Love-Hounds-request@GAFFA.MIT.EDU (12/19/90)
Really-From: derek%sunstroke@sdsu.edu (Derek Langsford)
Fellow Love-hounds
A big THANK YOU to all who sent me info about the CD box prices. It has been
quite illuminating. It looks like Canada, Germany, New Zealand and Australia
(if you can find it) are the cheapest places for the set. Unfortunately I
only have one data point for all but Canada out of these, so sampling error
may give the impression it is overly cheap there.
Below the results is a draft letter I propose to send to Mr. Steve Davis,
Product Manager at EMI London. I am sure all of you will not agree with what
I have said. If you have any suggestions to make, please email me. The
letter will not be mailed until after New Year as I will be away for a week
from Thursday and I have too much to do before then. It will also give some
of you time to respond.
Results of the survey :
price $US price in tax store city Country
local currency
$137.61 180.00 $AUS incl EMI Adelaide Adelaide Australia
$72.52 83.94 $CDN incl A&B Sounds Vancouver BC Canada
$112.32 130.00 $CDN incl ? Quebec PQ Canada
$77.76 90.00 $CDN incl ? Vancouver BC Canada
$251.72 899.00 FIM incl 21% Diskeri Imports Helsinki Finland
$276.78 1400.00 FF incl Megastore Paris France
$168.05 850.00 FF incl La Fnac Paris France
$168.05 850.00 FF incl various Paris France
$128.51 650.00 FF incl various Paris France
$134.49 199.99 DM incl 14% Wunderland Nuernberg Germany
$193.08 3239.00 FI incl Free Record Shop Nijmegen Netherlands
$88.32 149.95 $NZ incl 12.5% ? Wellington New Zealand
$203.97 1190.00 NOKR incl 20% ? Oslo Norway
$169.69 990.00 NOKR incl 20% Compact-Huset Haugesund Norway
$205.28 1150.00 SKR incl Megastore Stockholm Sweden
$183.33 94.99 #UK incl 15% Haken & Bell Oxford UK
$189.12 97.99 #UK incl 15% HMV & Virgin stores UK
$214.49 214.49 $US 7.25% Off the Record San Diego CA USA
$182.31 182.31 $US 7.25% Lou's Records Encinitas CA USA
$164.92 164.92 $US 8.50% Midnight Records New York NY USA
$195.30 195.30 $US 8.50% ? New York NY USA
$135.00 135.00 $US 8% All Things Kate Bellingham WA USA*
$216.00 216.00 $US 8% Various Boston MA USA
$192.60 192.60 $US 7% Desert Island Records Potsdam NY USA
$237.60 237.60 $US 7% Music Shack Albany NY USA
$212.49 212.49 $US 6.25% Vintage Vinal St Louis MO USA
$169.99 169.99 $US 6.25% Now Hear This St Louis MO USA
$176.14 176.14 $US 6.75% Go-Boys Records Torrance CA USA
$187.68 187.68 $US 7.25% CDSounds San Diego CA USA
* mail order of sets from Canada
The letter :
Dear Mr. Davis,
Re : Kate Bush - "This Woman's Work" CD box set
Thank you for replying to the letter Andrew Marvick and I wrote dated
September 4th. I realise now that it was far too late for further input into
the project. Unfortunately, we did not hear about the release until it was
clearly too late. The purpose of this letter is to bring to your attention
the reception of the Kate Bush Box Set by fans around the world and certain
aspects of its marketing.
First, I believe all fans are pleased that her b-sides have been
consolidated and are available on compact disc, vinyl and cassette as a
legitimate release. The set has been hard to get in some parts of the world
including some areas of the USA and in Australia where there are apparently
strict quotas for its distribution. Hopefully all those that want the set
will be able to get it.
Apart from availability, there are other complaints that some of us have
about the set. One that has surfaced is the disparate prices the CD sets are
being sold for around the world. I instigated a survey on the Love-hounds
computer network newsgroup to get prices which were being asked by stores
across the globe. The responses reveal that the set is far cheaper in certain
countries than in others. More specifically, it seems that in the UK and USA
(Kate's larger markets I would assume) one can find some of the highest prices
in the world. Below are the summarized results of my survey. All prices
include local sales taxes which are between 6 and 20%. The results of the
full survay from which this was derived are appended to this letter.
