WAY too much speculation on this subject!
Epic was not a budget label, but was created for the domestic release of
Philips masters following Columbia's agreement with them, which itself
followed Columbia's separation from EMI in 1952. Philips henceforth released
U.S. Columbia issues in Europe and Philips, a new record label, got a U.S.
market presence. It was also decided to move certain Columbia artists to
Epic in order to reduce intra-label competition and allow more freedom to
duplicate repertoire. The Masterworks division was focused on Ormandy and
Mitropoulos (later Bernstein). Szell's records had lower sales so they were
moved to Epic to improve their marketplace identity and also to give the
label a prestigious domestic conductor. Szell's royalty arrangements were
unchanged from Columbia to Epic. However, he clearly resented Ormandy's
ascendance in the Masterworks catalogue and what he viewed as a demotion.
Columbia endeavored to make him happy. He got to record cycles of Beethoven,
Brahms and Schumann symphonies. The Cleveland production team remained the
same and both Epic and Columbia masters originated from the same studio
engineers at 49 E 52nd Street. Epic three-track edited stereo tape masters
were filed under the same "SW' series as Masterworks. Although Marketing and
Promotion might come up with an occasional special package, Columbia was
always a mass-market enterprise and generally left connoisseur packaging to
others.
Following Szell's death and Philips's departure to issue domestically under
its own name, Epic was gradually wound down.
DDR
On Fri, May 6, 2011 at 12:47 PM, Bob Olhsson <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Somebody once told me that Epic was, among other things, Columbia's home
> for
> artists whose recording contracts called for things that would have
> required
> them to pay higher royalties to some of the artists on the Columbia roster.
> If this is true, Szell may have simply demanded such an album package. It
> could also simply be a test for competing with Victor's premium priced
> Soria
> Series or have been released as a record club premium. It'll be interesting
> to hear from people who are more knowledgeable.
>
DDR
>
> Bob Olhsson Audio Mastery, Nashville TN
> Mastering, Audio for Picture, Mix Evaluation and Quality Control
> Over 40 years making people sound better than they ever imagined!
> 615.562.4346 http://www.bobolhsson.com http://audiomastery.com
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of George Brock-Nannestad
> Sent: Friday, May 06, 2011 6:26 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Luxury issue of Szell
>
> From: Patent Tactics, George Brock-Nannestad
>
>
> Hello,
>
> recent postings have been about shoddy covers and sleeves for pseudo-stereo
> recordings. I have a question that I hope someone knowledgeable will be
> able
> to answer.
>
> I have in front of me an album on the luxurious side: "The three great
> symphonies of Dvorák, George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra, EPIC Stereo
> BSC109". Notes by Joseph Wechsberg (!) printed on yellowish striped
> Sulgrave
> watermark paper, records lovingly placed in luxury inner sleeves. To me it
> appears quite early 1960s, because the album could also have contained
> "Regular SC6038". The records themselves are marked "unbreakable".
>
> Why was this album made? I suspect that the discs may have been available
> individually before this, but it could have been the other way around: the
> luxury issue preceded the regular issue. Is this set valuable (I know, this
> type of question belongs to lists I do not subscribe to)?
>
> Kind regards,
>
>
> George
>
--
Dennis D. Rooney
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