Founded as DADC Austria in 1986, as a 100% daughter of Sony Corporation [according to info on www.sonydadc.com]. Production of optical media started July 29th, 1987 when the 9955958 was provided in their facility in Anif/Niederalm, Salzburg. On August 14th, 1991, a sister facility was opened in Thalgau. An important reason for opening this advanced technology facility in Salzburg/Austria was the personal relation between Herbert Von Karajan and Norio Ohga [Ōga Norio, 大賀 典雄], the president and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Sony Corp. between 1982 and 1989.
Minidisc fabrication was initiated in the mid 1990s.
On June 22, 1993, DADC Austria was renamed to SONY DADC Austria AG; this was followed by the 'DADC Austria' disc matrix branding being replaced in Autumn 1998 by DADC, and then again in Spring 2000 by Sony DADC.
About DADC Austria matrix identifiers
Matrix indicators (represses occur):
'MANUFACTURED BY DADC AUSTRIA' in use late 1987-mid 1988
'MASTERED BY DADC AUSTRIA' in use mid 1988-mid/late 1991
'DADC AUSTRIA' in use mid/late 1991-early 1993
'MASTERED BY DADC AUSTRIA' (two line block) in use early-mid 1993
[DADC Austria logo] in use mid 1993-late 1998
1987-1995: 'Label prefix-catalog number BB CC' (e.g. CDCBS-450152 43 A1, BIAS-47-CD 12 A1, SPOONCD-26 11 A1). CD-singles/Maxis only show 'Catalog number BB CC'.
1995-1998: 'A0xx0xxxxxx-yyzz BB CC' (e.g. [logo] A0100209224-0101 13 A0) '0xx0xxxxxx' number indicates sequential plant code by DADC Austria (usually 0000xxxxxx or 0100xxxxxx).*
Releases associated with Sony Music:
1991-1995: 'nn-xxxxxx-yy BB CC' (e.g. 01-468884-10 13 A12) - these nn-xxxxxx-yy numbers appear also on the face of the CD but only when manufactured for the Haarlem production cycle. From mid 1994, Sony Music generally replaced the DADC Austria matrix logo (e.g. 01-477342-10 21 A1 Sony Music).
1995-1998: 'Sxxxxxxxxxx-yyzz BB CC' - usually with same numbers as on CD face (e.g. Sony Music S0148716110-0101 12 A11), but sometimes with sequential DADC Austria number when matrix starts with S0000 or S0100 (e.g. Sony Music S0100230030-0101 22 A5).*
*These patterns remained in use after renaming of the company (the DADC logo replaced the DADC Austria logo at number 0100258xxx in late 1998).
- For CD releases: 'A' indicates DADC Austria, 'S' Sony Music; 'yy' indicates the disc number (always 01 for single-disc releases; 02 and onwards are used for multi-disc releases), while zz indicates the number of discs in the release (again, always 01 for single-disc releases). Laserdiscs use different numbering for the yyzz part.
- BB is a two digit number, usually between 11-25. The second digit is the same as the last digit of the mastering SID code (IFPI L551, L552, L553, L554 or L555).
- CC is stamped into the matrix ring and is usually A1, B1, C4, D3, A12, etc. (if number has two zeros e.g. A00, B00, C00, etc., disc was not pressed by DADC Austria)
From approx. January/February 1995, releases using DADC Austria glass masters can also be identified by mastering SID code IFPI L55x. Mould SID code IFPI 94xx appeared around May 1995. Any DADC Austria disc with ONLY a mould SID code should be considered a repress.
The DADC Austria text/logo/Sony Music was originally located at the end of matrix (1987-1994). With mastering SID code implementation, the plant identifier moved to the front of the string (1995-1998).
Earliest DADC Austria pressings from approx. July-October 1987 can be identified by "MADE IN AUSTRIA" on disc face and stamped glass masters (possibly done by CBS/Sony Inc. in Japan) with +++++ at the end of matrix string. Some of these dark matrices also include a barcode.
All laser etched matrices with DADC Austria text introduced approx. November 1987 contain a barcode in the dark area of the mirror band. By late 1991, a second and smaller barcode appeared on some discs (stamped in text area). All DADC Austria pressings from 1992 and later include two barcodes in the mirror band.
LCCN Roles and Matrix Numbers
When crediting DADC Austria from the matrix mirror band, by the presence of its name/logo, with or without the A0xx0xxxxxx-yyzz matrix number and mastering SID code IFPI L55x, the most accurate role to use is Glass Mastered At. If the matrix states 'MANUFACTURED BY DADC AUSTRIA', only use Manufactured By.
When entering DADC Austria matrix numbers into LCCN, ONLY the "A0xx0xxxxxx-yyzz" part of the string should be entered. If matrix does not include this code, please do NOT enter a catalog number for DADC Austria (this applies to all discs made before mid 1995).
An example of how to correctly credit DADC Austria in the matrix is release.
For releases with Sony Music in matrix, please see that profile when to credit DADC Austria as the 'Sxxxxxxxxxx-yyzz BB CC' pattern was also used by DADC in 1998 and later by Sony DADC.
ONLY the "S0100xxxxxx-yyzz" and "S0000xxxxxx-yyzz" matrix codes may be entered in LCCN as DADC Austria catalog numbers.
Please note that all submissions dated prior to July 1987 and all Columbia / Sony Music Entertainment branded releases submitted before 1991 must be considered as erroneous.