Post by cpwheeler November 21, 2012 (521 of 535)
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I am starting to give up hope of seeing any more issues in the Signature Collection. Perhaps EMI did not market it effectively. I would have been quite willing to pay slightly more for the discs to get them in SACD. At the issue prices, there probably was not a huge return without a significant volume and SACD still does retain an audiophile niche status.
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Post by rammiepie November 21, 2012 (522 of 535)
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cpwheeler said:
I am starting to give up hope of seeing any more issues in the Signature Collection. Perhaps EMI did not market it effectively. I would have been quite willing to pay slightly more for the discs to get them in SACD. At the issue prices, there probably was not a huge return without a significant volume and SACD still does retain an audiophile niche status.
Considering the expense of the remastering, the lavish packaging and the miniscule price for the SACDs (in the states some 3 disc sets were well under $20) I sincerely doubt the first batch was profitable and with the new Universal (or Vivendi) acquisition, and their SHM~SACD mentality, the future doesn't bode all that well for a second or third match to materialize.
Really hope I'm wrong......but corporations are in it for the profit....not for the prestige!
I managed to purchase 9 or the 10 initial Signature Collection sets and nitpicking aside, they did represent quality and a veritable bargain in this high priced SACD market.
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Post by seth November 21, 2012 (523 of 535)
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rammiepie said:
Considering the expense of the remastering, the lavish packaging and the miniscule price for the SACDs (in the states some 3 disc sets were well under $20) I sincerely doubt the first batch was profitable and with the new Universal (or Vivendi) acquisition, and their SHM~SACD mentality, the future doesn't bode all that well for a second or third match to materialize.
I think it's simpler than that: at this point EMI is barely a functional label. Their output is limited to the occasional new Pappano and Rattle recordings, and lots of budget boxes.
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Post by Daland November 21, 2012 (524 of 535)
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There may be a different explanation for the delay of the second batch. The Signature Collection consists of SACDs previously released in Japan by EMI Toshiba. So I think all items have to be released in Japan first because not even the Japanese would pay the relatively high prices if there was a less expensive option. This is what happened the first time round. As far as I remember, all or most recordings included in the Signature Collection had been released as separate discs for the Japanese market. For example, I bought the Schuricht accounts of Bruckner's Symphonies No. 8 and 9 only to discover somewhat later that they were available at a more attractive price.
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Post by Ubertrout November 21, 2012 (525 of 535)
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rammiepie said:
Considering the expense of the remastering, the lavish packaging and the miniscule price for the SACDs (in the states some 3 disc sets were well under $20) I sincerely doubt the first batch was profitable and with the new Universal (or Vivendi) acquisition, and their SHM~SACD mentality, the future doesn't bode all that well for a second or third match to materialize.
Why would you assume they didn't make money? There was no expense to the remastering - the remasterings had already been done for the Japanese market. I assume the whole purpose of the project was really just to wring a few more dollars our of their sunk cost in mastering the Japanese SACDs.
Likewise, the packaging was lavish and all that, but I doubt it cost all that much on a per unit basis...say $3 tops (someone can feel free to correct).
Besides, I've seen hearsay that the first batch was a success. Of course, hearsay is just that.
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Post by rammiepie November 21, 2012 (526 of 535)
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Ubertrout said:
Why would you assume they didn't make money? There was no expense to the remastering - the remasterings had already been done for the Japanese market. I assume the whole purpose of the project was really just to wring a few more dollars our of their sunk cost in mastering the Japanese SACDs.
Likewise, the packaging was lavish and all that, but I doubt it cost all that much on a per unit basis...say $3 tops (someone can feel free to correct).
Besides, I've seen hearsay that the first batch was a success. Of course, hearsay is just that.
I believe Bissie indicated that it costs roughly $1.50 per disc and since some of the Signature Series were 3 and four disc sets, the price may be a bit higher than you indicated and the packaging may have added $2~$3 to the set's final price.
My only concern would be Universal's recent acquisition of the EMI catalogue and their desire to recoup their purchase price by upping the ante on pricing.
The audiophile press and myself, included, thought very highly of the initial Signature Collection series and hope for its continued success.
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Post by rammiepie November 21, 2012 (528 of 535)
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Celebidache2000 said:
The sale of EMI to Universal went through (in September 2012) but not before (EU) regulators mandated that EMI Classics (and several other EMI-owned labels) be jettisoned. Don't know anything else about the status of EMI Classics. Looks like the company is currently being auctioned.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-11-19/emi-ends-era-with-sale-of-assets-from-motorhead-to-coldplay-2-.html
So it seems according to the article that EMI classics is on hold as far as any new releases are concerned.
Should be interesting.
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Post by hiredfox November 24, 2012 (529 of 535)
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rammiepie said:
So it seems according to the article that EMI classics is on hold as far as any new releases are concerned.
Should be interesting.
I guess all the contractual stuff has to be renegotiated following the change of ownership. May take some time as not such a big label any longer.
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Post by PhilipAC November 25, 2012 (530 of 535)
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And yet CD Japan are indicating a regular flow of new future EMI SACDs, presumably under the EMI(Japan) label. I thought that these were based on Abbey Road remasterings, so why are these continuing to come out and the EMI Classics versions are not?
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