Anyone Bought Commercially Released CDs That Seem to BE CD-Rs?

This is fraud and it's illegal. Maybe I should talk to a class action lawyer.

 

Several years ago I purchased an Original Album Series set of the Stone Temple Pilots put out by Rhino. The fifth disc, Shangri-La Dee Da, had the songs all out of order from the original track-listing. It was like listening to the album on random and then one day someone pointed it out to me that the songs were all in alphabetical order.

The other four discs were fine. Now, I'm not sure if this was a CD-R but something certainly was amiss.

 

Hidden in small print of course, so a lot of people (by which I mean me) don't know it's a 10x overpriced CD-R until they get it. Bait & switch bull****...

 

Very true, it's extremely deceptive. It's worth noting, in other cases, none of the listings for the Acrobat Music label titles indicate they are CD-R and yet every one of them I've received up through 2016 was CD-R. Unless you're fortunate enough to own a copy from the original pressing from 8 or 10 years ago, expect it to be a CD-R. As for upcoming titles such as the Don Gibson set, it probably won't ever be released as a real CD pressing. Below are a few examples.

Bobby Darin - Bobby Darin: The Complete US & UK - A & B Sides, 1956-62 - Amazon.com Music »


Jimmie Rodgers - Complete US & UK Singles As & Bs 1957-62 - Amazon.com Music »

Don Gibson - Complete Singles A's & B's 1952-62 - Amazon.com Music »

 

None of the Original Album Series I've purchased have been CD-R, although I've had playbility issues with some of the discs in certain sets. Some examples which immediately come to mind are the Monkees and Byrds Original Album sets, which are now obsolete due to the complete box sets. However, none of those were CD-R for any of the discs. In fact, I remember contacting Sony about the issue and they told me to return the sets where I purchased them.

 

I have a few that's kind of ho-hum looking. CDs I ordered by sellers through Amazon of out of print albums. Advertised as being genuine. I don't know how difficult it is to seal a CD, or to copy a commercial release. I would think that modern technology makes it easier than ever to replicate something, if you have the tools and know the craft.

 

A couple of Original Jazz Classics CDs I bought some months ago. I was a huge fan of OJC discs, both CD and LP, but I have avoided buying any one since.

 

No, I'm sorry, I don't know. This is the only Cameo Parkway I've had experience with.

 

In our current economic climate, it's important for labels to build a solid reputation while maintaining a strong relationship with consumers. Reissue labels such as Real Gone Music and Omnivore are two examples which have consistently demonstrated their ability to meet the needs of consumers and without sacrificing product quality. I fail to understand why any reissue label would risk damaging their reputation by knowingly deceiving buyers and retailers and resorting to tactics such as misrepresenting product and shipping CD-Rs. I'm referring to actual reissue labels, not the Amazon "made on demand" titles which are explicitly advertised as CD-R and offer no surprises. People purchase "made on demand" titles knowing they will typically receive low quality artwork and audio burned to a CD-R.

As a music enthusiast and collector like most of you, I'm a firm believer in full product transparency. However, the bait and switch tactic of shipping CD-Rs in place of real CDs is becoming far too common and these labels need to have consequences.

I recently orderd a Bear Family Records box set for $80, only to discover it is a CD-R. However, there was no indication in the product information that the box set was no longer being manufactured as real CDs. After discussing this issue with other Bear Family loyalists and members on this forum, I've detected a pattern where if you purchase a title by lesser-known artist who is not considered A-list, the discs you receive could possibly be manufactured as CD-R.

For many years, Bear Family was my favorite reissue label and the betrayal I've felt after making this horrific discovery is almost comparable to that of marital infidelity from a cheating spouse. Bear Family are not a shady grey market label such as Acrobat Music, although their recent behavior is very concerning and contradictory to their overall commitment to quality.

 

yes, but from the artists website, although it wasn't specified, i thought i was ripped off

 

Good point. I've noticed a few times where the artists themselves don't know or understand the difference between a duplicated (CD-R) disc and a replicated (CD) disc.

 

My suspicion is that the cheap Ritek media used by companies like Universal for their "legit" CD-R pressings will not last long enough to ever be of any resale value.

 

Just bought the House of Love 'Live at the BBC' CD on Universal, new, direct from Amazon. It came sealed, all looks good, the 8 page insert looks professionally printed, the print on the CD non-playing surface is professional with a gloss finish but the CD is a CDR. It has a matrix RFD80M-79247. Must have been made/burnt in factory and isn't a CD on Demand from Amazon. At least there is no mention on the webpage of it being CD on Demand. I'll be sending this back. Very disappointing.

