Universal was seeking to make its extensive discontinued back-catalogue available and a partnership was formed with The Disc Kiosk, who had the technology, the manufacturing capability and the desire to do so.
Established in 1999, The Disc Kiosk had over 1,000 Universal titles in its catalogue that could be printed using a process called CD On Demand (CDO) where music is digitised and manufactured to CD without audio compression. The CD's physical specifications, tracks, and sampling are as per the original masters, allegedly ensuring that the listener is hearing the music in its full recording quality. The CDs used are an audio-optimised CDR media with true silver-coloured surface.
The Disc Kiosk worked in conjunction with Universal Music to release simplified versions of Universal's back catalogue, using the original artwork, but not the original liner notes and having simplified artwork on the CD label.
In the UK, The Disc Kiosk distributed via MVC, Woolworths, Amazon and ebay.
The company now appears to be defunct.
See also Universal Music Archive Collection.