"How to become a successful CD Compiler"

[discoginfo]

1. 80s music fans are used to vinyl, so transfer from vinyl, not the cold and metallic sounding tapes.

2. B-sides were not included on the original LPs, because they were not good enough. So don't include B-sides.

3. 12" Mixes were made for the dance floor *at the time*, so don't include them now. Who on earth would dance to them today?

4. Alternate Versions were discarded at the time in favor of the versions, so there is no reason to include them now.

5. Unreleased material was not used at the time - you guessed it! - because it wasn't good enough. Don't use it.

6. Music was made to be played loud, so when you master, push up the volume as hard as you can, also the quiet (= boring sounding) parts of the songs, like the intros and outros, and any annoying quiet part in between. This will impress the listener, especially young people of today who listen using tiny earplugs - that's another reason to crank the volume up!

7. Make sure you compress the files when sending them to manufacturing - this will save you valuable time, at least 1.2 seconds per song. The idea that some militant music fans have, that compression will affect the sound, is a myth. No one has ever been able, so far, to prove any connection between music compression and sound quality.

8. Don't do spell checking of the text, the people who were young in the 80s can't read the small text anyway.

9. Don't bother to contact the artist or group first, to interview them or ask for liner notes. That will take time. Instead, ask some music journalist to write a story about how great and underestimated the album was at the time, and how now with this great CD it finally gets the release it deserves.

10. For extra bonus material, use some fun music videos. You can get them for free from www.youtube.com. And some NEW "cool" third party remixes. NOT some old crap. The theory behind this is: if you can't get youth of today to eat some healthy food, put some ketchup on it! Same with CDs: include some modern remixes that the youth of today like. You don't believe this? Well, the upcoming Michael Jackson Box will include some new remixes as bonus. Would one of the biggest record companies risk sales from a bad decision? Nah. They know what they are doing. After all, it's one of the biggest selling album ever.

Cynically Yours/JW
http://www.discog.info/

[crystal]

more than well said... really sad that so many of the new rereleases at least fulfill 3 to almost all 10 of your suggestions...

11. If you can't find a journalist writing a story, simply don't care, don't even dare to include useful info, just use an inlay card or 4-page insert with 2 photos that have either been seen 1000 times or match a much later rerelease.

12. Make sure to announce a release date + delay the whole thing after sending out promo copies without changing a bit of the release (delay time: at least 2 months)

[Luke]

That new BAD Michael Jackson box set remind me of the 25th anniversary of the Thriller album: crap new third party DJ remixes and NO 7 inch/12 inch or instrumental versions. What you get these days is mastered way too loud and crap extras, specially the box sets of succesful albums.

Can you believe this ?! Are these record company people for real ?!

Besides, anybody who thinks that loudness is a good thing when it comes to mastering, must get his or her ears checked: they're a bunch of cretins.

[Spudboy]

13. If you have the master tapes in hand, be sure to take a photograph of them for the liner note artwork....you know, for credibility... and then completely forget that you can USE the tapes for the remaster and rely on a crappy vinyl rip you found on the internet instead.

(I'm looking at you, Edsel, for your horrific Thompson Twins reissue)

Still looking for my girl with auburn hair and tawny eyes...

[Frank_Chickens]

I will defend point two to a degree. The reason they normally only do two albums on one CD is that if they include singles, extended versions and the like then it changes the terms of the licensing agreement and makes it far more expensive.

[discoginfo]

Thanks Frank. Sounds strange though, as 2LPs-on-1CDs are usually made by the (big) record company that owns the rights. You mean that the original artist has a contract that says if the record company includes other tracks than on the original album, they are entitled to lots more money? If so, also strange since in the 80s few people would forsee this (extra tracks on CD).

Another thing is, many CDs with extra tracks are released by smaller labels via licensing, I find it hard to believe they have lots of money since they are smaller labels. ...? /JW

[Frank_Chickens]

[quote][i]Originally posted by discoginfo[/i]
<br>Thanks Frank. Sounds strange though, as 2LPs-on-1CDs are usually made by the (big) record company that owns the rights. You mean that the original artist has a contract that says if the record company includes other tracks than on the original album, they are entitled to lots more money? If so, also strange since in the 80s few people would forsee this (extra tracks on CD).

Another thing is, many CDs with extra tracks are released by smaller labels via licensing, I find it hard to believe they have lots of money since they are smaller labels. ...? /JW
[/quote]

It changes the terms of the agreement to a compilation which costs a lot more. As for the ins and outs of who does/doesn't do it and why I can't answer, that is down to the artists, record labels and the agreements they signed. This is usually the reason of why extra tracks are not included and you only get a bare release. Keep in mind most major labels do not generally have an idea of which band's output is owned by them and just see it as another way of making some cash.

Licensing agreements tend to centre around selling x amounts of units in time period y to make it viable for the rights owners. If you have a track record in re-releases then things can be standardised to a degree which makes things easier and if you haven't then you are going to work your socks off in order to make it happen. You may not like this and the hoop jumping but the people who owns the rights can do what they want and whether it's logical or not is neither here nor there.

[Neil Kelly]

Lol at reason 12. Classic! And i knew 13 was coming!

[Neil Kelly]

Sorry that should've been 13 and 14 of course!