I already said the following earlier, but it's worth repeating: For all the times anyone's ever said "Best thread ever", I think this might actually be the one!
Dumb conspiracy theory: Suppose the symbol had nothing to do with the recording and distribution itself? The Glassworks info helped feed this speculation. The symbol did appear on the album in late '85, and the original release featured the exact same label and layout before that date. So why add the symbol later? Well in 1985, construction on The Wilshire in NYC was completed. It stood where the Columbia 30th Street Studio used to be. The Columbia Studio was nothing short of legendary, and Columbia abandoned their contracts on that property in 1982. The studio was demolished shortly after that, and construction on The Wilshire began. I'm wondering if the symbol couldn't have been a message from some artists to boycott The Wilshire out of respect for the grand old studio? It's a stretch, I know... and I'm writing this to occupy myself as much as to share any info, so no big deal if it seems bogus to some. It is a little curious, though, that the face of the old studio featured a triangle and a circle though: Just something to think about on a Saturday night, I guess...
Hold on now, all of the circle symbols on that site are called "royalty free circle symbol." That doesn't really get us any closer to an answer. But it is cool to see this same symbol available somewhere else too.
I know. Initially I thought it had something to do with the royalties on the records, but its the clip-art that is available for use royalty-free.
Happy New year all! This is crazy. I've been watching this thread for years, thinking and suggesting it's only a matter of time before @Steve Hoffman or someone with good insider information steps in to say...oh that thing, it's simply... But that's never happened. So, as we celebrate the 11th year of our insatiable quest for this knowledge, I say we reach out to the artists. Does anyone have contact (tweet/facebook/fanclub, etc) with an artist who has media from this period? Can we simply ask if they themselves ever wondered/asked what it was there for?
We got some inside information via longtime Billboard guru Ed Christman, but there is apparently enough contracting evidence that nobody believed him.
Yes, and thanks for that. But as noted, it still doesn't quite line up with various media manufacturing timelines and country of manufacturer, etc. Hopefully as more artists twitter and facebook groups become more commonplace and their contact more accessible, a label insider/artist can throw more gas on this fire!
Aw heck I guess I'll jump in. In regards to the Terre Haute theory, maybe other pressing plants simply copied the actual disc artwork which kept the symbol intact
Wait a minute, you guys may have just hit on it. I bet it means that the musical artists don't receive royalties on those pressings.
Hey, recently I'm also owner of a Columbia CD with this mysterious triangle sign. It's on my 1984 CD pressing of Roger Waters' Pros & Cons Of Hitch Hiking. Still no clue what this is. Any updated facts?
Maybe it's not even a triangle but three condensed and modern looking 'C' and 'D' letters saying 'this Compact Disc is three-dimensional'.^^
I found this DADC logo on Discogs. Obviously, if you take the black symbol on the right and arrange three of them, you get the triangle in a circle. But that's a bit of a stretch, I know. DADC
That is the international symbol for play, completely different from the symbol that we are talking about.
Responding to the claim by "JFTX" that Glassworks had the symbol in 1982. While Discogs is far from error free, below is what they cite as the first pressing in 1982. No symbol. A promo copy with different dead wax matrix also has no symbol. The symbol does appear on another Discogs listing that undoubtedly is a repressing from 1985 or later.
OK, I just did. At first I was looking at another button. Of course I don't think that your button is related to this conspiracy theory, but it sure does look similar. That is odd and another thing for us to consider since Phillips was in cahoots with Sony back then.