Yeah, I think @Mal posted that at some point. It was one of the things that drove me to the conclusion I arrived at.
Oh, s**t. Here we go again LOL EDIT - Wait a second... 7" singles = No possible connection to the Sony digital disc format? Vinyl only?
There was a theory that seven inch singles didn't have the symbol because they had a barcode, but there are corresponding twelve inch singles that have a barcode and the symbol.
Without seeing the contract between Sony and CBS that governed the use of the (Sony?) logo, these inconsistencies can be impossible to sort out for every case. If Sony was just adding a covert symbol to CBS CDs/vinyl they might have limited it to CDs and 12" vinyl because th0se almost always had the material from the 7" records included anyway.
So upon further review I'm just more confused. There are single releases such as "Smooth Criminal" and "57 Channels" that have the symbol on the twelve inch and cassette but not the corresponding CD.
I don't see the logo on the label of the 12" dance mix of Smooth Criminal but I do see it on a CD. 57 Channels I don't see the logo on the cassette or Sony Japan CD remixes of 57 Channels. Can you provide photos verifying your contention?
It's my understanding that the symbol generally isn't found on JP releases. And you're correct, I did eventually find the symbol on the "Smooth Criminal" CD3. It's not on the CD5 which is a promo, though there are countless other promo releases that do have the symbol. Here it is on the twelve inch:
Thanks. There are No Logo US 12" issues of Smooth Criminal with And without the barcode though on Discogs. These are dance remixes. Don't know how they are handled? 57 Channels only seems available on remixes. I don't know if that affects anything with the logo. The album Human Touch which includes 57 Channels does have the logo.
I still say it possibly has to do with early digital sourcing. It started in 1985 when CD's started to be massed produced and old titles were being issued on the CD format. To illustrate I have two vinyl reissues from around 1986/87. One is Chicago's Greatest Hits that has the symbol, the other is Aerosmith's Greatest Hits which doesn't. Why the inconsistencies? There has to be a reason why they added it to certain reissues and not others. I don't think it's entirely random.
It doesn't matter when you bought it, it matters when it was manufactured. A possible reason why the Aerosmith LP doesn't have the symbol is that it was only manufactured on LP in the US prior to 1985.
I don't think so because it has an updated version of the "Nice Price Over One Million Sold" sticker, which was used circa 1986 and later on. It also has an updated bar code on the back. I worked in a record store years ago. The later reissues have larger bar codes with prefixes 01, 02, and 03 on the top right which were used approximately from 1986 -1990. The 03 code would indicate the last reissue (circa 1989/1990). i guarantee you will never find any Aerosmith Greatest Hits record with the symbol on it. It is true that vinyl and covers were produced separately, at separately facilities. Did they over press and have thousands of extra records while they ran out of covers, perhaps, but this title is not the only example.
Separate facilities for stickers and sleeves is the point. As far as I can tell, the actual LP's manufacture date predates the symbol's use.
Another example of the symbol's appearance on both sides of an LP: the (new) 30th anniversary Licensed To Ill which is ostensibly not (any longer) a Columbia release.
