Why So Many Box Sets?

Plus many artists have either retired or are reaching retirement. Emptying the vaults and doing remasters/remixes is way to keep cash flow going.

 

Some of these box sets are ridiculous. Take the new Judas Priest 50th anniversary celebration. 42 CDs selling for $500.

The worst part is, there is killer live material I'd LOVE to own, but I'm NOT going to repurchase every studio LP to gain access to a few live shows.

https://judasprieststore.shop.music...-heavy-metal-years-of-music-exclusive-box-set

 

I wonder if there’ll come a point when the physical media is completely irrelevant (more so than now), but the physical packaging will still be produced just to satisfy the tactile needs of certain consumers, with artwork, book, etc, packaged together with a streaming code or some such other key to the content?

 

Welcome to Lorde's "discless format"....the beginning of the end
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Solar-Powe...ds=lorde+solar+power+cd&qid=1631802159&sr=8-2

 

$$$$$$$$$$

 

Feed the addiction

 

Looks like somebody's never gonna make it down to America in time for County Fair Season...

 

a great company from Germany...a link has been posted.

 

I'm a Grateful Dead fan so I have my share of box sets, but at least those are usually almost all unreleased material. And nobody's forcing me to buy them so I don't see an issue. They're luxury purchases that I'm fortunate to be able to afford.

It's very rare for me to buy a deluxe edition of an album. Unless it's a live show, the extra material will probably get one play, and frequently the "remastering" is worse than the older versions. A rare recent exception is the Wildflowers set, which had great sound and exceptional additional material.

 

It's like what they say in Detroit, small cars means small profits.

 

I've basically just stopped buying boxsets. Too many, too expensive and not enough space to store them. I've found I play these sets far more vis streaming. I guess it's easier and more enjoyable to select and play randomly for a few hours.

 

If you don’t already have it, the EMI/Warner Karajan box is essential, his later DG recordings perhaps less so (with some notable exceptions of course).

 

My question is - does anyone put up the posters or use the stickers, wear the T-shirts they include in these boxes??

 

The difficulty is, having been a music fan for a long time, it’s hard not to re-buy material I already have.
I usually buy CD sets, but made an exception for THE BEATLES IN MONO and I’m glad I did, not only as a fan, but as a vinyl investment. I have it on CD also.

I had two cheap Tangerine Dream VIRGIN YEARS compilation CD sets, but bought about half of that material again when I bough the ‘IN SEARCH OF HADES’ box set. However, there were around 10 CD’s worth of unreleased material in the set, not to mention a DVD and Blu-Ray disc. I also got it new at half price, so I was very happy with the investment.

Almost all my box sets were bought used years ago and they haven’t been getting much play. It’s easy to unload Miles Davis box sets, such as THE CELLAR DOOR SESSIONS, so they get sold if they’re not getting used.

Others I’ll keep, such as KEITH JARRETT AT THE BLUE NOTE.
I have to love it to keep it.

 

Will have to look at the Warner box (is it a 'complete recordings' set as per the Complete Decca box?) - I understand some of the reservations some have regarding Karajan's 80s recordings, but so help me I love his 1980s Dvorak 9th Symphony & Peer Gynt albums.

Do you have a link for the Warner set so I know what to look for?

 

I might wear the T shirts if they were big enough.

 

No, I give it at least 10 years.

 

Here you go:

Herbert von Karajan - Complete Remastered Edition | Warner Classics

It's going for crazy money right now, I'm sure Warner/EMI will repackage this set again sooner rather than later.

 

Once they see how much these “inheritances” are worth, new generations might catch on to the box set concept.

 

Lol, $250, no problem, I'm rich!!

 

People like owning physical things that are reminders of memories and signify their love of something. Box sets are an aesthetically pleasing method of checking these boxes. And in the world of streaming and downloads we've been in for 20 years now, something physically substantial (multiple discs, book, posters, etc.) is like a countermeasure against the popular norm.

 

Some are ridiculous, some are money grabs, but some are great.

 

I’m actually on my third go-through on the Harrison demos/outtakes/jams and am still discovering more to love. I like how these discs were sequenced more like a regular album and not 10 versions of the same songs like on the recent Dylan 1970 set.

 

True

Yes, but the 8-LP box WAS in my opinion. They did drop the ball on the CD SDE though. Completely agree.

 

I don't seem to get many sets with posters, stickers etc

I have framed the 4 Stones posters in the Goats Head Soup set - they look fab.

Only ever had 1 t-shirt - which was in a box for Alice Coopers Paranormal album and it came as XL and far too big to wear or else I would have.