Great recordings = OOP = ridiculous prices

[Jo498]

I must admit, when I post something, I usually have not looked at its current price...

Same here. I recall instances when I felt stupid or came close to retract a recommendation because posting and following and amazon link I had realized that it had become unavailable or only at ridiculous prices. But as Que says, it can still be helpful to know that a recording exists (on CD) at all and then one can take time to track it down at an acceptable price. I am guilty of getting obscure once in a life bargains... But I have never paid more than regular full price for a CD and would usually not recommend anything I find overpriced.

[Gurn Blanston]

I must admit, when I post something, I usually have not looked at its current price...

Before I rec, I do look at the price, but more importantly, I look at the availability. I might tell you that it is available but expensive, so that's up to you. But I almost never recommend a disk that I couldn't go out and buy again myself.

This may be a new thread (because Poju is working out the facts of life), but it's an old problem. My first posts here back in 2003 had to do with disks I really wanted but at the time were unavailable, or else $100+ each and a set of 9 at that. And now, with 2017 staring me in the face, those disks, Beethoven Sonatas / Badura-Skoda on Astrée, are STILL unavailable. They remain almost the only music which I have downloaded because I couldn't find/afford the actual media!   That's just the way it is in the CD business.

I spoke with a guy from Hyperion about the model for re-releasing disks and he said the economics just didn't work out for them. To me, a burn-on-demand, if it included a booklet, would be a wonderful thing. Especially a label like Hyperion who have so many unique items in their back catalog. The bronzing issues from the '90's are killing the used market from them and Nimbus. Damn!



PS - What the hell is wrong with Naxos? I have a bunch of Naxos disks which I am perfectly happy with. It's the music that counts, not some nebulous freaking dream of a perfect performance!

[Mirror Image]

Yes, not buying the recordings is a simple and easy solution, but it means 2 things:

(1) The divine wisdom of GMG regarding great recordings is often rendered useless for me.
(2) I have to feel myself inferior compared to others with my crappy cheap Naxos discs (even when I enjoy them).

If those great recordings were cheap and easy to get, these 2 problem could be solved, but it is too much to ask.

'The divine wisdom of GMG'? Okay, continue to dig that hole. You only feel inferior because you've placed that kind of negativity upon yourself. Nobody is forcing their opinion on you and demanding you buy anything you don't want. If you only want to buy Naxos recordings, that's your own business.

[prémont]

(2) I have to feel myself inferior compared to others with my crappy cheap Naxos discs (even when I enjoy them).

You do not need to. Many of those "cheap" Naxos disc's and also Brilliant Classics disc's are among my top choices as to the music in question. I would be very sad to be without them.

[Gurn Blanston]

You do not need to. Many of those "cheap" Naxos disc's and also Brilliant Classics disc's are among my top choices as to the music in question. I would be very sad to be without them.

Amen to that. If I had to give up my Naxos, and especially my Brilliant, disks, more than a little bit of my collection would be irretrievably lost. I only go to higher priced alternatives when that is all there is. 

[aligreto]

Nothing wrong with Naxos recordings, IMO.  A person could build themselves a decent classical music collection with nothing but Naxos discs....

Agreed on that; they were a great introduction to many composers and specific works for me and I still continue to buy them.

[71 dB]

Nothing wrong with Naxos recordings, IMO.

I agree. Only some early releases are bad. For example this one is really bad:

[asin]B01KAR3K4K[/asin]CPE Bach: Flute Sonatas 8.550513

Luckily I sampled it on Spotify before buying it. The balance between flute and harpsichord is totally wrong.

A person could build themselves a decent classical music collection with nothing but Naxos discs, or subscribe to the Naxos Music Library online for a fraction of the cost of purchasing the physical media.

I don't use online music libraries apart from free Spotify with adds, but I have about 550 Naxos discs and I am pretty happy with them.

[NJ Joe]

Thanks for this hint! I made myself an account! 

