Bowie Mercury Demos LP box on 28th June 2019

The linchpin, AFAIK, is that it has to be available for SALE.

Hence, the Dylan vinyl and the Beatles' giant itunes store drop. A 5-track EP of leftovers from the Stones' "Gimme Shelter" movie was available for streaming, but also crucially, available for sale in the Tidal store.

The Independent said, when Dylan's came out:

"It is understood that the release is an attempt to stop the [Dylan] tracks entering the public domain.

"Under European copyright law, copyright lasts between 50 and 70 years, but only to recordings that have been released within 50 years of them being made.

"Sony released the collection of Dylan’s demos shortly before the end of 2012, a half-century after they were originally recorded."​

 

if I recall a few years back The Beatles released something on itunes for a day or so at the end of the year and then it disappeared for good, though enough people downloaded them that they've stayed around on pirate sites. But it was a way to get those tracks out and therefore having an "official release". I guess they do these gimmick packages to at least give a "collectability". I honestly think once these releases sell out, there won't be second pressings. Part of me may get them just because I am a sucker for all things Bowie (though admittedly I listened to Spying Through A Keyhole once and put it on the shelf and haven't returned), but it's not high must-have priorities. IE, if there's nothing big to spend on that week, I may consider them, but I won't lose sleep.

 

I just learned that the current European term will remain 50 years after creation (not 70) for unreleased recordings, and will not change for recordings made in 1971, 1973, etc. This "tight" deadline for unreleased recordings persisted through the 2011 copyright law change, which generally made copyright terms for released recordings 70 and not 50 years.

Now, copyright terms vary from country to country, but are harmonised across the European Union. In 2011, the EU sound recordings copyright term was extended from 50 to 70 years after release. The extension went live in 2013, too late to keep The Beatle’s ‘Love Me Do’ in copyright (it having been released in 1962) but doing a fine job of extending the copyright term of much of the rest of the UK record industry’s valuable 1960s catalogue.

Except, the extended term only applies to the ‘after it is released’ bit of the law, not the ‘after it is recorded’ bit. Which basically means that tracks recorded but never released still lose copyright protection after 50 years, and in year 51 a release will no longer reboot the copyright. But if you get those recordings out in year 50, the copyright reboots and the 70 year term starts ticking anew. Actually, copyright terms expire at the end of the year during which the 50/70 year point passes, which is why 31 Dec was actually the deadline.

Universal releases Motown rarities album to reboot European copyright | Complete Music Update

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So the 2011 law change and the 2013 go-live did not change the terms for unreleased recordings. So.... I'm guessing we will see more copyright-preservation stuff through more than just "Space Oddity", as each release will earn a generous, shiny new 70-year copyright on anything they drop. Bootleggers beware.

 

That works for me, though I honestly look forward to more "authorized before his death" releases since I remember hearing Bowie had a 20 year plan set in motion before he passed of stuff he officially wanted released and when he wanted it (like Glastonbury 2000 last year). Though I'm surprised some of the acts who haven't dropped copyright extension releases. Simon And Garfunkel are a big one that comes to mind, I would've expected an uberdeluxe Bookends last year, but nothing.

 

I'm not an S&G expert on the Internet, but wasn't the "Bookends" album itself a bit of a round-up? "Mrs. Robinson", other previously recorded stuff? No?

 

True. A good chunk of the album were 1966-1967 singles, so I always figured there were a lot of unreleased tracks from said era. But then again, Paul Simon has always been a real perfectionist so I don't think he's someone who had a lot of unreleased demos and failed takes lying around.

 

At least Parlophone are consistent. I don’t think a label has succeeded in getting it so wrong. Their pressings are usually dire as well.

 

So anyone else still suckered into buying this because of the probability that it'll be out of print within six months and going higher than initially priced?

Now that it's $59 instead of $70 on Amazon, I'm just a hair less annoyed with it, though it's funny it's about $20 more than I paid for Glastonbury on vinyl and that's a triple record set with an entire concert on it

 

“One LP Box Set”? This makes me laugh.

 

Saw this in Media Markt in Vienna this morning, €99.99 !!!!

no sale!

Amazon Germany have the Velvet Undergrounds Matrix Tapes 8lp set for the same price!

 

I wish more walked away from these awful products designed for consumers rather than fans.

 

I think if we wait a little longer these sets are going to come down in price. I see Clareville Grove Demos on Amazon is about $10 cheaper than it was when it first hit the shelves

 

Local store part of the Plato chain has it for an even better € 109.99. But then they still haven't sold all previous vinyl box sets, except for Five Years.
It's not just a modest size box, bigger than many that contain 10-20 times more music.

 

I passed it today instore in London: £92.00 in HMV.

Quite a few customers were at its shelf. Ignoring it and looking at other things.

 

My local independent had it for £79.99 I thought that was expensive so I passed.

 

Yea, I passed too.... and footprintsinthesand is correct, that box is on freaking steroids, it's too bulky for so little.

 

Considering it's been in financial trouble recently it's surprising to see HMV still having some items vastly overpriced. There are a lot of fairly priced items and some bargains, but only yesterday I saw Michael Jackson Off The Wall vinyl at £26.99 and REM - Reckoning for £27.99. Both single LPs with nothing special about them. Things like that will only annoy customers and reinforce the preconception many have that HMV is too expensive. They need to be careful and look after their customers, not rip them off.

 

Ok so I paid about £64 for mine on Amazon.
It’s overpriced and there is too much packaging and has been said more than once before that must be to justify the price.
Really frustrating at the varying of formats , 2 single sets and now a single disc in a box.
My Roxy, T.rex, Depeche box sets manage to fit in Kallax shelves. So do the Bowie boxes and the RSD Bowpromo (only just) and the Stationtostation 2010 box.
This set though is marginally too big to fit.

The musical content though is very rewarding. The fact that each side seems to be the complete side to the tape that Bowie and Hutch did for Mercury, complete with between song comments etc makes this a really nice thing to have and I am glad I have it. Nice couple of sheets in there explaining the tracks too.
What would I change?
Little smaller box and charge no more than £30-£35.
Had matched Spying and Charville Grove to this ie single LP’s to make a matching set.

Anyway that’s my two pennies worth.

 

Thanks for the interesting discussions regarding the copyright and it being the (perhaps) sole reason for the release.
However, I would say that Parlophone should also release it on CD (for seasonable price) now! For their benefit. What good would it do to them waiting for a future release in 10 or 20 years? Then, streaming will be the only music distribution way, which will not make them a lot of many (compared to physical products, right?). I also might think,that then the total count of Bowie fans (interested in it) will be less than now. (I do not know how many Elivs fans are living now than compared to his high days. However, if currently more money is made with Elvis releases than back then, I think, this mainly is due to the fact that the wealth (ie. buying power) of the current generation(s) is higher than back then. This economic situation may not be the same in 10 - 20 years ...)

 

Now down to €60 from third party sellers on Amazon Germany.......still too expensive though.

 

i ordered it and i just received notification that it finally delivered today.
can't wait to check it out today.

 

Mercury Demos now available to stream

The Mercury Demos are available for streaming...

The 'Mercury' Demos (with John 'Hutch' Hutchinson)

Seems like someone at Parlophone had a change of heart... or this was planned all along to grab some money from preorders and collectors...

 

Outrageously expensive. £80 on Amazon, Lowest price 3rd party £57.

 

Absolutely this! I find people who lap up literally every release are part of this problem. Vote with your wallet, and perhaps get the kind of releases we really do want ultimately.