EMI Uden was EMI's CD manufacturing plant, located in Uden, Netherlands. The factory started under this name in 1990 after they took over from EMI Services Benelux B.V. which was operative between 1982 and 1990 in Uden. Vinyl manufacturing was discontinued by mid 1987, and cassette duplication ended in 1990, making way for CD manufacturing at EMI Uden. In early 2000, EMI Uden was the largest in Europe and one of the largest production facilities in the world. Approx. June 2004 the factory was sold to Mediamotion (See Note 5).
Legal name: "EMI Compact Disc (Holland) B.V." (incorporated in 1989).
Identifying EMI Uden on CDs 1990-1995+:
At the start up, this factory had limited capacity and facilities. Until (late) 1995, EMI Uden didn't make their own glass masters, but glass masters were outsourced. Quite often at (yet) unknown plants, but also at EMI Swindon (see Note 3) and for example at CDM, Malmö, Sweden. CDs glass mastered at CDM can be identified by "CDM0x", where “x” is a digit from 1 to 6, or "CDMAy", where "y" is a digit from 1 to 4. In these cases you can add "Glass Mastered At" CDM (10) in the LCCN section. These CDs have EMI without UDEN in the matrix. Some CDs may have a mastering SID code IFPI L291 or L292, the plant connected to those is also (yet) unknown.
Please don't credit Glass Mastered At EMI Uden for these years.
x-x-x-NL process
Besides the actual matrix, a machine stamped area includes a set of digits separated by hyphens and suffixed with the country code "NL" (or sometimes none), x-x-x-NL (example: 2-4-28-NL). Please enter these stampers in one line with the actual matrix (example: Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness).
The outsourced glass masters were sent to Uden. From the start there was a matrix department in Uden where glass masters could be processed into NF, NM and STs. This is in fact an inbetween process, between glass master and pressing the final product, for which Discogs doesn’t have a specific (Stamper Made At) role created in the LCCN section. During this process the x-x-x-NL coding was added to the CDs. For example 3-1-1-NL, where 3 stands for the 3rd nickel father (NF) of the 3rd glass master (@3) (these two numbers are not always the same b.t.w.). The first 1 represents the first nickel mother (NM) of the 3rd NF. The second 1 stands for the first pistil (son) (ST) of the 1st NM. To be clear, the ST is a printout (copy) of the NM, the NM is a printout of the NF, and the NF is a printout of the GM. The matrix number is completed at each stage of the matrix process until the number is complete. Only one printout (NF) of the GM can be made. Multiple NM and STs can be made, but also a new NF can be made from a NM. Before the introduction of an own laserbeamrecorder in Uden, this was sometimes also done. Over the years, these processes have also been subject to change. For example there could also have been ST (sons) made that weren’t used. Either they still have to be made into CDs, or they were destroyed at the beginning of the moulding (pressing) process. Approx. a maximum of 5000 CDs could be pressed from one stamper, but there were also those who didn't even make it to 25. Even if a ST had been on the shelf for too long, the quality could deteriorate considerably and it was still rejected. In the majority of cases the NF, NM and STs stayed in Uden, where the pressings were made. Occasionally it was also possible that any of these products were sent over to, for example Italy, for pressings to be made elsewhere. Because we can’t identify these pressings pre SID, and because most pressings were done in Uden …
LCCN instructions pre SID:
Please only add Pressed By EMI Uden based upon the x-x-x-NL being present, also when Uden is not present in the matrix.
Identifying EMI Uden on CDs 1995-2004:
The first Laserbeamrecorder (L046) was installed around (late) 1995. A second followed later (L047). Since then, "EMI UDEN" is present in the matrix mirror band itself, in combination with mastering SID codes IFPI L046 or L047. In these cases, the glass master was made at EMI Uden. Even when the first LBR was available, the capacity was still too small and glass masters were still being made by third parties as described above. The x-x-x-NL process stayed identical in these years.
