Once upon a time I used to buy albums by current artists on the release date.
This was a heady time, when the music industry was thriving, cassettes and CDs the normal format and record stores the standard distribution method.
A lot has changed.
Now, it seems the recording industry is keen to churn out re-release after re-release of previously loved (or loathed) albums by artists, many loved some forgotten.
Initially these re-releases were "new format! CD!" reissues, then there was the digital remaster, etc. etc.
Now, the record labels are getting into the game of making an EVENT out of the re-release. The game today is to release deluxe editions, spanning multiple discs with booklets the size of small novellas, stuffed with previously unseen photos and liner notes. Some of these releases even come with a DVD.
I'll be trying to make heads AND tails of this trend in the record industry by reviewing and talking about some of the albums I've loved in the past and how their ascension into this higher state of being has affected me... or not.
What's spurred this on? I realised today, as I was eagerly awaiting my double CD Collector's Edition of Duran Duran's "Rio" to arrive in the post that I can't really think of any classic album I love that isn't available in some sort of multi-disc collector/deluxe configuration. From the obvious mega bands like U2 all the way down to fringe indie artists like Billy Bragg, no one is content to have a single 13 track disc on their shelf anymore.
Is it a reaction to the digital era? Possibly? I mean these deluxe editions are truly breathtaking when done right. Their weight is substantial and some of the booklets... well, you just don't get a booklet with an MP3.
I view this re-issue strategy as a hail Mary by the record labels. The current crop of bands won't be around long enough to have any catalogue of substance and the fans of these bands already believe music = free. To keep treading water for the foreseeable future, why not milk the fans who WOULD pay for music by giving them a bit extra and upping the cost.
I just don't think this policy is sustainable. I will only buy one copy of Rio - The Collector's Edition, as I doubt there's anything left they can do. A 5.1 remix on blu-ray would reek of desperation, so I just don't know where they can go from here.
I digress.
Join me on my journey as I rediscover the delights of old favourites in their new configurations and possibly POSSIBLY discover ones that haven't yet made the climb up the Deluxe Edition mountain.
