Your Take: Version 2.0

The practice is as old as the recording industry and has occurred in all genres of music. In the past the practice usually occurred when an artist had a surprise hit single and the label had no other new recordings available and needed to get an album out in order to cash inwhile the iron was hot.

Two examples: (1) when Billy Edd Wheeler had an unexpected country and pop hit with “Ode To The Little Brown Shack Out Back” in 1965, Kapp took an existing album and replaced two of the tracks with the sides on the hit single and reissued the album. (2) If I recall correctly, when “Dueling Banjos” from the movie DELIVERENCE became a hit , the track was cobbled onto an old album and reissued.

It’s an old practice, but I have always found it to be a stupid practice. It really goes to show the idiots running the record industry and the clear contempt they have for consumers. I’m no Swift fan, if I never heard her on the radio again it would be a better place, but I have always found it to be B.S. in ANY entertainment field where you tell fans you need to get the album/DVD/video game as soon as it comes out and then reward folks who dragged their feet in getting whatever that item may be.

“(2) If I recall correctly, when “Dueling Banjos” from the movie DELIVERENCE became a hit , the track was cobbled onto an old album and reissued.”

Yep, and a good thing, too, because the original album, New Dimensions In Banjo And Bluegrass, had been out of print for years.

As for the general question, it seems obvious to me that one reason, and perhaps the most significant one, for enhanced re-releases is to sweeten the pot for new buyers; they’re arguably aimed at people who might be interested, but haven’t yet been convinced to shell out. No one’s being tricked or – since being an obsessive “completist” is a voluntary condition – manipulated. Pay up or shut up.

I don’t have a huge problem with it. In Taylor’s case it’s somewhat alright because we know she’s not going to release her third album for a while and this new edition release helps fill the gap a little.

One thing I do have a problem with is that now that she released this new edition, the new songs might take away from the original album release. To be honest, I only like two of the songs off this new release and think the rest just add filler to what was an already good album that had barely any filler before.

It’s not manipulative at all, especially when they tell you exactly what will be on it. 6 new songs and a bunch of video extras are a lot different than someone who just releases two bonus songs. People know what they’re getting when they purchase it, and I think it’s a great deal. It really wasn’t a shock she was going to release a re-release because she did so on her debut disc.

Her sales were already doing amazing without the platinum edition. Even though this CD will no doubt boost sales, she didn’t create it on a last resort basis. She wanted her fans to have something extra in between her second and third cds.

Lucas: Re-releases don’t hurt artists with their sales. An album and its re-release sales are counted together, not separately.

I stand corrected:
http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinum.php?content_selector=criteria It just has to contain 75% of the original content.

They should pit 300 discs in it… make it go 300 times platinum!

I’m releasing a 1,000,000 disc album later this year, hopefully I sell ten.

Because Steve, if you check the RIAA’s website, an EP doesn’t count toward the original album’s sales. This is genius.

I’m getting Lady GaGa’s new re-release, The Fame Monster =D

Well in my defense, I had to get up at 5am to work on a Saturday, so I am not operating on all cylinders. But I am still smart enough not to give Ms. Swift any of my money.

@Lucas: The feeling is mutual

I said in another thread that I’d have a lot more respect for bands if they’d go the route Coldplay went for their Viva la Vida album, where they released the deluxe edition with a bonus disc a few months after the original album, but they also released the bonus disc (Prospekt’s March) by itself as well.

I’m the kinda guy that if I’m a big enough of a fan of a singer or band, I’m gonna buy the album pretty soon after release, and if they release a deluxe version on the release date as well, then that’s the one I’m gonna get.

If Fearless sold a tenth of what it has sold, then we wouldn’t be seeing this.

“Taylor Swift’s fans are “blind followers?” Says who?”

anyone capable of independent thought

Oh, phooey. It’s pathetic to see people dissing others for having their own tastes in music, especially those past – sometimes long past – adolescence (at least, physical adolescence). And it’s especially ironic to see in a venue devoted to a genre that was for years (and sometimes still is) looked down on by others in exactly the same terms.

I think its better what Britney did for his Circus album where she released both at the same time =) So I got my deluxe edition right off the bat

If you split it from one album into the original album and a re-release the sales will be counted separately. Let’s say that new album sells 4 million copies and the original sells 6. It puts you out of the running to raise your status to the level of Garth, Elvis, etc. in terms of sales because now you have no chance of going diamond with one album (10 million sales).

That was exactly the point I was trying to make. This is precisely why it is done — to raise the sales figures for a particular album. I don’t think the two versions should count as the same album, since six additional songs is not an insignificant difference.

