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I wonder if a lot of "Lost in Space" fans simply didn't know about it. It is racking up solid bids on auctions.
That must be frustrating for LLL. The LIS set, a 2 CD set with lots of John Williams music from a big-name sci-fi franchise, eventually had to be reduced to $4.95, and even at that price it lingered a little while. I couldn't believe it. But what a bargain for those who snatched it up at the end.
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I've noticed that the La-La Land "Lost in Space" CD set for sale is now getting pricey.
I wonder if a lot of "Lost in Space" fans simply didn't know about it. It is racking up solid bids on auctions.
Interest in the Irwin Allen TV shows and TV scores may be alive and well?
This is actually the only La-La-Land CD I've ever seen in a brick & mortar retail store (the Holt Renfrew Centre's HMV in Toronto, for anyone who's curious). When I saw it there a few years ago, I knew nothing about LLL or any of the other specialty soundtrack labels. I owned the three GNP releases and figured it was just another in that series; I didn't even realise it was a limited edition. HMV was asking around $42 CDN for it, though, and at that time I was making less and my university costs were higher, so I let it go figuring I may pick it up later.
Fast forward to last year, when I first heard about LLL (thanks to their wonderful Star Trek V release). While browsing their catalogue on the website one day I came across the Lost in Space album, recognized it as the one I'd previously seen at HMV and thought to myself "well, that figures". It was sold out then, but I eventually picked it up on eBay for about $30, including shipping, so at least it was still a better deal than HMV (though the CD is long-gone from the store, anyway).
I'd be willing to bet a decent number of fans that would've been interested were simply unaware. With releases like LiS (and similar things like the ST:TNG background music sets which have sold very slowly thus far), I think the main problem facing them is how to effectively advertise the fact they exist to those people who'd actually be interested in buying them. The people are out there. There are still general sci-fi and Star Trek magazine publications, I think; trying out some ads in such places might help.
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Posted: |
Jan 21, 2012 - 2:02 AM
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By: |
MMM
(Member)
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The problem is that certain films or series don't seem to have the same crossover appeal regarding the music from them, no matter how good the music might be. In the case of La-La-Land's 2-CD release, I felt it was brilliant, both to first-time buyers as well as to those who bought previous releases of music from the show. The fact that it did not take off just might be because there are not enough people outside of the film music crowd who care the slightest about the music, no matter how much they love the show.
As for ads, they are likely to siphon away what little profit you'd make from a project like that. I really don't think ads work at all for soundtracks. The people who are likely to buy them already know about them through channels that don't cost money to reach. The people who love the films and don't buy soundtracks would probably see an ad for the soundtrack on a movie site or in a movie magazine and not give it the slightest attention. If they care about soundtracks at all, they probably already know where to find out about what is and what isn't being released. And if they LOVE a movie or TV show and care even the slightest about soundtracks, I'm pretty sure they make specific searches to see if any music from their favorite shows has been released.
I can provide endless examples of very famous films with obsessive fans who don't care the slightest bit about the music in the movies no matter how brilliant and/or desirable that music might be to soundtrack collectors. But these two illustrations might help get my point across.
When we released the score for THE BLOB a few years ago -- the first time it had ever been released -- my wife and I flew to Pennsylvania for the annual Blobfest, where thousands upon thousands of people who love the Steve McQueen movie go to visit spots where the film was made, to re-enact scenes from the movie, to see screenings in the actual theater where part of the movie was filmed, etc., etc. So we showed up with hundreds of copies of our CDs, along with the rest of our titles, and we had the best table on the block -- right near the entrance of the movie theater. They had run free promotional ads for us in the theater, we were listed in the program, etc. etc. For three days my wife and I baked in the near-100-degree weather while thousands of people walked past our table, gave it a quick look, and walked on. For every ten people who stopped to pick up and look at a copy of our BLOB CD, nine of them asked, "Is this the DVD?" or "Do you know where you can get the DVD?" Of those few who actually looked at the package and asked, "Is this the soundtrack?" 95% of them said either, "That's cool" and walked away without buying it, or "I like the title song" and also walked away without buying it. I think we sold as many THIS ISLAND EARTH CDs as we sold BLOB CDs at The Blobfest! It wasn't a THIS ISLAND EARTHfest!
Now, lest you think that we had put out an awful product, not only were all reviews glowing, but it is one of our best-selling CDs of all-time. People love the score and the bonus library cues on the disc, and it's a very consistent seller for us. But only to soundtrack fans. Fans of THE BLOB (the movie) just don't give a damn about the underscore.
