Dollars And Cents

Rolling Stone’s fascinating article on CD prices includes a pertinent reference to the band:

“The length of time that catalog releases sit at frontline pricing can be three to ten years,” Vince Syzdlowski of Virgin Megastores says of the labels’ tendency to keep even records such as U2’s 1997 album Pop priced above fifteen dollars. “That’s a missed opportunity. We have a midline program where you buy three for twenty-five dollars, and it’s hugely successful.”

26 thoughts on “Dollars And Cents

  1. I work for Virgin Megastore. It’s true that some albums should be sold for less – esp the ones being charged at

  2. I work for Virgin Megastore. It’s true that some albums should be sold for less – esp the ones being charged at

  3. Amen!!! I work at a locally owned CD store, and prices these days are astronomical compared to just a couple of years ago… Instead of fighting napster and cd burners by raising prices and cutting out cd singles (I’m in the states, remember), they should do the oppisite… It worked once, it can do it again!!!

  4. Amen!!! I work at a locally owned CD store, and prices these days are astronomical compared to just a couple of years ago… Instead of fighting napster and cd burners by raising prices and cutting out cd singles (I’m in the states, remember), they should do the oppisite… It worked once, it can do it again!!!

  5. Don’t blame the band.

    Unlike an author, who gets full rights to his writing after a set period of time, a record company owns the rights to a band’s music FOR LIFE.

    Then there’s the retailer who COULD sell cds for cheaper but chooses not to. Why? Because people still buy cds no matter the price. And if one album isn’t making any money for the retailer [and record company], well there are hundreds of others that are.

    In Australia, cd prices were meant to go down with the new Goods And Services Tax a couple of years ago — guess what? Cds are more expensive — $32 in most stores. The retailer — Sanity, IN2MUSIC, HMV, etc — these bastards are as much to blame for prices as the record companies. As are people for being so bloody apathetic about it all. People don’t give a shit, they’ll just pay the extra price for the latest J-Lo or Holly Valance crap and not even bat an eyelid. The Australian record companies argue against lowering the price of cds because it will hurt local acts, they price foreign acts highly so local act albums can be sold cheaper — f*cking bullshit!, local act cds still cost the same as overseas acts!!! THIRTY TWO F***ING DOLLARS!!! The record companies and retailers are laughing all the way to the bank whilst the bands are continually screwed (the good ones anyway) and the consumers remain stupid and ignorant.

    URGGHGHHGHGHGH!!!!!!

  6. Don’t blame the band.

    Unlike an author, who gets full rights to his writing after a set period of time, a record company owns the rights to a band’s music FOR LIFE.

    Then there’s the retailer who COULD sell cds for cheaper but chooses not to. Why? Because people still buy cds no matter the price. And if one album isn’t making any money for the retailer [and record company], well there are hundreds of others that are.

    In Australia, cd prices were meant to go down with the new Goods And Services Tax a couple of years ago — guess what? Cds are more expensive — $32 in most stores. The retailer — Sanity, IN2MUSIC, HMV, etc — these bastards are as much to blame for prices as the record companies. As are people for being so bloody apathetic about it all. People don’t give a shit, they’ll just pay the extra price for the latest J-Lo or Holly Valance crap and not even bat an eyelid. The Australian record companies argue against lowering the price of cds because it will hurt local acts, they price foreign acts highly so local act albums can be sold cheaper — f*cking bullshit!, local act cds still cost the same as overseas acts!!! THIRTY TWO F***ING DOLLARS!!! The record companies and retailers are laughing all the way to the bank whilst the bands are continually screwed (the good ones anyway) and the consumers remain stupid and ignorant.

    URGGHGHHGHGHGH!!!!!!

  7. Doesn’t the rights to songs become public domain after 50 years or something like that???

  8. Doesn’t the rights to songs become public domain after 50 years or something like that???

  9. Kovax — the songs can enter the public domain, but the recordings themselves remain the property of a record company. So yes, 50 years from now a musician could probably play “Discotheque” live and not pay any royalties, but the original recording of “Discotheque” that’s on POP remains the property of the record company (or the band if that’s in their contract, which it almost never is).

  10. Kovax — the songs can enter the public domain, but the recordings themselves remain the property of a record company. So yes, 50 years from now a musician could probably play “Discotheque” live and not pay any royalties, but the original recording of “Discotheque” that’s on POP remains the property of the record company (or the band if that’s in their contract, which it almost never is).

  11. I saw a couple dish out 50 odd somthing bucks for a DVD. That’s all they bought that evening…no wonder.

  12. I saw a couple dish out 50 odd somthing bucks for a DVD. That’s all they bought that evening…no wonder.

  13. Alot of the ignorant consumer thing could be solved if the media allowed time in their rotation for something other than what is in the top 5 (gee, didn’t we just have this discussion about clear channel???)… Alot of 14 year olds might love U2 or Nine Inch Nails or whoever, but if they only band they are aware of is Nickelback, they will never know of U2 or NIN, thus NEVER go back and get classics like Joshua Tree, Pretty Hate Machine, Pop, Blood Sugar Sex Magic, Dirt, Nevermind, Led Zepplin 4, TheWall, The list goes on and on and on, and it makes me sick!!! The people who have already bought these albums aren’t going to buy them again, and if no one new is exposed to it, guess what, Pink Floyd and U2, and all the other bands that recored the albums I just mentioned become forgotten bands, and that is unacceptable!!! We should not allow youth and world culture (rock and roll) to become nothing but a corprate machine!!! It is a buisness, but there is art that should never be forgotten and will be if something doesn’t change!!! New artists and the Nickelbacks of the world have their place, but let’s do whatever we can to make sure the music WE love and cherish and that has enriched our lives not be thrown out for no one else to hear!!!

