Reissue After Reissue After Reissue... Some Who, I swear!

["O'Neal, Kevin W." <Kevin.ONeal@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Credit to Luke at O&S for this article.
Pretty interesting.
Kevin in VT

From: Luke Pacholski <LukPac@lukpac.org>
Subject: Reissue After Reissue After Reissue...

 From the NY Times today. How many more versions of LAL will there be 
until they get it right?

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/25/business/media/25REDU.html

Releasing Rock Albums Again and Again
By CHRIS NELSON

Critics have called the rock singer and songwriter Elvis Costello 
many things over the years: clever, angry, moody, humorous. Sean 
Murdock, a 34-year-old fan from Bergenfield, N.J., would like to add 
one more adjective: addictive.

"When you're really a fan, it's like crack," he said. "You want 
everything that artist has."

That must be music to the ears of executives at Rhino Records, who 
last week released three new editions of vintage Costello CD's, each 
with a second disc of bonus material. Mr. Murdock said he would pay 
for the updated version of 1982's "Imperial Bedroom," the third time 
he will have bought the same album. He had already replaced his vinyl 
version when Rykodisc rereleased the album with 9 extra tracks in 
1994. Now, he will get an additional 14 songs from the vault on the 
new set from Rhino, part of the Warner Music Group.

Record companies are increasingly and repeatedly releasing similar 
"deluxe editions" of albums - usually sporting improved sound, 
extensive liner notes, and bonus songs. The third CD incarnations of 
both David Bowie's "The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders 
 From Mars" (1972) and the Who's "Live at Leeds" (1970) recently hit 
stores. And Marvin Gaye, the Cars, John Coltrane, Bob Marley and the 
Velvet Underground are among many musicians getting a second CD 
go-round with expanded albums.

But with the proliferation of deluxe reissues comes a pressing 
question: How many times can record labels seeking to bolster their 
bottom line entice consumers to buy the same album - even with bonus 
songs - before generating resentment?"It's infuriating to me," said 
Tod Hensley, a 33-year-old from New York who has bought Mr. 
Costello's "My Aim Is True'`' (1977) and "This Year's Model" (1978) 
three times each. But Mr. Hensley directs none of his anger at Mr. 
Costello.

"I just can't see him saying, `Okay, I'm going to screw these guys 
over by redoing this all over again,' " he said. "If he did do that I 
would be very disappointed. But I like to chalk it up to corporate 
greed."

Mr. Costello does not have much sympathy for Mr. Hensley's views. "If 
people still have interest in the records, even if they have bought 
them before, I'm offering them the opportunity to hear them in 
perhaps the most complete way," Mr. Costello said. "It really comes 
down to their bank book and how they feel about it. I'm sorry if they 
feel that they're being coerced, but they really aren't. I mean they 
have free will."

Rebuying comes with the avid fan territory, said Luke Pacholski, who 
is such a devoted follower of the Who that he has paid three times 
for "Live at Leeds." After buying the CD version of the original 
six-song album, he bought the expanded edition in 1995, and then the 
two-disc set with a live rendition of the rock opera "Tommy" issued 
last year.

He fumes a bit, though, when new greatest-hits packages offer only 
slightly different features. Though the Who have released 11 studio 
albums, the band has put out eight American best-of compilations.

Label executives do not have a formula to calculate how many fans 
they can upset and still turn a profit. "But those questions always 
get asked," said Alex Miller, senior vice president of BMG Heritage. 
This year, Mr. Miller has overseen reissues of Lovin' Spoonful albums 
and Lou Reed's "Transformer" (1972).

Still, the financial risk is relatively small. The cost for creating 
reissues is a fraction of making a new album, because the recordings 
were paid for long ago and ad campaigns are typically modest.

Music labels often have to sell 50,000 to 100,000 copies of a new 
major-label album by a new artist, or a half-million for an 
established hitmaker. To start making money on the latest version of 
"Transformer," BMG Heritage will have to sell between just 5,000 and 
10,000 copies, Mr. Miller said.

The Who will have to sell more than 10,000 copies of next year's 
third CD edition of "Who's Next" (1971) to recoup its costs, said 
Andy McKaie, Universal Music Enterprises' senior vice president for 
artists and repertoire. Still, the number is less than needed for a 
new album.

"If I were a consumer it would rankle me a little bit" to see yet 
another version of the album in stores, Mr. McKaie said. Nonetheless, 
Universal executives will not set the list price on deluxe editions 
below $29.98.

The case of the reappearing Costello discs is a matter of the singer 
periodically regaining control of his catalog. As he took his work 
from Columbia to Ryko to Rhino, each label changed the packaging and 
content of the albums.

The fans appear to have followed. The double-disc "My Aim Is True," 
Mr. Costello's first album and one of his most popular, has sold 
44,000 copies since its rerelease in August 2001, according to 
Nielsen SoundScan. The less well known "Blood & Chocolate," released 
originally in 1986, has sold 12,000 copies since its release in 
February.

More deluxe editions are inevitable, and not just for classic 
rockers. Indie favorites Pavement recently put out a double-CD 
version of their 1992 album, "Slanted & Enchanted."

And who knows what will happen when new remastering technology is 
available or more vintage tapes are uncovered in company vaults or 
under drummers' beds. BMG added just two of a possible 15 extra songs 
onto the rerelease of Mr. Reed's "Transformer."

Can fans look forward to yet another edition of the album? Don't rule 
it out, Mr. Miller said.

"What's going to happen in 5 or 10 years I couldn't tell you.`
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