I'm missing something. You get all doom and gloom in the second paragraph I quote here, saying that no domestic labels means getting charged more for import CDs in the long run.
Yet in the first paragraph, you're saying imports "should be" $24.99 but they're currently being offered for $14.99 ("a dollar more" than the domestic price of $13.99). I'm not understanding why you're thinking albums would jump dramatically in price when currently albums with no domestic distribution (and this goes both ways across the Atlantic) are within a dollar (or euro) or two in price of other, domestically released albums (and I'm talking dedicated mailorders, not mainstream stores and sites that sell Madonna CDs and shit). Foreign distributors are still going to want to move as much product as possible, the same as they do now, right?
I'm also wondering as a fan what the difference would really be between getting gouged this extra $10 as a courtesy for domestic labels or getting gouged because there is no domestic label.
No, I think you read it right; I just didnt separate the two examples very well. For the record, its difficult to accurately type an epic post at work after drinking too much coffee and dodging the boss. :Smug:
Reading back, I can see how it is contradicting so, Ill make a pass at it again and shorten it up, but Im not making any promises.
The doom and gloom
. Lets talk dedicated mail order/niche market. Do you remember back in the early 90s, before the internet boom, when you had to pay upwards of $20-$30 for a CD of less-than-popular metal bands? Possibly due to them being dropped from the domestic label, or the lable pulling out of the U.S or even closing its doors all together due to being crushed by the changing music scene? I often refer to it as The Dark Times of my CD buying days. Well, maybe I was just a terrible CD shopper back then and didnt have good connections, but in any case, I remember paying over $20 for an Annihilator CD in 94 and nearly $30 for a Savatage album in 97 because you could not get them very easily or in stores no matter what. OUCH!!! Keep in mind, I am in Utah, there were not a lot of options in those days.
Back then, vendors and importing labels could get away with those prices, because there was a demand, the internet was in its infancy, and there was little if any compitition amongst the niche mail order or import CD sellers. However, I was merely speculating that if this price crisis happened again, (only this time due to territorial issues rather than the change in music styles), who to say that they couldnt get away with it? Sure, with the on-line vendors at your finger tips, being able to buy from around the world with the click of a mouse and a credit card, and it being the dawn of digital age, it probably would not happen like that again. But, there would be no domestic availability, so whos to say it
wouldnt happen again, it still could be a remote possibility on a differnet scale.
That leads me to the as far as vendors that
should be charging such an outrageous price to support the domestic labels this was my only solution that I felt would deter or curb consumers from buying the import early and sticking with the domestic releases. I didnt say it was
a good idea, just a possible scenario or solution that would be ethical between the domestic lables and their vendors
but severly immoral to the vendors costomer base. I guess either way; there would be collateral damage one way or the other. After all, we are talking about peoples money, and we all know that when it comes to spending money, cheaper is better. But again, why would most vendors care, they have the product available to them and they have a customer base to support it, end of story. Who cares where it comes from, right? Technically its not the vendors/distributors fault entirely (unless they have a conscience), its a shame on you to the importing lable selling under the domestic labels nose direct to the vendor/distributor at such low prices.
I was only implying that if vendors had been gouging consumers all this time on imports, even while getting direct distro from the importing record labels for dirt cheap prices, wed all be none the wiser, and wouldnt even be having this discussion. Instead, We would all be bitching up a storm about how insane it is to have to pay a lot of money to get an album from our favorite band early (bonus material or not), or bitch because you have to wait for it to come out a month or two latter. The handful of hardcore fans would buy it now at a crazy price; the passive majority of fans would buy it latter.
As far as what the difference would really be between getting gouged this extra $10 as a courtesy for domestic labels or getting gouged because there is no domestic label. Well, there is no difference, getting gouged is getting gouged and hurts like hell in your pocket book.
Knowing and
not knowing that your getting gouged is the real difference. Again, not a good idea on my part, just throwing it out there as a likely scenario that would solve the problem.
You're releasing Frankenstein versions of your album and withholding songs from people who will be paying (as opposed to downloading, bonus tracks in different territories won't make a flip difference there, downloaders will have them all anyway) for your albums, and this is in your fans' best interest?
When you say it like that, you make it out like were trying to take our fans for a ride, which isnt the case, and I think you know that. So, being that you want a more crystal clear explanation, Ill put it out there in black and white. It was either do that, or no new album... ever.
The bottom line is it costs money to make an album, and it also costs money to manufacture, promote and distribute an album, which you already know as well. We can afford to do it all, and if we had to do it all ourselves on our own dime, it
would not happen. Fortunately, There are those few labels out there like Nightmare or Burning Star that believe in our music and support us and want to get it out there to the fans, but, they have to also protect their interest as well being that they do not have branches/offices on every continent. So, to continue down the path of creating and releasing new music for our fans, we had two choices of which would be in their best interest: slight our fans two songs out of eleven? Or
slight our fans a whole new album entirely and call it a day?
.we decided to go with the first option in our fans best interest. I think they will understand, at least, we hope so. As a huge fan of music in general, I know I would undestand.
And I'm curious how you decided which songs were going to be "bonus tracks" that only half of your available paying audience should have.
for the record, we are not firm belivers in bonus tracks/material, but you gotta do what you gotta do. I can only say that its like picking which child is your favorite and wasnt done very easily. Plenty of sleepless nights and arguments amongst the cheifs in the band, and I dont wish the experience on my worst enemy.