  14. Alot of the ignorant consumer thing could be solved if the media allowed time in their rotation for something other than what is in the top 5 (gee, didn’t we just have this discussion about clear channel???)… Alot of 14 year olds might love U2 or Nine Inch Nails or whoever, but if they only band they are aware of is Nickelback, they will never know of U2 or NIN, thus NEVER go back and get classics like Joshua Tree, Pretty Hate Machine, Pop, Blood Sugar Sex Magic, Dirt, Nevermind, Led Zepplin 4, TheWall, The list goes on and on and on, and it makes me sick!!! The people who have already bought these albums aren’t going to buy them again, and if no one new is exposed to it, guess what, Pink Floyd and U2, and all the other bands that recored the albums I just mentioned become forgotten bands, and that is unacceptable!!! We should not allow youth and world culture (rock and roll) to become nothing but a corprate machine!!! It is a buisness, but there is art that should never be forgotten and will be if something doesn’t change!!! New artists and the Nickelbacks of the world have their place, but let’s do whatever we can to make sure the music WE love and cherish and that has enriched our lives not be thrown out for no one else to hear!!!

  15. Ryan: Bizarrely, in Britain, it’s the exact opposite. The music magazines are constantly making lists of the 100 Greatest Albums Ever (Joshua Tree usually features in the Top 10) with interviews with the artists and a “wasn’t it great in the old days” mentality. The problem is, they’re missing out on all the new stuff that’s coming through.

  16. Ryan: Bizarrely, in Britain, it’s the exact opposite. The music magazines are constantly making lists of the 100 Greatest Albums Ever (Joshua Tree usually features in the Top 10) with interviews with the artists and a “wasn’t it great in the old days” mentality. The problem is, they’re missing out on all the new stuff that’s coming through.

  17. That is strange!!! That happens also in the States, but not nearly to the degree of what I was talking about… I guess we need room for every band that is really good to have an outlet and for people to have the options they used to have… For example, MTV should play new artists , and have time for classic videos, like MTV2, but with less of the same stuff over and over!!! It seems so easy, but the media might never change!!!

  18. That is strange!!! That happens also in the States, but not nearly to the degree of what I was talking about… I guess we need room for every band that is really good to have an outlet and for people to have the options they used to have… For example, MTV should play new artists , and have time for classic videos, like MTV2, but with less of the same stuff over and over!!! It seems so easy, but the media might never change!!!

  19. Also it would help if more of our journalists weren’t snobs… They talk about the good old days too, but in a much more “I’m better than you cause I liked Nirvana when they weren’t signed, or I liked U2 up until Unforgettable Fire, and now they suck cause they didn’t stick with that” kind of vibe… It puts younger people off, and I don’t blame them!!! It would be great if people could just explore music their way in as many different outlets as possible, but the money ruins that… It wouldn’t if most industry people weren’t so greedy!!! I guess we can just do whatever we can to stop it… I am thinking about threatening the local radio if I hear Nickelback one more time:)!!!

  20. Also it would help if more of our journalists weren’t snobs… They talk about the good old days too, but in a much more “I’m better than you cause I liked Nirvana when they weren’t signed, or I liked U2 up until Unforgettable Fire, and now they suck cause they didn’t stick with that” kind of vibe… It puts younger people off, and I don’t blame them!!! It would be great if people could just explore music their way in as many different outlets as possible, but the money ruins that… It wouldn’t if most industry people weren’t so greedy!!! I guess we can just do whatever we can to stop it… I am thinking about threatening the local radio if I hear Nickelback one more time:)!!!

  21. I found out the other day that ZooTV Sydney video is no longer being produced. Is that right?! *sob* I think the Numb video is no longer available either! (I have that one *smile*). However, it can be a good thing cuz now I have an antique collectable of EDGE! Which will be worth 100 times more in 50 years than it was when I bought it…heh heh. So, back to the point about “forgetting” things. I don’t think THINGS are forgotten, I think the significance of the actions of the things is forgotten. (Anyone watch antiques road show?)
    It’s like standing in a field with pyramids and pillars all around you. The stones and stuff are like a testimony to some SIGNIFICANT ACT that’s been forgotten. However the stones were errected in order for people not to forget that something HAPPENED. So, it’s up to each individual to research their own stones…:o/…I sound weird don’t I. Cheers Europe!

  22. I found out the other day that ZooTV Sydney video is no longer being produced. Is that right?! *sob* I think the Numb video is no longer available either! (I have that one *smile*). However, it can be a good thing cuz now I have an antique collectable of EDGE! Which will be worth 100 times more in 50 years than it was when I bought it…heh heh. So, back to the point about “forgetting” things. I don’t think THINGS are forgotten, I think the significance of the actions of the things is forgotten. (Anyone watch antiques road show?)
    It’s like standing in a field with pyramids and pillars all around you. The stones and stuff are like a testimony to some SIGNIFICANT ACT that’s been forgotten. However the stones were errected in order for people not to forget that something HAPPENED. So, it’s up to each individual to research their own stones…:o/…I sound weird don’t I. Cheers Europe!

  23. Perhaps it’s stopped being produced temporarily so they can get a decent sound mix and then re-release it on video and DVD. I hope so cos at the moment the whole concert sounds like someone coughing into a tin.

  24. Perhaps it’s stopped being produced temporarily so they can get a decent sound mix and then re-release it on video and DVD. I hope so cos at the moment the whole concert sounds like someone coughing into a tin.

  25. A Numb DVD single
    is a good idea!
    well…all the videos in DVD format is a better idea!

  26. A Numb DVD single
    is a good idea!
    well…all the videos in DVD format is a better idea!

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