Bear Family now has the Starday box listed with a release date of December 15. Starday Custom Series #500 - 675 (10-CD Box) | Bear Family Records
New Rocks entry announced, this time Champion Jack Dupree. Wonder if a box could be on the horizon... Champion Jack Dupree - Rocks (CD) | Bear Family Records No track listing as of today, but no doubt this one will be included.
Amazon lowered the Woody Guthrie Tribute Concerts to $80 today. https://www.amazon.com/Woody-Guthrie-Tribute-Concerts/dp/B072ZLY11F
No prices yet, but you'll want to bookmark this page: https://www.amazon.de/Starday-Custom-500-675-10-CD/dp/B077DL2PCN/ Beauty! I'd forgotten Willie Nelson's first single was a Starday Custom job, and never knew Link Wray's brother Lucky made so many trips to Beaumont.
Despite Bear Family's more recent lack of artist-focused releases, I'm trying very hard to remain optimistic with hopes they will come to their senses before its too late. One Bear Family title I'm very grateful for is a 1CD by country legend Billy Parker, entitled "Billy Parker & Friends." The collection includes many enjoyable tracks from his albums up through the 1980s. Billy had an impressive career as a solo artist, with his career peak being in the 70s and 80s. Despite his more recent retirement from country radio, Billy is a respected Disc Jockey who was on air for 44 consecutive years in Oklahoma. For reasons beyond my comprehension, Bear Family have allowed this 1CD to go OOP. What a shame, as this is some enjoyable music which will appeal to most fans of classic country. Country legend Billy Parker today
Someone on eBay is selling the near-complete Rocks series (18 CDs) for less than $100 US. Bear Family Rocks 18 CD Set 5397102172731 | eBay There was a thread dedicated to him, RIP.
Not a great mystery at all. The music may be great but the sales just weren't there. In my 9 years of selling Bear Family I sold a grand total of 15 copies of this CD, very near to the bottom of my sales numbers. Even Bear Family can't keep a title in print with numbers like that.
Heard similar things about sales on some of the box sets as well. I do remember buying some box sets from you in the early 2000s, your prices were very reasonable.
I've always thought Bear Family would be wise to advertise their presence a little more in America. Only fanatic music collectors in America are even aware of their existence, much less individual releases.
It seems late for that now. Every year at the end of the year, magazines and newspapers used to list the top box sets of the year. Bear Family was NEVER mentioned, even though some of the critics certainly knew about them. Most of those critics would only mention something if they got it for free. No free copy, then the box set would be snubbed and ignored in their writing. Yet another reason I can't stand critics. I played hundreds of Bear Family sets on my radio program, but I bought and paid for each one. Most radio stations would not play anything - zippo - that Bear Family issued.
Someone is selling both Bob Wills boxes plus the Cliff Bruner set for $300, US buyers only. 17 pounds of western swing! Bob Wills Faded Love, San Antonio Rose, Cliff Breuner CD Set 's Bear Family | eBay They've started getting some long-overdue recognition with more recent releases. The Bristol Sessions was nominated for two Grammies, and the Slim Harpo set was named Best Historical Album at the 2016 Blues Music Awards.
Been lurking for years. Gonna make my first post here. Finally pulled the trigger on the Lesley Gore set.
I saw someone mention that they can't keep a CD in print for low sales. I never knew that. I always figured it was just rights issues. Anyway of knowing which sets may be going OOP?
It must be a combination of factors. I can't imagine the Lefty Frizzell or Fats Domino sets being near the bottom of Bear Family's sales rankings, yet they're both OoP. Welcome, by the way.
Seems like I read that the Lesley Gore box was upgraded. Probably just the book? Anybody know about this? I want to get a copy but want the latest version if there is one. Thanks for any information.
I sold 129 of the Lefty set and 81 of the Domino set. That puts them a bit above average and a bit below, respectively. Besides low sales, the main reason for deletions is that BF's license expired (BF doesn't own the rights to any of their releases and has to license them from the artists and/or record companies) and the item is not worth the expense of a license renewal or extension. Also keep in mind that most sales would happen right after release of a title and then sales would taper off rapidly over the next few years. In other words, the initial license is much more likely to make back its investment than would be a renewal several years later when most of the potential customers would already have their sets.