Country cost in US $
Australia $138
Canada $73-$113
Finland $252
France $129-$276
Germany $135
Netherlands $193
New Zealand $89
Norway $170-$204
Sweden $205
UK $184-$190
USA $165-$238
What is most perturbing is that the exact same sets (EMI UK produced) are
being sold for so little in Canada, Germany, New Zealand and Australia, yet,
for so much in the UK and other European countries where shipping costs will
be much less. I believe the sets in Canada are being distributed through your
Canadian subsidiary. Why are they being sold so cheaply there? UK, other
European customers, and some in the USA in particular are clearly being
gouged. The price in the UK is uniformly set at between #94.99 and #97.99 so
fans have little choice as to what they pay. In France the range of prices is
preposterous. A similar situation exists in the USA. The cost to US dealers
is approximately $125 (#64) meaning profit margins for the sellers are
sometimes close to 100%. I realise this is largely a function of the market
place. I personally believe that the music industry has been exploiting CD
customers in the UK with higher than necessary prices : the Kate Bush Boxed
Set continues this practice. I have seen UK manufactured discs sell for under
$12 in the USA at full retail price whereas in the UK they sell for #12. The
difference is clearly not related to production or shipping costs. The only
justification for such prices is because it is what the market will bare. I
personally believe consumers deserve more respect.
Another gripe is the fact that many of the discs in the set can be
purchased separately at mid-price (#8) in the UK yet the set sells for
approximately #12 per disc. Normally, boxed sets sell for less than what
separately purchased discs cost so as to act as an incentive to purchase a
multiple-disc set. This did not occur for "This Woman's Work". It is felt
the extra costs for the new discs do not justify this price hike. Can you
explain why this is possibly the most expensive set, on a per disc basis, to
have ever been released?
In paying such a premium for the set most found the disc booklets fell
far short of what they should have been. There were no lyrics for the new to
CD songs and no source information. The photographs have been commended but
for CD purchasers the small size was disappointing in comparison to the LP
pictures which are apparently quite stunning. CD purchasers again feel short
changed. CD box sets are often released in LP sized boxes with full-size
booklets. As a result it is felt an opportunity was missed. And despite Kate
having a large say in the project, as she usually does with her work, I
believe EMI had the ultimate control of the packaging. Needless to say most
fans are unimpressed with the minimal effort put into the booklets.
As Andy and I stated in our letter of September 4th there were concerns
from fans who already owned all of Kate's albums on CD, with many having
specially purchased the UK discs. The duplicate purchase of these discs was a
sickening prospect. We advised that to make the album discs in the set
special, i.e. with bonus tracks or special edition booklets, would ease some
of the concerns. Unfortunately EMI's minimum effort approach has left many
fans upset. Instead of making the fans happy, EMI has embittered them. It is
felt that EMI are to be blamed for a complete lack of consideration for her
most loyal followers: the majority of whom already had all her albums on CD.
Lastly there have been rumours about a separate release in the USA of the
b-sides discs (source: Tower Records magazine). Some who cannot afford the
full boxed sets are hopeful. Others who purchased the boxed sets, including
many who already had all her albums on CD, are quite angry about this. If
this was planned before the release of the boxed set many fans will be simply
outraged. Could you confirm that EMI have no plans to issue a separate 2 disc
release of the b-sides discs in the USA or UK?
In the future it would be worthwhile for EMI to somehow get the opinions
of potential customers before releasing large boxed sets. I understand that
the staff at Homeground (the UK's only official Kate Bush Fanzine) were shut
out of the project completely. This would have been the most obvious place to
have obtained some fan and consumer input.
To conclude I will summarise by saying that the "This Woman's Work" CD set
has had a mixed response from the fans. From a musical standpoint it is
wonderful despite some b-sides being omitted. However, most fans are not
completely happy with it. There have been many frustrations: the difficulty
of obtaining the sets in some areas; the variability in price; the minimal
packaging and information contained, the complete duplication and redundant
purchase of the album CDs; the perceived lack of respect for the loyal fans,
and, the often excessively high cost. I realise that EMI are not a charity
but a little more respect for the wishes of the fans - the chief buyers -
would go a long way. Fortunately for EMI, Kate's fans are a loyal bunch, but
with the "This Woman's Work" CD set you have all but destroyed any respect
fans may have had for EMI.
I and many other fans look forward to your response to my questions.
Sincerely yours
Derek Langsford
Derek
_____________________________________________________________________________
Derek Langsford | "It could take me all my life,
Polperro->Edinburgh->San Diego | or it could only take a moment..."
derek@sunstroke.sdsu.edu | Kate Bush, Love & Anger
_____________________________________________________________________________