Disc Idol
Irvine’s DiskFaktory, which produces discs in bulk for software makers and others, is reaching out to amateur musicians by
teaming up with an “American Idol” themed Web site.
On the site, American Idol Underground, musicians can upload their songs, get them played on one of the site’s online radio
stations and have them rated by fans.
Higher rated musicians get more airplay and win awards—like on the show—but without Simon Cowell’s sharp tongue.
Fans can order CDs, which DiskFaktory makes at its 18,000-square-foot plant in Irvine.
“When you look at the whole genre of ‘American Idol,’ you are looking at people who want to get heard,” DiskFaktory
spokesman Leonard Johnson said. “We are able to add the physical distribution side of it, on demand.”
Small, independent bands and aspiring filmmakers can upload their songs and videos, order CDs or DVDs and even create
the artwork for the cover online.
Most disc duplicators have minimum requirements of 500 to 1,000 discs per order with about a month of waiting, Johnson
said.
Would-be rock stars can place orders as small as 50 CDs or 10 DVDs at DiskFaktory’s Web site and get their discs back in
as little as a day.
Companies use DiskFaktory’s site to cut printing costs by putting employee manuals and marketing brochures onto discs.
The company also makes specialty discs such as a digital business card, which has the same size and look as a paper
business card and holds a company’s information and marketing pitch.
Customers such as Irvine’s Allergan Inc. use the system to share internal documents. The National Football League uses it
to catalog virtual trading cards.
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