Here's a link to a site where I have an account.

https://www.discogs.com/sell/release/7449629?ev=rb

Fwiw, the disc is being offered used for $5 USD plus, I think, $14USD international shipping.

[71 dB]

Here's a link to a site where I have an account.

https://www.discogs.com/sell/release/7449629?ev=rb

Fwiw, the disc is being offered used for $5 USD plus, I think, $14USD international shipping.

Yeah, I saw that myself yesterday. I was like yippee, only $5! Then I saw the shipping cost. 
Now that I ordered the Ricercar Consort on Mirare, I can wait for a re-release of Ensemble Sonnerie. 

[71 dB]

'The divine wisdom of GMG'? Okay, continue to dig that hole. You only feel inferior because you've placed that kind of negativity upon yourself. Nobody is forcing their opinion on you and demanding you buy anything you don't want. If you only want to buy Naxos recordings, that's your own business.

In fact I am not in the mood of buying much anything, because a pipe repair is starting in my home January 23 meaning 2-3 months of chaos in my life. I need to survice that ordeal. In April I hope things get back on track. I feel like going to prison. 

[ComposerOfAvantGarde]

I agree that Naxos is great. If not for their usual good to excellent quality recordings (apart from maybe some of the very early ones) then the breadth of repertoire they cover.

Also, I have had a similar problem lately when wanting to get an OOP box set of electroacoustic works by Luc Ferrari. Luckily I can find it available for purchase as a download. Usually this tends to be the case as long as you are happy with downloads! Sometimes OOP single discs are available reissued in larger box sets as well..........but I don't know how often that happens.

[Pat B]

If it truly is a "great" recording, what difference does a few dollars/euro make?

When I'm buying something that I know is great to me — which usually means I have already heard it — I'll gladly pay a premium. But when I'm just taking someone else's recommendation, their great is not always aligned with my great, so I tend to be more sensitive to price.

[71 dB]

When I'm buying something that I know is great to me — which usually means I have already heard it — I'll gladly pay a premium. But when I'm just taking someone else's recommendation, their great is not always aligned with my great, so I tend to be more sensitive to price.

My monthly budget for CDs/DVDs/Blu-rays is 100 euros. If I use 40 euros for DVDs/Blu-rays, I have 60 euros for CDs. If I have to pay 20 euros for every CD, I can buy only 3 CDs a month, but if I pay 7 euros for them in average, I can buy nine. Without a budget I would probably spend all my savings on this stuff. Before I had a budget (over 10 years ago), I was spending 200-300 euros a month! 

[Jo498]

Maybe this does not work so well in Finland because you'd often have to pay shipping from the UK or Germany where there are more offers. But if you go for used CDs and have patience you rarely need to pay more than 10 EUR for what is usually full price and will get quite a few discs for 1-4 EUR, sometimes with a little more for shipping.

[71 dB]

Maybe this does not work so well in Finland because you'd often have to pay shipping from the UK or Germany where there are more offers. But if you go for used CDs and have patience you rarely need to pay more than 10 EUR for what is usually full price and will get quite a few discs for 1-4 EUR, sometimes with a little more for shipping.

That's true and I have managed to buy "tons" of CDs paying 2-5 euros delivered (e.g. Bax Symphony 6 on Naxos: 3,36 euros delivered). It's the "strongly recommended in GMG" discs such as BWV 1079 by Ensemble Sonnerie when most of the time those discs happen to be OOP and the prices are ten-fold what I typically pay for my CDs.

[71 dB]

Bach: The Musical Offering BWV 1079 /Ensemble Sonnerie

Amazon.co.uk marketplace has 3 sellers:

£23.95 used
£50.17 new
£53.95 new

Well, £23.95 isn't "astronomical", but used CDs should not be over £15 imo. £50 is ridiculous even for a new disc.

Just bought this CD for £6.99 + shipping used thanks to camelcamelcamel. So, "triple camel" is a partial solution to OOP problem. During the first 45 days the service has alerted me about 2 discs. The first was Weinberg's Cello Concerto/Symphony No. 20 on Chandos, which is a fantastic disc!