|
Grex > Music2 > #154: Schoolkids II, and Music Retailing |  |
|
| Author |
Message |
| 25 new of 247 responses total. |
lumen
|
|
response 34 of 247:
| 
Nov 10 01:09 UTC 1998 |
Oh, I totally agree with that-- it seems BMG and Columbia rarely had what I
wanted, unless I happened to like an artist that's currently popular (and
that's rarer still).
|
cloud
|
|
response 35 of 247:
|
Nov 10 01:35 UTC 1998 |
I just ordered six CDs from CDnow, for a grand total price of$99.18, including
shipping and handling. Some of those CDs are hard to find (Such as "Sky Moves
Sideways" by Porcupine Tree), so all in all, I'd say it was a good deal.
There is also a used CD place over the web that I found too, but their system
was so slow I couldn't be bothered.
|
aruba
|
|
response 36 of 247:
|
Nov 10 02:07 UTC 1998 |
It's true that BMG and Columbia House don't havev everything. Now that they
are on the web, though, it's easier to see just what they do have. (The
catalogs they send are much smaller than their total inventories.)
|
janc
|
|
response 37 of 247:
|
Nov 10 04:26 UTC 1998 |
I recently visited the revived SKR store, located where Schoolkids used
to be. The place is noticably raw - it's like all the atmosphere moved
out with Schoolkids, and left just the CD's behind. But the CD's are
all in the same places where they used to be, so old Schoolkids fans
should have no trouble finding their favorite music, and though the CD
racks are a bit thinner than they were, they aren't bad, and will
presumably improve. The "new releases" racks by the doors are missing,
as are the little cards with in-house music reviews that I liked so
much. Maybe the staff has been too busy putting the store back together
to review any new music. I talked to a couple employees, who both
seemed to be former Schoolkids people with their hearts in the right
place. I spent a mess of money to endorse the project (well, I didn't
buy anything I didn't want).
|
scg
|
|
response 38 of 247:
|
Nov 10 05:13 UTC 1998 |
Yeah, the new Schoolkids, with its folding tables and lack of decoration,
seems quite uninviting. I'm assuming that's temporariy, or hoping so, anyway.
Er, that should be SKR, not Schoolkids.
|
gregb
|
|
response 39 of 247:
|
Nov 11 23:01 UTC 1998 |
Re. 26: It's the classic law of supply/demand. Because the economy is
up there right now, most people /are/ willing to shell the extra bucks.
It's like that in other areas of entertainment spending, as well. The
average price to go see a flick is $7. Considering the avg. movie is
1:40 min., you'd think most people wouldn't spend that much. But they
do. I work with someone who thinks nothing of paying $7 for a show.
That includs taking the family along!
Personally, I think such prices are outrageous. I won't spend $17 on
CD's, nor $7 on movies (exceptions: Nest year's SW movie or Trek
movies).
|
anderyn
|
|
response 40 of 247:
|
Nov 11 23:30 UTC 1998 |
Well, hmmm. I pay $17 for CDs on a regular basis, since most of the CDs
that I want aren't the kind that you can just pick up at Best Buy. In
fact, now that Skids is gone, I've had to troll net sites to find places
to feed my addictions. (Though the last five or so CDs that I got were
not bought.) I figure that $17 is not a bad price. On movies, well,
we very rarely go to them. We will rent, or go to matinees, but never pay
full price unless it's a rare event.
|
cloud
|
|
response 41 of 247:
|
Nov 14 04:34 UTC 1998 |
If there is a movie I really want to see, I ususally wait untill it comes out
at the Fox, a local second-run theater.
|
tpryan
|
|
response 42 of 247:
|
Nov 15 16:48 UTC 1998 |
I love my Borders dsicount.
|
eeyore
|
|
response 43 of 247:
|
Nov 19 15:17 UTC 1998 |
Colombia, from what I understand, actually does have a really good
selection....both in music and videos.....and I know somebody who on a
pretty regular basis getss really good deals from them....like 3.00 cds and
such.
|
gregb
|
|
response 44 of 247:
|
Nov 19 19:27 UTC 1998 |
Interesting. I've found them to be more ixpensive. Plus they bug you like
crazy to order more stuff. Very annoying.
|
goose
|
|
response 45 of 247:
|
Dec 15 20:58 UTC 1998 |
Keep in mind (for those of you who like to "support" the artist whose
music you're buying) the record club purchases actually cost the artist
money in royalties. They are considered to be a promotional expense
and the burden of cost is placed on the artist. It's sick; if it were a
regular store purchase the artist might make a buck or so in royalties,
but if it's a record club purchase the artist will pay a few dollars
in royalties.
|
mcnally
|
|
response 46 of 247:
|
Dec 15 22:26 UTC 1998 |
Really? That's atrocious..
