Question: I was just reading a response to a question about downloads and the future of the recording industry, when a thought occured to me. In the past, (in this very forum), I have inquired about the possibility of Earache reissuing some of the more obscure pieces from the back catalouge, bands like Old Lady Drivers, Intense Degree, Filthy Christians, Sore Throat, ect. The response was always a "NO", based on the limited interest in those bands the first time around, and, obviously, the fact that every reissue bumps a new release by a deserving contemparary band. All this is understandable, but what about making some of these recordings available via download through the website? They would not necessarily have to be free....I bid on a copy of the Sore Throat CD with the 2 Earache LP's on it but had to back out after the price went over the $100 mark. I would GLADLY pay $10 or $15 just to hear the music! Of course, I can always go to a torrent site...but then I get no cover/lyrics/notes/ect. Just a thought...let me know what you think!! From: feltner.stephen@yahoo.com
Answer: Yeah I get asked all the time on this blog about the most obscure titles from the Earache back catalog, and why we dont re-issue them. As you say, its usually because the bands were fairly small and did not sell well at the time of release, so never even made it on CD at the time, and then slowly fell off our radar. In a roundabout way its this obscurity which has made those bands sought after by fans, and highly collectable now. $100 for a Sore Throat Cd is insane, thats more than it cost to record the damn thing!. Ironic, don'tcha think?
Where you need to head for is Cyclone Empire website, in Germany.They are a distro and small label, and also specialise in out of print classics. They spotted the demand for these obscure titles and convinced us to print 500 of Filthy Christians, Confessor and Sore Throat, which they will exclusively sell at reasonable prices, not stupid ebay collector prices. We just have to find the bloody master tapes first tho, so some are not advertised yet, but will be in time.
Find them here: Cyclone Empire
A little-known fact is that the cover of Filthy Christians album is the infamous photo of the assassinated Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme who was shot and killed in 1986, while out walking in the city centre of Stockholm. This national tragedy marked the end of innocence in Swedish politics, and Scandinavian society in general. His murder was never solved. The gruesome death picture is impossible to find anywhere online, Filthy Christians chose to immortalise the event on their album cover.
I agree the scarcity or lack of a CD release makes some of these older records fascinating to those who didn't get them the first time around for whatever reason, e.g.. lack of awareness, lack of availability, and/or poverty. Now being somewhat comfortable in my middle age, I like the idea of buying some of these older artifacts. But like the individual that posed the original question, I don't want to pay $100 to eBay something old and used, especially if I can pirate it for free. This is the sticky middle ground of being willing and able to pay a reasonable price for something that is no longer in print.
ReplyDeleteSo I am glad to read you will be making some of these things available again through a license deal.
However, it looks like you have to be a registered wholesaler to purchase anything from their website. Bummer. This is what always blows my mind: why make it hard for people to give you money?
I realize you may have licensed the items to Cyclone Empire, but will you sell any off of your own Webstore?
The given link refers to the cyclone empire wholesale/distro page. The customer shop can be found at:
ReplyDeletehttp://metal-recycler.com/shop.php
But as stated in the main article, those CDs are still to be released so you won't find them there by now.