I guess it's been 3 years since the last major Beatles release. Back in 2009 they did a complete remaster of their original studio albums and put them out in CD format, then on iTunes again in 2010.
It looks like in about a month and a half (November 13th, 2012 in North America) they're going to be releasing those same remasters, only this time on Vinyl, with a ton of artwork and a limited edition 252 page hardbound book written by award winning radio producer Kevin Howlett.
Dude I love the Beatles, but lets be honest... they've really gone Lucas on us haha. Well actually to be fair, The Beatles, Lucas, and anyone else who keeps releasing has a good reason to if the demand is still there. It's like, if you love something so much, but new material isn't coming out for it, having another recycle of the same material isn't all that awful. I mean seriously, I was THIS close to watching that Star Wars - Clone Wars cartoon for kids back in the day. I was just that desperate for more Star Wars stuff.
And this also reminds me of another point that DIY musicians like myself still have a hard time wrapping our heads around: The value in scarcity. When I first saw that the "Limited Edition" hardbound book came in 50,000 copies, I LOL'ed. Fifty...
thousand copies is 'limited'? And yet people will buy it. When I saw it myself I even had a slight feeling of "Oh no, only 50,000 copies... but i wanttttttt" haha. Granted, they are The Beatles, and whether or not you think they're great, there is a world full of people who will buy up every last thing they put out... or should I say at this point that their business managers put out? ha.
But yeah... DIY musicians... if you're listening, maybe we should all hop on board more with this "Value in Scarcity" thing. I hear it all the time, yet I have a hard time buying into it... and yet examples are all around me. I actually once used to wear a Nintendo hat to gigs for over a year (and this was during a semi-heavy gig year, for me anyway). I wore the thing so much in the sun that it turned from Black to Brown with weird water streaks all over it (from me sweating on stage, I guess). One day I lost it and I was a little bit bummed, and I happened to mention that I'd rather have just given it away to a fan than have it be totally lost. At the time I said it, I also was thinking "Yeah right, as if anyone would want my dirty old hat off my disgusting sweaty head"... and yet as soon as I mentioned it I actually got a lot of messages from fans saying they wished they had it. I thought
what the fuck?
But I guess there is value in scarcity.
Oh yeah... right... The Beatles! On vinyl! Yay!
Do any of you have a record player at home?