In regards to possible “Chinese” knockoffs, counterfeits....was the purchase made for the music or the packaging?...if the discs are direct clones of the original and something i really wanted to hear...i couldn’t care less about the packaging. Please do not respond with comments about “ lost royalties”....we’re not talking Taylor Swift or Beyoncé....most “classical” titles sell in the thousands not the millions. From a recent Gramophone article on sales... “The combined sales of the top 30 albums totalled 645,095 (this figure includes streams - 1000 streams is counted as an album sale), though more than 200,000 of these were of Andrea Bocelli's album Si. Overall, classical recordings saw album equivalent sales of 2.2m (CDs on their own sold 1.3m). 2017's figure was 2.02m, of which 1.25m were CD sales. While this is still lower than that for five years ago - figures for 2014 showed 2.58m album equivalent sales - the change in direction will still be very welcome news for all involved in classical recording”
They are selling stolen goods, just like selling a stolen car, a stolen watch, or a stolen pencil. I won't knowingly buy stolen goods.
I totally agree with you cdgenarian, but I want to play the devil's advocate here also: When we buy used CDs there are no royalties involved either, the record label or the performers are not receiving anything. If the labels want to stop or reduce the bootleg market, they should not limit the number of units produced. In some instances your only choices are used boxes or bootleg and in both cases, royalties are not there. They limit the quantities to create scarcity and increase prices, a natural result of this is an alternate market with fake products. Someone will supply the demand. Economics 101. I am not defending the bootlegs market at all, it's just how it is, I am sure that some artists don't like the "limited edition" concept at all (well most of them are dead anyway...)
Wow, this has been happening to Arkivmusic customers since (at least) January?? Did your order status ever change from "Accepted" to "Shipped"? Were you ever finally charged for the order? What upsets me the most, perhaps, is that their website has no information of any kind about a warehouse move, and orders being delayed (at least in terms of the seeming status of orders, and notification of shippings, and customers actually being charged) as a result. A person who didn't know otherwise would go to Arkivmusic's website, happily place an order, and have no idea that there might well be frustrating and ongoing issues with that order. This is deeply unfair to their customers.
Solti Complete Chicago Recordings (108 cd's) now 99.99€ at Amazon.de https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B073GSGGH1/
This is truly unacceptable service from Arkivmusic and/or from any business. I hope that your order wasn't a very large and expensive one. To have to be in a state of perpetual waiting, and never knowing when you will finally, actually, be charged for an order, months after having placed it, is just not right or fair. One thing that is truly strange about all of this is that it isn't only Arkivmusic's customers who are being seriously inconvenienced here. The business of Arkivmusic, itself, is also being harmed, because, due to the status of orders not being updated for months, Arkivmusic is not charging their customers (until the order statuses are finally updated) and collecting the money from their orders!
It was a small and not expensive order, and the credit card authorization has expired in the meantime.
Hmmm... I'm going to ask a question here which may seem like a stupid question, but I honestly don't know how this works, so I'm asking. If a credit card authorization expires, does that mean that the customer can never actually be charged for the order? I placed my Arkivmusic order via Paypal using a debit card (I don't have a credit card), and my authorization is currently still valid and the charge is still pending. I wonder how long it will take for the authorization to expire?
Ok. I may have to contact my bank (through which I got my debit card) and ask them about this Arkivmusic situation, in terms of what it means for my bank account. It's really a shame. I have enjoyed ordering from Arkivmusic in the past, and even though I know that some here don't like and won't buy CD-R's, I personally love their practice of reissuing out-of-print CDs through their ArkivCD program. One of the sets in my current order is a reissued one, which I would have otherwise had to go to Ebay to find. However, with the ongoing issues that they are having, it may be a long while before I order from them again.
A German seller on Discogs has a copy of The Baroque Era for sale. Various - The Baroque Era: 50xCD, Comp + Box, Ltd For Sale | Discogs
I'm really tempted with this one, but I hope it comes in at less than $300 USD (it's currently listed at 299 Euros at jpc). I don't have a single Walter recording in my collection. Is there anything in this box that you particularly revere? Do you generally prefer his New York recordings over his Columbia Symphony recordings?
SONY does everybody but Isaac Stern. What is up with that? The mainstay soloist for the label, the man who saved Carnegie Hall and one of the most loved people in all of classical music and who was very highly respected. Still no serious box.
Yes I prefer his New York recordings over his Columbia Symphony's. I particularly revere his mono Brahms Symphonies for example.
Walter studied under Mahler and conducted some world-premiere performances of Mahler. He didn't record everything Mahler wrote and his Columbia recordings lack the angst of people like Bernstein or Tennstedt. Doesn't mean you don't need it. And his Columbia Beethoven Pastoral is still considered one of the greatest Pastorals ever recorded.
I just searched for Bruno Walter on Amazon.co.uk. This deal wasn't quite what I wanted - but certainly a handsome offer! https://www.amazon.co.uk/Walter-dir...o+walter+box&qid=1556196005&s=gateway&sr=8-11
Leontyne Price Box Set £37.32 at Amazon.co.uk https://www.amazon.co.uk/Leontyne-P...GEP1H38C9E4&psc=1&refRID=Z2S09NZ1MGEP1H38C9E4
A sizeable reduction to EUR 59.99 for the Karajan 1938-60 Membran Set at JPC Herbert von Karajan - 1938-1960 Collection (117 CDs) – jpc
When I saw that post I decided not to comment, but since you're asking... Membran/Documents put out some of the worst sounding public-domain sets I've ever heard. That said, I haven't heard the Karajan.
To be sincere, and I have mentioned this before, I have several Membran sets and I am happy with them, but is because I have heard them before online to determine sound quality, because what you say is completely true, Membran sets cannot be bought with closed eyes, most of them sound pretty awful... I saw the price for the Karajan set a few days ago and even having a 20% coupon for JPC right now, I am not sure about buying it... JPC has some samples online for this set, and the sound quality is not promising.