Smart disk Boz Scaggs Silk Degrees 503740

[Alan Dorschug]

I am looking for the Smart disk for Boz Scaggs Silk Degrees 503740.

[Aaron Zornes]

 Example: Boz Scaggs – Silk Degrees

• Was listed in some dealer catalogs (especially around 2004–2006) as a Smart PianoSoft-compatible title.
• May have been in development but  Boz Scaggs – Silk Degrees  never made it to mass production or distribution, possibly due to label complications (Sony) or low anticipated demand

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Yamaha’s Smart PianoSoft series for Disklavier was quietly discontinued in the late 2000s–early 2010s. While they advertised thousands of compatible album titles, only a small fraction (≈2,000) were ever actively produced, marketed, or sold. Here's why Yamaha pulled back:

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🧾 Example: Boz Scaggs – Silk Degrees

• Was listed in some dealer catalogs (especially around 2004–2006) as a Smart PianoSoft-compatible title.
• May have been in development but never made it to mass production or distribution, possibly due to label complications (Sony) or low anticipated demand.

🎹 Why Yamaha Discontinued Smart PianoSoft

1. High Licensing Costs & Complexity

• Each Smart PianoSoft title had to be licensed twice:
  • The mechanical rights to create a performance/MIDI version of the music.
  • Synchronization rights to link the performance to a specific commercial CD.
• With thousands of albums listed as potential titles, Yamaha often hit roadblocks negotiating with record labels, especially for artists under Sony, Universal, or Warner.

2. Changing Consumer Technology

• By the late 2000s, floppy disks (the format Smart PianoSoft used) were obsolete.
• Disklavier models began shifting to USB, Wi-Fi, streaming, and audio sync (e.g., Disklavier ENSPIRE).
• CD ownership also declined, making the CD-synced concept less appealing.

3. Labor-Intensive Production

• Smart PianoSoft performances were often hand-edited MIDI transcriptions by real pianists, not just algorithmic MIDI files.
• This made production slow, expensive, and hard to scale, even though thousands of albums were "announced" or listed in catalogs.

4. Low Consumer Adoption of the Format

• Disklavier pianos were (and still are) premium, niche instruments. Only a small fraction of owners bought many titles.
• The idea of buying a floppy disk + CD combo for each album didn’t scale well in the age of digital media.

5. Shift to Newer Formats

• Yamaha shifted focus to:
  • PianoSoft Audio (which embeds audio + performance)
  • Streaming services for Disklavier (like Disklavier Radio via the ENSPIRE)
  • Custom song recording/playback for teaching and entertainment
• These formats are easier to license and work better with modern digital expectations.

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📚 The Catalog Discrepancy: Why So Many Were “Listed” but Never Released

• Yamaha’s original Smart PianoSoft catalogs—especially between 2003 and 2007—included over 4,000 titles as “available or forthcoming,” many of them simply announced in bulk.
• However, only ~2,000 of those were ever programmed and released.
• This caused confusion for customers and dealers, many of whom tried to order titles that never existed or were quietly shelved.

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🧾 Example: Boz Scaggs – Silk Degrees

• Was listed in some dealer catalogs (especially around 2004–2006) as a Smart PianoSoft-compatible title.
• May have been in development but never made it to mass production or distribution, possibly due to label complications (Sony) or low anticipated demand.

 

[Alan Dorschug]

I only know of about 570 Smart disks that were ever released. There were another 400 or so that were in the 2007 catalog that were scheduled to be released in the future that never were released. I have never seen a list anywhere near 2000.

[Aaron Zornes]

On Sun, Aug 3, 2025 at 7:02 PM Alan Dorschug <iski...@gmail.com> wrote:

I am looking for the Smart disk for Boz Scaggs Silk Degrees 503740.

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