When you're around kids, you often find themselves saying what they'd do if they were in charge. There would be no school, no bedtime, unlimited pizza, that sort of thing. Once you grow up those visions look more fanciful, but sometimes that sentiment sticks with you, no matter how much you bury it.
I know I feel that way with the catalogue scene. Every day, every song, every trip to the record store spins off a dozen ideas in my head that I can't wait to share with anyone who will listen. And the fact that I got to be a part of the process for a short time, even as a mere intern at Universal, was another bunch of cherries on top of life's rich sundae. Of course, like every pleasure in this world, you want more.
One thing I always wanted to see in my time as an intern was exactly how an idea is born. From my perspective, I'd walk into the office and it would already be go-time on some idea. I'd give anything to someday be in the room when someone - maybe myself, maybe someone else - says, "Hey, wouldn't it be great if we did such-and-such a project?" The fact that one can spin a career from that spark is nothing short of mystifying.
And yet it sometimes seems like the map of explored musical territories doesn't have any blank spots on it. Sometimes it seems like labels have reissued all that can be reissued. But that's not true at all. For one thing, all the stuff that was once on shelves deserves a spot in the next generation's record collection. For another, there are still plenty of stones left unturned, waiting for that one person to say, "Hey, what about this?" What's even better is that projects that once seemed too focused or too niche are perfect for a market fragmented (for better or worse) by so many ideas and tastes.
I always use film scores as an example of this sea change. Nowadays, all it takes is a little push from smaller labels (Intrada, La La Land, Varese, Film Score Monthly) and eventually the big labels and studios will relent. The past few years have given film score fans things like a box set of all the music from the Superman movies, a massive collection of works by Miklos Rosza, deluxe releases of everything from Back to the Future to Batman: The Animated Series and countless others. I've seen so many message board patrons discuss how rapidly their "holy grail" list of film scores has shrunk in recent times - and it's only a matter of time before they shrink further.
I know it's not a perfect world, even for catalogue types. Yes, it does suck to put down $200+ for mono mixes of The Beatles' discography. Yes, it is odd when a slightly alternate take is used in place of that one classic groove. And it is certainly painful to hear some records processed to sound the same volume as a current release. But if one retains hope in the face of such obstacles, I think that monumental patience will someday be paid off.
In the spirit of someday having it all, share your thoughts. If you were in charge, how would you change things? More box sets? Access to multitracks? Something else? Let's hear it.
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If I were in charge, I would redo the whole iTunes thing. Use iTunes to copy music into the iTunes player, but direct the user to the group or companies website for artwork and bonus material. I get nothing from going to the iTunes music store. Drive the more casual consumers to a bands site and have special offers for extra cuts, things form the vault, etc. Why not promote the band and its' material, and see if there is a spike in sales.
If I were in charge, I would look at my big sellers on iTunes and the internet, and cut back on my physical product of those acts, and divert production/promotion to those acts that are not big internet/download sellers. I worked with a lady who was a big Luther Vandross fan. She was looking to fill in some gaps in her collection. When downloading from iTunes was suggested, she said she didn't know how,it was too confusing, etc. This is the type of person that the physical product should be aimed at. Do a study and find what age brackets and/or genres download and those who do not. Aim your advertising dollar at those individuals.
If I were in charge, there would be no more "Greatest Hits/Best of.../collections. See Sublime. Seriously? What did they have--something like two discs? This qualifies as a something worthy of a greatest hits collection? This in nothing but iPod fodder, and focuses on a song or two from each disc. I really don't get to experience what the artist was thinking or going through at that time.
If I were in charge, I would make a list of what has not been remastered, and ask why. Is Springsteen one of the last remaining performers NOT to have their collection remastered? Can anyone think of others that have not had their collection remastered? (REO Speedwagon comes to mind as another--really want Nine Lives remastered). What/who decides what is remastered?
If I were in charge, those remasters that are available in Europe are available in the US as well. Its sad that shipping for some of these items are more than the music itself...
I'll get off my soapbox now. Can anyone tell me where to get Bowies' new Reality Tour disc locally.....can't seem to find it.
Jeff, I agree with you on a lot of these points. The fact that 90% of all first-week sales of Sade's "Soldier of Love" (some 500,000 copies) were physical purposes should say something. Physical product isn't totally dead and shouldn't be treated as such. And it's not just older folks buying CDs in stores, it's people looking for stuff that's out-of-print, not in compressed sound quality, etc.
Greatest hits comps made more sense in a singles market or when songs were mixed specially for radio. Now that this is such an infrequent occurence it seems a bit more crass - and especially in the case of an group like Sublime, who definitely have more compilations than regular material, it errs on the side of crass.
The remastering game is such an odd thing. Even in my limited experience in the business, I still have no idea how certain remasters come about. More often than not it's an anniversary (I believe the "Born to Run" box was that way), or a date relevant to the artist (the recent Barry White box, "Unlimited," was done for what would have been his 65th birthday. It doesn't always need to be, though.
I'd say acts Springsteen could stand to get the remaster treatment quicker (a "Darkness on the Edge of Town" box is forthcoming, but I'd have liked to see "Born in the U.S.A." for its 25th anniversary last year). Of course, Prince remasters are still tops on my list - the day may never come but I'll keep hoping.
BTW, not sure what stores you're near, but I've definitely seen "A Reality Tour" at Barnes & Noble. Not my top destination - they can get expensive - but it's something.
Ideally, there'd be no downloads. I really prefer CDs. I want a product I can hold, touch, feel, smell, etc. But if there had to be downloads, they'd ONLY be FLAC and 320k MP3. That's it...standardized from service to service.
And artwork would be in PDF files, formatted so that if we want to print them out, we'd have them in jewel case size ready to cut and fold.
Every major artist would have a boxed set.
And mastering would be tasteful, not slammed.