mp3 bargains

[John L]

I think that Santa Cruz is one of Braxton's best. 

[mjzee]

eMusic just added what looks like the entire ESP catalog.  Some good bargains here: Billie Holiday - Rare Live Recordings 1934-1959, $7.49; The Albert Ayler Story, $7.49.  eMusic also has that Sonny Rollins/Horace Silver Zurich 1959 on TCB for $5.99.

[BFrank]

15 hours ago, mjzee said:

eMusic just added what looks like the entire ESP catalog.  Some good bargains here: Billie Holiday - Rare Live Recordings 1934-1959, $7.49; The Albert Ayler Story, $7.49.  eMusic also has that Sonny Rollins/Horace Silver Zurich 1959 on TCB for $5.99.

Very cool - thanks for the heads up! After the site upgrade there seems to be a lot of changes to the overall catalog.

[Kevin Bresnahan]

On 5/29/2017 at 9:38 AM, mjzee said:

eMusic also has that Sonny Rollins/Horace Silver Zurich 1959 on TCB for $5.99.

And people wonder why hard media is dying. This CD is for sale at Bull Moose Music for $27.97!

[jazzbo]

But you can get it from Amazon marketplace or Prime for 16 or 17 dollars. . . which is still not 6 dollars, but I'd rather have the disc. (Haven't bought it but might in the near future).

[Scott Dolan]

Point being there's simply no way to be competitive in the market when you're charging that kind of money for physical media. 

[jazzbo]

Sure. But I don't want MP3 files. To me they have far less value, so I understand why they cost less. I'm willing to "lose" competitively to a certain degree.

Edited May 30, 2017 by jazzbo

[Scott Dolan]

I don't want MP3 files either. That's why I cancelled my subscription to Emusic years ago. 

But I'd think you'd want physical media to remain competitive. There's no guarantee it will be around forever, especially with younger generations that have grown up without. Pricing themselves out of the market doesn't seem like a wise choice, IMO. 

Edited May 30, 2017 by Scott Dolan

[jazzbo]

But I don't see how a physically manufactured disc can ultimately be competitive to files on a server somewhere. That would be like wishing for some irrational impossible thing to occur. What I'm satisfied with is that I can find a lot of what I want used, or I can buy new excellent budget reissues from Japan at what I was paying for new domestic cds last decade, and I'm getting better sound for my money. So in fact cd is competitive for me cost-wise with it's cost to me in the past, and I'm enjoying that. 

This really isn't the place for the discussion and I'm not really wanting to discuss. I'm just not interested in digital in non-physical form and realize that choice comes with a cost factor. I'm willing to pay that factor, though I shouldn't buy any more discs, I already have a third of my collection in storage as I don't have enough "approved" storage/display space in our tiny house in the woods. It's time to downsize but I know myself well enough to know that even if I did I'd still be acquiring discs.

Edited May 30, 2017 by jazzbo

[Scott Dolan]

Don't get me wrong, I completely get your point, and don't disagree with any of it (aside from our well-established differences in digital vs physical). 

There is no question that CD cannot compete 1:1 price-wise, but I think even you would have to agree that a $10 difference, or more, doesn't seem to be a wise business decision. $4-5? Sure, I don't see why not. And IMO, that would be competitive considering how much more you're getting with the CD. 

[jazzbo]

I don't have enough information about the cost differences between the two formats to say whether a 4 to 5 dollar difference is warranted. We're also talking about a European cd here and there is always going to be a cost to an import opposed to a domestic release, which is not an issue in this world of global digital. 

My feeling, based on what little I know, is that what we are seeing on average IS the competitive margins as if there were ways for one to be cheaper and still allow greedy owners and distributors and retailers to make the money they want that would be reflected in the price points we have. If they can't make enough profit, as buyers won't pay the price, the format will die. The structures of the two formats seem to handicap a format that needs to be manufactured, warehoused and shipped. I think we are seeing the basic cost differences we are ever likely to see and it's up to the buyer to choose how to spend the coin. 

Now I'm going back to spinning some Jobim on disc.

[Scott Dolan]

Fair enough. 

I just can't find any logic behind a 250%, or higher using Kevin's example, difference in price. It just strikes me as completely unsustainable. 

Even though I almost never buy physical media (box sets only) I also don't want to see them disappear. 

[JSngry]

The Bull Moose Music price on the item under discussion has been brought to light before, as has the fact that it's an unusually high price for this item. The other/lower prices you see on Amazon and elsewhere are the norm.

shaZAM! https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B01CQ2RPRK/ref=tmm_acd_new_olp_0?ie=UTF8&condition=new&qid=&sr

[Scott Dolan]

That makes sense. But even the $10-11 disparity is still pretty significant. 

Oops, missed your link. Those prices are far more reasonable and competitive, IMO. 

Edited May 30, 2017 by Scott Dolan

[JSngry]

Yeah, exactly. And soon enough the used prices will be lower than that, although right now, they're not. Go figure that one.

[Scott Dolan]

Oddly enough, you'd think it's a hardcore buyers market when it comes to used CDs these days. Which logic would dictate far lower prices. Perhaps they've already bottomed out? 

[JSngry]

I will gladly/proudly/militantly buy new if I want to support a particular endeavor (artist/label/dealer/producer/whatever/etc) for any reason. Otherwise, I look for used/remaindered stock and am merciless about it. Unless artwork is trashed or jewelbox/digipack functionally useless, I go for the lowest price I don't know if I'm typical of what's left of the CD market, but the lower the price, the more I buy.

[mjzee]

Charlie Parker "Bird In Time 1940-1947" (ESP), $7.49 on eMusic.

[mjzee]

John Fahey, Your Past Comes Back To Haunt You: The Fonotone Years [1958-1965]: $7.49 on eMusic.

Miles Davis in Stockholm 1960 Complete, $6.49, also on eMusic.

[mjzee]

Alan Holdsworth, The Man Who Changed Guitar Forever, $6.99 on eMusic.

[mjzee]

George Duke: The Era Will Prevail (The MPS Studio Years 1973-1976), $6.99 on eMusic.

[BFrank]

1 hour ago, mjzee said:

George Duke: The Era Will Prevail (The MPS Studio Years 1973-1976), $6.99 on eMusic.

Wow - good catch! I didn't even know this existed. Those MPS albums are by far my favorite GD albums.

[BFrank]

eMusic again:

"Echo Echo Mirror House" Anthony Braxton, $0.49
"Insomnia" Tim Berne, $0.49
(yes, forty-nine cents!)

Edited June 27, 2017 by BFrank

[mjzee]

Sarah Vaughan - In The City Of Lights, $5.00 from Amazon.

Kenny Werner - Me, Myself & I, $5.00 from Amazon.

[mjzee]

Terry Riley - Aleph, $0.49 on eMusic.