It is a time of great transition, and I need to get some feedback as to what you, our collectors and audience, want to have happen vs. what you don't.

 

We are seriously considering "cutting off" many of our titles at fewer than the allotted 3,000 units—posting a list saying we have 240 or some title, there are only going to be 2,000 manufactured, and that's the end of it. Although many of our titles are licensed for 3,000, we do not make all 3,000 up front, and we cannot afford to add additional inventory for many of the slow sellers.

 

In addition, itunes is going to start happening for the limited edition CDs you buy from us and other labels. We always knew this would happen: the studios granted physical CD rights to us and other labels so that we would restore their masters, and they could sell them later on itunes. (The good news is that at least if a title sells out, it's not like the only way to hear the music is on ebay.) Hopefully, this will take a bite out of piracy.

 

It's a wacky, stressful time where the market is contracting and unfortunately the labels are trying to compensate by grabbing a larger market share by releasing more titles—which makes the collectors more stressed, not less.

 

Something's gotta give. Please tell me what you think. I have my own ideas for how things should happen going forward, but I'm not sure everybody will like them.

 

Lukas