In the matrix string of CDs glass mastered by EMI Uden the capital letter U appears slightly smaller than the other letters. This effect also appears in the matrix strings of CDs glass mastered by EMI UK and CDP UK Ltd. The smaller letter does, however, represent a capital letter U and the matrix string should be entered as EMI UDEN, always in FULL CAPS.
The following SID codes were assigned by the IFPI organization to EMI Uden:
Mastering SID codes:
IFPI L046 (⚠ can be misread as L045, see Note 1)
IFPI L047
Mould SID codes:
IFPI 15** (⚠ can be misread as 16**, see Note 1)
IFPI 14** (for a short period of time, see Note 4)
IFPI 25** (⚠ don't credit EMI UDEN, see Note 2)
LCCN instructions since SID:
For releases with "EMI UDEN" in the matrix and mastering SID code L046 or L047, please use:
Glass Mastered At - EMI Uden
For releases with mould SID codes 15**, where ** can be letters or numbers, please also use:
Pressed By - EMI Uden
For releases with mould SID codes 14** see Note 4.
For releases with mould SID codes 25** see Note 2.
For releases with NO mould SID code, for example in the period between the introduction of SID codes and the start of the first laserbeamrecorder, please follow the pre SID method, adding Pressed By based upon the x-x-x-NL being present.
CDs do not have a unique or sequential company number, please don't add any LCCN number.
⎯ Note 1: mastering SID codes in matrix on some EMI Uden CDs can be partially obscured due to the end of the mirror band (as pictured here): be caution when fill your mastering SID code in BAOI. As IFPI L046 is officially attributed to EMI Uden facilities, consider IFPI L045 as potentially a misread code and not to be entered as such. Also mould SID 15** can be misread as 16**.
⎯ Note 2: some releases with mould SID code IFPI 25** are replicated ("pressed") by the Italian plant located in the province of Varese, near Milan, made out of NF, NM or STs from Uden, even when x-x-x-NL is also present. In these cases EMI Uden only had an intermediary role, in these cases IFPI 25** overrules the x-x-x-NL. We don’t credit EMI Uden as Pressed By. If they have mastering SID code IFPI L046 or L047, the glass master was made at Uden and should be credited as follow:
Glass Mastered At - EMI Uden
Pressed By - EMI, Caronno Pertusellabut only up until approx. mid 2003 (example: Urban Hymns).
⎯ Note 3: some CDs will have "EMI Swindon" in the matrix but also the machine stamped x-x-x-NL, which means that the glass master was made at Swindon, but the pressing was done at Uden (with 15**) or EMI, Caronno Pertusella (with 25**).
⎯ Note 4: the mould SID code IFPI 14** assigned to EMI Swindon sometimes appears on CDs replicated ("pressed") at EMI Uden since May 2002 at least until 2003. This because some equipments and the associated codes were transferred from Swindon after its closure to Uden. For these releases the same rules of Uden apply.
⎯ Note 5: with the sale of the plant in 2004, stampers x-x-x-NL and all SID codes have transferred to Mediamotion. If EMI Uden is still present in the matrix, or on even older 1990-1995 unspecified glassmasters, and the old stampers and SID codes are still present, consider it is still EMI Uden. If Mediamotion is already mentioned in the matrix with these old stampers and SID codes it's Mediamotion. Also EMI Swindons 14** that was recently inherited by EMI Uden went to Mediamotion on its turn. Mould SID codes IFPI AAH** and AAJ** and stampers 010###(-NL), 020###(-NL), 030###(-NL), 040###(-NL) etc. are first introduced at Mediamotion, 2004+. Where glassmasters can still be the ones from EMI Uden: with AA*** and/or ######(-NL) it is a Mediamotion pressing, (example: Surrender). After Mediamotion took over, we don’t split variants with x-x-x-NL vs ######(-NL) and/or 15** vs AA***. Be advised that after Mediamotion some SID codes and equipment went to Promese (2009) and then to Profact International (2016). It is best not to credit releases using the SID codes alone.