On the other hand, if we could get everyone in the world to order a
Michael Bolton CD from BMG maybe we could solve that problem once and
for all.. :-)
|
hhsrat
|
|
response 47 of 247:
|
Dec 16 01:18 UTC 1998 |
How about a Spice Girls or Hanson CD?
|
jep
|
|
response 48 of 247:
|
Dec 16 13:37 UTC 1998 |
re #45: I'm not going to lose any sleep over it. People like Shania
Twain, Garth Brooks, etc. will get by somehow, and that's the music I
buy via record clubs. I think it's very difficult to argue these people
are losing anything through any form of promotion in which they
participate.
|
gregb
|
|
response 49 of 247:
|
Dec 16 14:22 UTC 1998 |
I've re-joined BMG and considering I can get CD's for 6 bucks (+ s/h) vs. 15,
I don't feel bad about it either.
|
anderyn
|
|
response 50 of 247:
|
Dec 16 19:39 UTC 1998 |
I find that I don't want to make any of the artists I normally buy lose
money, since none of them are big stars (tm) anyhow... I do admit to
not worrying about folks like, oh, Madonna, but I still worry...
|
cloud
|
|
response 51 of 247:
|
Dec 17 02:45 UTC 1998 |
A word about music bought from record clubs: I once had a terrible time
re-selling some music bought from a record club -- Because they had been
bought from a record club! The only place that would accept them was School
Kids Annex, and then only for a greatly discounted price. Apparently this
was all because of moral (?) objections to those companies.
Anyone else have some insite into this phenominon? Aside from the fact that
they were rotten CDs to begin with...
|
orinoco
|
|
response 52 of 247:
|
Dec 17 22:13 UTC 1998 |
How did these stores know the CDs in question were bought from record clubs?
Re#48: Yeah, that's my opinion basically - the music I buy from record clubs
tends to be from well-known, well-established mainstream artists, and I don't
feel that bad about losing them a few dollars. The bands which I _would_ be
concerned about costing them extra money? - well, I can't buy their music from
record clubs anyway...
|
scott
|
|
response 53 of 247:
|
Dec 17 23:40 UTC 1998 |
The record club CDs typically have a little box printed into the sleeve
graphics somewhere saying "manufactured for xxx", or something like that.
|
orinoco
|
|
response 54 of 247:
|
Dec 18 03:28 UTC 1998 |
Really? Hmm...never noticed that...
|
gregb
|
|
response 55 of 247:
|
Dec 19 04:12 UTC 1998 |
With BMG, you'll find it with the UPC on the back.
|
lumen
|
|
response 56 of 247:
|
Dec 19 04:30 UTC 1998 |
Oh yeah. I read packages with great interest, mostly because it's there and
it's something to read. I suppose the music stores won't repurchase the
recordings, or do so at much lower prices, because collectors can be finicky.
In the world of comics, the ones that sell for higher prices than the cover
are the ones sold in the comic book stores, without a UPC barcode. Now I know
there's not as high of a demand for music recordings, and there isn't a
definitive way to limit them, but-- I still think music stores figure their
clients won't want to buy recordings with the BMG or Columbia marketing
labels.
I think Dan's right-- most of the artists that advertise in record clubs are
very mainstream and are making *quite* a bit of money. They can probably
afford it; they get paid from other sources-- music videos, MTV show
appearances, arena concerts, etc. But I could be wrong. Musicians aren't
as rich as you'd expect since they generally put their money back into
equipment, anyway.
|
krj
|
|
response 57 of 247:
|
Dec 19 21:14 UTC 1998 |
According to an acquaintance who has worked in the record business
in promotion & office support: In the old days, record clubs such as
BMG were not given access to the best analog master tapes for their
manufacturing runs, so the record club LPs were not as good.
This continued into the early CD era, even
though it made no sense in a digital era, just because it was
the way business was done. I've lost touch with this acquaintance,
so I can't see if the record labels and record clubs have gotten
smart enough to exchange digital masters. I know I prefer not to
buy record club products when I buy used discs -- just call it a
silly prejudice.
I suppose some ambitious grexer could pick up pairs of "regular"
CDs and record club CDs and examine the bit streams to see if they
are the same.
|
gregb
|
|
response 58 of 247:
|
Dec 19 23:05 UTC 1998 |
Funny you should mention that. I compared a segments from an ELO CD
produced by Jet Records, and from CH using Sound Forge. Both patterns
were exactly the same.
|