Example #2: For the past three years I have been going to the amazing and popular Monsterpalooza convention in Burbank as a dealer. I can usually be found sitting next to actress Julie Adams, who is a good friend. We released an absolutely fabulous album by the name of "CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON (and other jungle pictures)," the most famous movie that Julie Adams ever starred in. In fact, 99% of her fans seem to only know her from that movie. They wear Creature t-shirts, have Creature tattoos, Creature hats, they own Creature pinball machines, Creature jewelry, some with Julie's image on them, and most just of the Creature. They show Julie their Creature models, and their Creature paintings, and their Creature everythings.
Julie is one of the most popular guests at sci-fi conventions, and the line that forms for her almost always puts everyone else's to shame. I've had the pleasure of sitting next to her at a number of conventions, and when the line forms waiting for adoring fans to have her sign pictures of the Creature, those people in line are standing in front of our Monstrous Movie Music table for quite some time. When that happens, I put on our recording of the brilliant Stein/Salter/Mancini/etc. score and blast it from our DVD player. Not a single person ever turns their head to the right in recognition of the music. Not a single person ever wants to buy the music. They love the movie, and they love Julie, and they love the Creature, but they don't even know the music exists, even though it's one of the most famous monster scores ever written (to those who care about film music).
As with THE BLOB, our Creature CD continues to sell and sell and sell, and shows no sign of slowing down. But it simply does not sell to fans of the MOVIE. It sells to film music fans who might or might not like the movie, but they are not primarily FILM fans -- they are soundtrack fanatics, plain and simple.
This year I will be doing a career retrospective on Julie at the Monsterpalooza. Her fans and fans of the Creature will learn that I am probably THE Julie Adams expert in the world. When I am done with my presentation and go back to my MMM table, do you know how many Creature CDs I expect to sell from the adoring crowd? None. Unless there happens to be a film music fan who's been waiting at my empty table for me to return from my presentation. We will sell copies of our Creature CD at the convention -- but it will only be to soundtrack fans, not motion picture lovers.
And now, I have to get back to writing liner notes for future MMM releases that almost nobody who loves the films will buy -- they will be bought by discerning individuals who love the art and craft of motion picture music.
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I suppose you're probably right. As for myself, I bought The Blob a few months ago (along with Creature from the Black Lagoon) and loved it. I would've bought it much earlier, but as I mentioned in my earlier post I had no idea about the specialty labels at the time, so I had no idea any such thing existed. There've been many movies I've enjoyed the music to over the years, but prior to indirectly discovering the specialty labels it never once occurred to me to just google those movies specifically for music. Same with Star Trek music. I've owned most of the GNP releases for years, but the Ron Jones set from FSM was a relatively recent purchase, made only once I found out FSM existed, lol.
It might be different for people born from 2000-or-so onwards, but for most of my life I got used to the idea that while a retail store may only keep a limited number of items in stock, most of what's available could at least be ordered in if you asked. It used to be the case, anyway. HMV was always able to get in albums I wanted back in the day, domestic or not. If I asked today, I doubt they'd find any FSM or any other specialty release in their computers. Well... except for Varese; I still see their stuff in the (greatly reduced) soundtrack section these days. That's where I bought the Firefly CD they released, in fact.
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MMM's estimate of the situation tallies with my personal experience.
- I and at least one other guy told LOST IN SPACE Internet fan groups about the LLL set and poured on the praise for it, but the response was minimal. These groups are full of rabid fans who'll count the rivets in a Jupiter 2 control panel and debate hypothetical story ideas, but they are mostly not LIS music fans.
- The other guy was/is also a regular on this bboard, if I recall correctly.
- I was hunting down film music sites the night I got my first Internet connection in 1998. I hope TM2-Megatron's long-time neglect of this duty means there are a lot more like him out there, waiting to join us, but I think probably not.
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Another reason might be (without getting too morbid) that many people who would have snatched the CD up years ago have either passed on or have other economic concerns which preclude them buying such things these days (like lost jobs etc.) Let's face it, the fans are all growing older and the target audience for some of these classics may be thinning out. I am thrilled with the La La Land CD and all of MMM's stuff...every new release is like a "pinch me-I'm dreaming" moment. One possible solution is following what MGM and Warners etc. have done with DVDs by offering made-on-demand discs of some of these older scores so the label owners don't have to invest in a room full of pre-made CDs in boxes.
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But some of us labels LIKE doing nice productions with physical liner books (although without physical staples), hard plastic shiny CDs, etc. It just wouldn't be as much fun doing downloads, and if we did pdfs of the books, I can only imagine how many people would take them for free at the same time they got a friend to copy the mp3s for them. Recipe for financial disaster, if you ask me. When physical media vanishes in terms of film music, I will move onto other areas, unless those areas have been entirely digitized, too! Then I'll just sit and twiddle my thumbs.
Yes...physical media by all means (I dislike downloading) but made on demand (you can include the booklets but wouldn't have to have 3000 CDs pressed up). For my own solo work I have blank CDs made with printing on the disc and burn them with my music when needed. So I am not sitting on a large inventory of albums which may or may not sell.
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