EMI, SonyBMG dusting off dusty classics

[rewind]

This article from Digital Music News sounds promising...

Majors EMI and Sony BMG are now opening their vaults and licensing out-of-print content to Amazon. The move, announced Monday, returns the lost classics to physical form, and delivers copies based on customer orders. The process is being managed by CreateSpace, a subsidiary of Amazon that specializes in the on-demand delivery of physical content.

Instead of producing an album against an anticipated demand level, Amazon will only manufacture the titles if an order is placed. That plays into the Long Tail, and taps into niche demand for older favorites. Several hundred albums are being resurrected, including Hatari Soundtrack by Henry Mancini, Earthquake Weather by Joe Strummer, and Motorcade of Generosity by Cake.

Other labels already using the program include Rhino, Wind-up, Vanguard and Naxos.

[Jefe]

Is there a master list anywhere that will show what all will be made available?

[Abacab]

More importantly, who is mastering these albums and are they going to have any semblance of quality? I guess they could do a Wounded Bird which is a flat transfer from whatever tapes they get and minimal liner notes. Frankly, I'll take that the majority of the time over the crap ear bleeders that I usually. Still, this kind of reeks of that "reissue company" in the UK that pressed discs that were out of print (like Orange Juice albums) and were highly suspect. They had no liner notes and were mere clones of previous issues.

Edward

[obs]

Hmm, so these will be CD-Rs?

I guess that's okay (compared to not having it at all), but I always worry that it's sourced from crappily ripped files (eg. iTunes), and burned at 100x. Don't know how well those commercial duplicators work, but with the "order on demand", it seems that using a computer would be more ideal.

[gnj1958]

That's a little confusing. When they say "opening their vaults and licensing out-of-print content" does this mean stuff that has been on CD before or does it include stuff that has never been on CD before?

When is this supposed to happen? I can't find anything about it on Amazon.

[BigManRestless]

Haven't Universal / Phonogram been doing this for ages via their Disk Kiosk thing? You get a basic CDR and very basic packaging for £10 ($20 US) rather than a proper CD reissue at, erm, half that price.

[schwenko]

[quote][i]Originally posted by BigManRestless[/i]
<br>Haven't Universal / Phonogram been doing this for ages via their Disk Kiosk thing? You get a basic CDR and very basic packaging for £10 ($20 US) rather than a proper CD reissue at, erm, half that price.
[/quote]

link please!!

[obs]

I've heard about the disc kiosk things, but never have seen or heard of anyone who has used them.

Razormaid Remix Service does the "on demand" thing, and having heard one, the quality was shoddy. Some of the tracks had clicks that sound like ripping errors.

[BigManRestless]

[quote][i]Originally posted by schwenko[/i]
<br>[quote][i]Originally posted by BigManRestless[/i]
<br>Haven't Universal / Phonogram been doing this for ages via their Disk Kiosk thing? You get a basic CDR and very basic packaging for £10 ($20 US) rather than a proper CD reissue at, erm, half that price.
[/quote]

link please!!
[/quote]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/shops/index. ... JXNVJLUH4P