OOP

The famous three letters I hate to see when searching for music titles; OOP. Nothing sucks the life out of a potential music purchase more than seeing it is “out of print.” I run into this from time to time and it is somewhat baffling. In the year 2007, it doesn’t make sense for music to be unavailable. There are so many ways labels can make music accessible to the consumer, but they choose to stand by the old faithful CD. And by doing so, they force themselves into deleting catalogue due to poor sales.

Music can’t be all about sales. Obviously it is a key element to the financial process of the business model, but catalogue shouldn’t suffer because it doesn’t move six figures worth of units. That is what the flavor of the month artists are for – they are expected to move 7 figures worth of units and pump money into the pockets of the short-sighted executives.

I ran into my latest OOP aggravation this past weekend when I was looking at a Deep Purple title that had caught my eye in the past. I pretty much have ignored the first post-Ritchie Blackmore era from 1975. His replacement Tommy Bolin was an interesting choice to handle lead guitar duties, but Bolin’s increasing drug dependency during that era derailed any possibilities. Because of this, I have always stayed away from the material out there showcasing that line-up of Deep Purple.

However, there was a vault release issued about seven years ago titled “Days May Come and Days May Go: The 1975 California Rehearsals” that is a peak into a rehearsal session with Bolin and Deep Purple right when he joined the band. I decided this was an interesting place to start if I was ever going to explore Bolin’s tenure with Deep Purple. The problem is that this title is out of print. Used versions are going for nearly $40 and a newly sealed copy is around $140.

It drives me crazy when this sort of thing happens. Obviously Deep Purple fans were psyched when this title was issued seven years ago and most probably picked up a copy for their collection. But what about the consumer that became a fan later on? I didn’t fully get into Deep Purple until the past couple of years. By the time I got around to picking up “Days May Come and Days May Go: The 1975 California Rehearsals,” it was out of print. Is this a good business model? Screwing future generations of fans out of having access to catalogue items?

This happens constantly with multiple artists from all genres. There are still a ton of original Johnny Cash albums unavailable on CD and they certainly aren’t on iTunes. If you find yourself getting into Elvis Presley and want to purchase one of his greatest albums, “Elvis Is Back!,” good luck securing a copy. Yes, there are plenty of used copies around, but why isn’t a critically acclaimed album from one of music’s greatest artists out of print on BMG/Sony’s mainstream label? You can spend over $40 for a deluxe version on the Follow That Dream collector’s label through an Elvis fan club, but what if you just want the original album? Oh, “Elvis Is Back!” didn’t sell enough, so BMG/Sony deleted it and decided to continue issuing hits compilations instead. Who cares if “Elvis Is Back!” doesn’t sell huge quantities? Why should it? It was released in the early 60’s. But it is still an important title that should be in print for future generations of fans. The other problem here is that the labels are selective in this process. Here is an example: certainly “A Long Time Comin’” by Electric Flag doesn’t move many more copies than “Elvis Is Back!” did when it was in print, yet it is readily available. Either delete all catalogue albums that don’t move or keep them available for the music consumer.

Fine, the labels don’t see the value in keeping some slow moving catalogue items in print as CDs. How about making the material available as downloads? Do you think that is a feasible scenario in the year 2007? Never in history has there been more technology and unique ways in delivering music to the consumer. Why give them less and a higher price? It is absolutely insane.