I'm not arguing for a return of (allegedly unprofitable) physical media.
What I'm saying is that the non-physical product is too expensive. Period.
Yes, it would be nice to have the testimony of this producer, but it's not
the small fry that is setting the price.
-----Original Message-----
From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Tom Fine
Sent: Friday, September 20, 2013 6:32 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Everest Records reissues on Facebook
Hi Carl:
A good venting of self-righteous rage, but it won't solve simple economics.
Physical products are dead in music, especially for niche products. Given
that there are only one or two places that press high-rez audio discs, and
given the cost of pressing, it makes exactly zero sense for a business to go
down that road unless a relatively high threshold of sales can be expected.
For any single Everest title, that's unlikely. HDTracks is thus the logical
channel.
For CD-resolution discs, single-disc reissues have been unprofitable for
classical and jazz for quite some time now (most of this century, if not all
of it). Don't expect them again. On-demand CDR is not too much better. My
bet is that Everest makes much less money on any CDR by Amazon than on
iTunes and HDTracks downloads.
In general, single CDs are money losers except in the cases of very high
quatity sales (for instance, Pink Floyd 2011 reissues) or the latest
full-priced hit (and even then, I've read in several places that a new Lady
Gaga album is now a loss-leader for her, a way to get more butts in the
seats at her shows).
Hopefully, Mark Jenkins will comment on Everest-specific economics. I am
speaking from knowledge of dealing with the largest owner of classical
back-catalog, UMG. Why do you think they package in many-CD discounted
boxes? Because that economic model works, and single disc do not.
This is the reality. Shaking fists may feel good, but there is no changing
it. I'm sure everyone in the music business, and most music collectors, wish
it was 1995 again. It will never be. So, ranting about it is about like
wishing for the return of 8-tracks.
For what it's worth, the newly-remastered Everest high-rez material I've
heard sounds very good.
They got remarkably good playback on the 35mm, given its age and likely
condition.
-- Tom Fine
----- Original Message -----
From: "Carl Pultz" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, September 19, 2013 10:45 PM
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Everest Records reissues on Facebook
> I'd like to get some of this stuff, but not from iTunes. And the packaging
> would have to be deluxe to make it seem worth paying for a CDR. The
natural
> thing is to get them hi-rez from HDTracks. But, to me, the asking prices
are
> outrageous when you consider that you are getting nothing. Nothing
physical.
> And nothing physical is made or shipped, either, which makes it seem like
an
> even worse rip off. Not a lovely Harmonia Mundi package for your $18,
> royalties going to living performers. No, nothing to hold in your hand, at
> $18 for +/-40 minutes worth of music and a PDF. At least, in the 'good old
> days' of reissues, you got decent playing time to offset the list price,
> which was universally discounted at retail. They'd sometimes combine a
> couple releases into one, unless the album was a guaranteed seller. These
> are not. A lot of the excellent, but shockingly overpriced back-catalog
they
> carry, is not. What are they thinking? "We'll just make sure our offering
is
> such a lousy value, it will only appeal to a tiny subset of a tiny subset
of
> music consumers. For an exclusive crowd for whom $18 is an impulse
purchase.
> In a market where it's a struggle to get anyone to pay any money for
music.
> Yeah, that's a plan!"
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Michael Gillman
> Sent: Thursday, September 19, 2013 9:16 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Everest Records reissues on Facebook
>
> So I really want to buy CD-Rs of this material. I remember when CDs came
out
> and the Krips Beethoven was available for $10 in miserable sound quality.
>
> Mike
>
>
|