David Weintraub says they're now stocking DualDiscs exclusively on some titles, to avoid confusion.
DualDisc exclusives
Some retailers still have quibbles. Joe Nardone Jr., who oversees the Gallery of Sound stores, says some of the older titles reissued on DualDisc aren't up to snuff technically. "For the DualDisc on AC/DC's 'Back in Black' the master tape isn't good enough for the 5.1 surround sound," he says.
Yet most retailers and companies still seem gung-ho. Three of the four major music conglomerates are manufacturing as many DualDiscs as they can. The lone holdout -- EMI -- will dip into the fray later this year.
While some albums have been issued only on DualDisc in the past, the most anticipated CD to get that treatment will be Bruce Springsteen's next one, "Devils and Dust," coming April 26. In May, the new ones from Bon Jovi and Nine Inch Nails will come out exclusively in the dual style.
Billboard's Geoff Mayfield says the magazine will soon begin acknowledging percentages of DualDiscs sold of a given CD in its charts. Meanwhile, record executives are encouraging their artists to create "making of" video packages while recording their CDs, the better to bulk up the visual element of the disk.
Will such ephemera be enough to shore up sagging sales? Stay tuned.