Japanese/russian/UK album versions

[Magrathean]

Alright, i asked this somewhere and didn't get an answer, so i'll ask again:

Why the FUCK do bands release japanese, russian and UK versions of their albums with bonustracks? How are japanese, russians and british better than the rest of the world?

 

[Birkenau]

They just don't like you.

 

[CAIRATH]

For Japan part of the reason is that in Japan CDs are insanely expensive so they try to include as much extra stuff as possible to get people to buy them there (instead of either not buying them or importing them).

 

[Magrathean]

So the question becomes:

Why the fuck do russian and UK versions have bonustracks and why the fuck do japanese cds cost a lot?

Thank you for the info, though.

 

[Der Golem]

We get all the extra stuff in Norway aswell. I think it's the UK-versions that are sold here.

My guess is; they just don't like America.

 

[Cythraul]

this solhuled be a thread whrjeore we post pictures of jaopzseones e bithches with bithg titjts=tis.

 

[Ellestin]

Name me five cds where the extra material is actually worth the extra money...

Nah, fanboy food, an album is an album, period.

 

[madu]

Some US-based labels' albums also get released later in europe, so the bonuses make up for that.

 

[genocide roach]

perhaps because some people collect albums and such by certain bands, if there are different versions people will buy them all.

plus cairath is right. cd's here in japan are incredibly expensive were talkin 20-25 bucks a cd. now i could buy a cd in town, or i can buy it online or in my case when i go home to the states for cheaper. so they realy have to add bonus material to get people to spend the extra money.

as for why cd's are so expensive, i dont know. but 25 bucks for a cynic re-issue is insane
~gR~

 

[MetalAges]

Aren't a lot of the Russian versions junk/fraud copies?

 

[Magrathean]

Ellestin:
1. Dark Tranquillity - Damage done (“The poison well” and “I, deception&#8221
2. Dark Tranquillity - Haven (“Cornered” and five amazing live in Gothenburg bonustracks)
3. Theatre Of Tragedy - Aégis (“Virago&#8221
4. Dark Tranquillity - Projector (“Undo control” live in Krakow)
5. Ill Niño - Revolution...revolución (“Fallen”, two songs in spanish and two live songs)

madu: Well, maybe thet’s the case with some albums, but Dark Tranquillity’s “Character” was released first (2004) in Europe and then (2005) in the rest of the world.

genocide roach: That might explain why some bands do it, but at least in Dark Tranquillity’s case your explanation isn’t the reason. They make music for themselves, and if they wanted more cash from their music they’d be full-time musicians.

Oh, and some cds (i.e. Cradle Of Filth, some Dark Tranquillity) are about the equivalent of 20-25 bucks here in Mexico too, and we don’t get any bonustracks.

Erik:
1. Dark Tranquillity - Damage done - Russia
2. Dark Tranquillity - Haven - Russia
3. Dark Tranquillity - The mind’s i - Korea
4. Dark Tranquillity - The gallery - Korea
5. Dark Tranquillity - Skydancer - Russia
Sorry, can’t seem to remember UK examples right now.
But you’re wrong, russian releases do have bonustracks sometimes.

MetalAges: They’re called bootlegs. And no, some are official.

 

[sumairetsu]

Foreign markets charge more for their CDs, hence the bonus track(s). What they're trying to do is keep the US versions from coming in and being sold - it costs less to purchase imports there.

What's funny is that in some of the aforementioned markets, you can rent the CD and make your own copies.

It should also be noted that in Japan and other markets, you can purchase titles that have never been released or out of print here in the States. For instance, you can purchase the original recording of Deep Purple's Concerto For Group and Orchestra on CD; that title hasn't been in print in the US for decades.