 

It sounds like Universal must be selling CDRs of some of its titles without specifying that they are not CDs (as I questioned in my original post), maybe even some releases whose original run on the label were silver CDs. Is the matrix number on your House of Love CDR printed on the inner plastic ring of the disc?

The "Bear Family Non A-List CDR situation," mentioned by another poster, is disappointing to learn of, but would be consistent with the Gravedigger "Janus" double disc, CDR sets I've encountered, purportedly released by Universal (I couldn't imagine that the Gravedigger release is anywhere near an A-List release for Universal).

I've still not unearthed a definitive answer to the question of whether the Gravedigger CDR sets are "authorized" instead of bootlegs, but based on another comment referencing the "Ritek equipment used by Universal to make its CDRs," it sounds like this practice at Universal must be pretty common.

All very interesting information, although it does seem to indicate a disturbing trend among major labels, and even specialty, connoisseur labels like Bear Family.

 

On the inner plastic ring is the code :- SI1301140914A19. This doesn't seem to correspond to any catalogue number for the release which is:- 5312944 or the full barcode:- 600753129449.

According to Discogs the following should be present:-

• Matrix / Runout: 06007 531 294-4 01 * 52262154

• Matrix / Runout: MADE IN GERMANY BY EDC

These are definitely not there on this disc.
This is the first CD like this I've come across in over 3000 purchases. It's made wary of releases that are a few years old now.

 

Regular pressed CDs can use "black" polycarbonate (you'll see that it's actually dark red under bright light - i.e., it allows transmission of red light, as used by the laser in a CD player). Have you ascertained that these are CD-Rs other than using their colour appearance?

The old Playstation games used the same coloured polycarbonate but were pressed discs - it is also something that has been used on pressed CDs on occasion.

 

As with mastering for the masses and other devolving practices within the music industry....

The vast, vast majority won't know nor care. I'd bet the vast majority who get these cdr's never even look at the surface to even notice a difference. Then after that..even if they do notice and seem to mind...they won't care what it's ripped from or what software or equipment they were made on. It just doesn't matter.

I always ask a seller about the cd I'm buying online if they don't post an actual picture. But that's rare for me...95+% of the time my sellers post the top and underside of each cd I buy. I rarely trust 'new' especially the highly suspected. I feel lucky to have the taste in music that allows me to focus on older issues and masterings and REAL pressed cd's. This cdr process is just another feather in the cap of lousy modernity.

 

What is the exact difference between regular cd's and cdr's ?

 

Those black CDs are not CDRs

 

[According to Discogs the following should be present:-

• Matrix / Runout: 06007 531 294-4 01 * 52262154

• Matrix / Runout: MADE IN GERMANY BY EDC

These are definitely not there on this disc. This is the first CD like this I've come across in over 3000 purchases. It's made wary of releases that are a few years old now.[/QUOTE]

Discogs can be very helpful, but by no means does the absence of a "version" on Discogs mean it's not a label-authorized version, nor does the presence of some edition not accompanied by the notation "unofficial" mean that it's an officially licensed release. Likewise, there are various editions of releases on Discogs that do indicate they are "unofficial," but, unfortunately, they provide no explanation of why the creator of the entry believes the particular edition is unofficial (e.g. some but not all entries on the Gear Fab label), or no description of the characteristics by which the unofficial (fake/counterfeit) editions can be identified (e.g. the potentially helpful label listing for the numerous bootlegged Esoteric label releases, only some of which have notations that inform the reader as to why it is listed under the fake Esoteric label instead of the real Esoteric label - and often, even comparing an entry for a specific authentic Esoteric item with the fake version provides no real distinction between the two).

 

I've bought several CDs from bandcamp artists that turned out to be CD-Rs. I no longer buy anything physical from them.

 

I've gotten a bunch over the years of psych-prog collecting. Feels like getting burned by a (record) dealer. It seems that the cd-r situation is like that period when makers wanted to phase out vinyl for cd and produce insultingly thin and warped records. Maybe they think everything's going to be a download in the futuire anyway.

 

It's happened to me with both CDs and DVDs, some legit, released that way but not made clear anywhere, some counterfeits I did realize and rejected . Did a backup of them just in case.

 

I was going by appearance by comparing the Cameo Parkway disc with a blank Black Memorex CD-R.
Now, comparing both in bright light, they look identical and both reflected a reddish hue at certain angles, so the Cameo Parkway disc does look like a CD-R. I went through the booklet and could find nothing in the notes about the disc's format or type. I sure have been proved wrong many times before in these forums by very knowledgeable members. So I must conclude that you and Dennis Metz are right, and again, I stand corrected, Thank You.

 

I must conclude that you and Mal are right, I stand corrected, Thank You.