Korgscrew
Group: Super Admins
Posts: 3511
Joined: Dec. 1999 |
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Posted: Oct. 04 2005, 14:40 |
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It's so they can justify charging a higher price in the UK (or at least, to stop UK buyers being tempted by cheaper prices from Europe). They had a lot of problems at one point, where supermarkets were buying in albums from abroad, and undercutting the prices of the record shops, who were getting them via UK distribution channels (what was most crazy is that some of them were buying them not from wholesalers in Europe, but from retailers - they were still managing to transport them back to the UK and sell them at a profit, whilst also still undercutting the usual prices).
The fact that people can download them does rather destroy the advantages to the record company of having the bonus tracks...
I have to say, I generally don't like bonus tracks much, for the reasons Bell(end) mentioned - they often feel like they're just slapped on the end (which in fairness, they are), rather than forming part of the flow of the album. I prefer it when extra material is on a seperate disc, which happens sometimes, but is obviously more expensive for the record company (and often more expensive for the buyer too, as the outrageous £20 street price of Tubular Bells 2003 with 'bonus' DVD demonstrates). Mercury's releases of Mark Knopfler material usually come with a second disc, actually, and not at a greatly elevated price. Still a lot more than what they'd sell for in continental Europe though.
Considering that they're readily available, commercial material, I think it's best that any exchanging of them doesn't go on right here.
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