A Rush To Judgement

 

I have long been a proponent of physical media, especially CDs.  Physical formats play into the relationship between fan and artist in a way that downloads never can.  Downloads are ether.  Holding the work of an artist in your hands is an entitlement and a connection, one that is harder to break, especially with the passage of time and the accumulation of a catalog.  You can debate the virtues of your favorite format (records, CDs, cassettes, 8-tracks), but that physical connection is real (and if you have figured out to get your favorite artist to sign the cover of your download, please let me know how.)

I am all-in on physical media.  Of course, record companies have to try to ruin that through greed.

When CDs replaced LPs, the standard list price for a record album was $8.98.  Think 1987-ish here in the United States.  Record companies set the base list price for the new CD technology at $12.98 for disc, in spite of CD’s costing less than half of the price it cost to produce an LP (vinyls, for you young’uns). So, the record companies basically said, CDs are going to cost us 60% less than LPs, so we’re going to charge you 40% more.  But the CD was new, shiny, would last forever (according to the marketing of the time,) and provide better sound quality (eventually.)

A few years back, record companies decided to try to kill CDs.  They told us LPs were warmer sounding (clicks and pops are not warmer), and by the way, they now cost $25-$30 a pop.  Everyone said the CD was dead – many small artists don’t even press to CD anymore.  Yet, CD is still the most popular physical format out there, and has been growing now for the last several years.  Why?  Sound quality. Permanence (relatively).  The disappearance of songs from streaming platforms.

So now that CDs are making a comeback, I’ve seen outlets pushing prices to $20-$25 per unit.  Yet it still costs $1-$2 to produce a CD en masse.  I know there are costs of recording, etc., but in many cases, we’re talking about repackaged releases from years ago that have already paid for their initial costs many times over.

Today I received an email from the UDiscover regarding a re-release of Rush’s Grace Under Pressure (see it here.)  The new edition has 4 CDs and a blue ray, a book, and reproduced ‘collectables’ from the band, all for $300.  The LP version is $375.  Rush took a lot of heat (rightly so) for the ticket prices on their recent comeback tour, but this just furthers the narrative of a band that has lost touch with where they started.  It’s sad to see, but it is representative of what the music industry does to music, and artists.

There is no real object lesson here, other than to understand that if you’re willing to throw your money around, there will always be a business executive who is happy to take it from you.

And you can find copies of Grace Under Pressure at your local thrift store for a couple of bucks.