Idlewildsouth: Even if there wasn’t a platinum edition, Taylor would still be on the charts. These last two weeks before her platinum release, she was number 7 on Billboard 200. She didn’t release it because she was worried about losing ground on the charts. She’s dominating the charts. New people are obviously purchasing her cd week after week, and that doesn’t seem like it will be ending anytime soon. So, now the new people that haven’t purchased her original (averaging around 30,000 each week) can have the opportunity to purchase this longer edition. Any fans that already own “Fearless” know what they would be getting if they purchase the new edition.

So, your logical explanation doesn’t quite work, since she would have been on the charts for a long time, with or without a platinum edition. I, for one, am glad she is re-releasing the cd. I figured her cd would sell like crazy, so I intentionally waited for the re-release instead of getting it when it first came out. I let my sister do that. It worked out great, by the way. I’m sure the same thing will happen with her third cd as well.

The only experience I have with a “Deluxe” version of a CD is Dierks Bentley’s “Modern Day Drifter”. I bought a used copy cheap just to get the bonus track “She Won’t Choose Me” which I rank as one of the best country humor songs of all time! I don’t care much for the rest of the album, but that’s irrelevant!

As for Taylor Swift, Scott Borchetta knows what he can get away with in the marketplace and is going to milk it for all its worth. Taylor is extremely shrewd and intelligent where her career is concerned, so all of this is a joint consensus effort. I say that since no one is being forced to buy anything, alls fair in love and war and the country music retail marketplace!

Idlewildsouth: Oh yes, it’s all about the surge. With this surge, her cd is likely to never leave the Billboard 200 EVER! I mean, look at her debut disc. The surge from her deluxe edition on her debut is still alive and kicking. Luckily for Taylor, she had that surge. Wow, over 157 weeks, and it’s still in the top 60. Man, that deluxe edition sure kept Taylor’s name on the charts.

Come on, who are you trying to fool? Yes, re-releases will bring in new folks and old folks alike, but it’s not the surge that keeps someone like Taylor Swift on the charts. It’s the fact that new people are discovering her music and who she is as an artist each and every week. If it takes re-releases and Oprah visits to get more people interested in her music, then by all means do them. She loves what she is doing, and that’s evident in the interviews she’s been in. You know, it’s not always about the money.

She did this release because she wanted to offer more songs and video features to her fans. It will give them some new stuff from her while they are waiting on her third cd. Some of her concerts for tours sell out in just a couple of minutes. I don’t think the crew behind Taylor Swift is in fast need of money.

But, yeah, if the only reason for making these re-releases was to give it that surge to keep them on the charts, then her debut disc would not have lasted this long (and counting) on the charts. There must be other reasons, oh like she’s a talented artist that many people enjoy listening to. Who’d a thunk?

If she truly wanted to give her audience more product, she would just release a new cd.

Or she could have just released an EP of the six new songs and packaged it with the DVD. There was no reason to re-release the entire album other than to extend its chart life.

an important aspect of this platinum edition that no one has discussed is “are the new songs or new content any good?” as far as should she do it; in my opinion if that’s how she wants to put her music out there, that’s her choice. As long as people that are fans of hers want to purchase the music then more power to her and them. Those that discover her music new can buy the platinum edition and get all the original fearless songs plus the new ones without buying Fearless and an e.p or brand new disc. I thought the opening blog wanted opinions on all deluxe versions, not just Taylor Swifts, but it seems to have all come back down to what were Ms. Swifts motives, with some automatically condemning her for wanting sales/money and some giving her the benefit of the doubt. Isn’t every musician out there trying to find a way to keep his/her music relevant and in demand to an audience? Without a paying audience, no one could make a living singing/writing and playing music of any kind. This girl Swift appears to have worked hard to put herself in the position to be able to make the music she wants and market it the way she wants, and I’m sure all other country music artists back to the Carter Family with their million in sales in the ’30s. Deluxe versions like Fearless platinum are no different to me than people coming along and recording their own version of someone else’s song that was a hit before, or recording and releasing new albums with cuts that were on previous albums. No matter what any music artist says, it’s not entirely all about the music, because without the music listeners to buy it, that music artist is going to have to put down the mic and the guitar and go back to work in a store or a factory or a garage somewhere.

. In fact, she is actually giving another spot on the Billboard 200 to someone else for not going the EP route. If she did do an EP, then her “Fearless” and her EP would both be in the top 10, and her debut would jump back into the top 50.

How magnanimous of her. Too bad she didn’t do this a few months earlier before the Nobel Peace Prize was handed out.

@ Dan E. (how do you even do the quote thing?)

Okay, as long as you can download the new stuff by itself, I don’t see a problem with it. If you could only buy it with the rest of the CD, thereby forcing you to pay a full-CD price for what is basically an EP, then I would have a big problem. For once, I can say yay for the digital age.