Pohl was expressing a sentiment that Sony had the distinction as an early signee to get a substantial discount. We don`t know how much the license was but it probably was a bit higher than the companies which signed earlier. The distinct honor was suggesting companies in the future would not has such an honor.

The statement was not artfully done and was one reason the market reacted as it did. Hard to tell the motives of why it was done. Sometimes writers expect readers to understand their meaning and intentions. I think Pohl simply didn`t realize how confusing this sounded when he wrote it.

We will know soon enough the details.