Intrada Soundtrack Forum

It's a real balancing act: Trying to meet the demands of an unpredictable marketplace AND sustain a successful business model. We understand the nature of limited edition soundtracks. We helped establish the very concept back when LPs were king and most of the labels you now currently know and love weren't yet even born.

But if something sells out in a matter of hours, even though that's considered having a big hit in our industry... well, I just think we mis-fired as poorly as if we had invested in a project that tanks. Literally.

Early this morning we saw what was happening on EXPLORERS. And Jeff - rightly so - pointed out to me how frustrated he would be as sales manager to get a call later in the day from Joe Dante - excitedly wanting to order an expanded edition soundtrack from his own picture!! - only to be told they were already gone. WTF?!

So, yes, it's tough trying to get this down pat. For every person that might be frustrated if they purchased a copy of some CD only because it was limited, we recall letters from people saying they were frustrated because they missed out on something that sold out in 24 hours.

And I think 24 hours is just too darn quick. Yeah, I love the income. But I don't enjoy going home to play a CD of SPACECAMP or EXPLORERS or ONE LITTLE INDIAN or BABY or whatever and realize many other fans can't. That sucks the joy out of it, success be damned.

A lot of soundtracks are limited by nature of the beast. If they don't sell, they get deleted no matter what the pressing run. It's always been that way, long before we were here... which in itself goes back 26 years now. And this will continue. And by the same token, we'll continue to license and release soundtracks that really should not go out of print. My personal feeling is that THE GREAT ESCAPE and PATTON should be around for a long long time. They're genuine landmarks. They should always be in someone's catalog. However, things like EXPLORERS or ONE LITTLE INDIAN are a bit less "famous", for lack of a better word. On those, it makes sense to try and find out the right quantity for the marketplace, deliver it, and then let the title disappear.

We can still announce when a title is limited, based on our new policy. We'll anticipate the demand. If we're on the money, it'll get around to the people who want it and then we can quietly retire it and move on. If we under-estimate the demand, we can make it possible for people to still obtain copies at reasonable prices. And if we over-estimate... well, the title will get the axe. How quickly is too fast for a sell-out? I don't know for sure but 12 hours or 24 hours certainly is too fast!! As Roger and Jeff have discussed, after a few days, perhaps a week or two, if things linger on a release we'll bail on it. And speculators and fans only wanting those words "limited edition" on their releases will have their day. BUT... hopefully, we can better meet our market needs on the first day or two of the release itself.

There are still AFM and licensing restrictions that will necessarily guide our overall decisions. But we're trying to be the good guys here, not the bad guys. And that's one heck of a slippery slope. We know some people will be unhappy no matter what happens. But, maybe, just maybe, you fans who love this music and support it will finally get to have a big say in just how limited the title will be.
--Doug

I guess it's no big harm if 500 extra copies are produced, or even 2000 !
You're right about this : everyone should have the right to play a film soundtrack in their home, and we should encourage more people to do so, instead of getting us locked inside this limited market jail... What you're doing is just opening the window a little bit more, and that's the best thing to do !
And if Joe Dante can get his CD, I'll be more than happy too ! Hail to Joe anyway ! This is all thanks to him...

I support this idea wholeheartedly! I've gotten pretty good at never missing a title I really want by knowing exactly when each label announces their new limited editions, but every so often I am unable to check the computer and I miss out on some great stuff. I don't care about a limited pressing for the mere sake of its exclusivity. For me it's always been about the music. Over the years I've often wondered why more people don't get jazzed about these scores like I do. More recently I've noticed it has a lot to do with a lack of exposure. When I introduce something like "Break Out" from Capricorn One to someone who's never really heard movie music -- really heard it I mean, as a separate piece of music and not as something a lot of people don't realize they're hearing during a film -- I get looks of exhilaration and awe. I've gotten the same kind of reactions from people hearing Beethoven for the first time as well. People really do love this stuff. My nephew just turned six and when he comes over he always asks me to put on some J.G. (it's short for Jerry Goldsmith in my household) and now he wants to start his own soundtrack library. I hope for his sake and for the sake of others who haven't had a chance to taste the wondrous beauty of symphonic music that this plan proves both lasting and successful.

All the best to you at Intrada Records!

And thanks so much for Explorers!

Call me egomaniac, but as long as I have a valid chance on buying a title, I don´t care if it is limited or not, if it is pressed 1000 or 5000, as long as it doesn´t sell out this fast like Explorers (or Commando) did. I don´t mind if titles that had a limited release gets repressed either as that means more people gets to enjoy the music. That´s the most important thing. Those who nags about a 3000 unit shall remain a 3000 unit and not be repressed are COLLECTORS and NOT soundtrackfans... Real fans of this wants to share the enjoyment with others so we can talk about the music, good or bad.
Numbers means nothing, so please Doug & Co, run the show as you best see fit as you are the headhonchos here that makes the call.
(and Intrada shows that they are thinking about their customers too in the first hand)
The music comes first, the limitations?? scru that

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It is not surprising to see Intrada leaning on the side of us music lovers over the complaints of the speculators. The powers that be at this wonderful label are themselves lovers of this music, and they know what it's like to have a score they've always wanted not be available to them to listen and enjoy. But while it is not surprising, it is also not taken for granted either. Thanks for this unprecedented and decent decision.

I also agree wholeheartedly on this new policy, and not just because i would have missed "Explorers" otherwise. As I said in other occasions, we are in this for the music; and in the age of digital reproduction, it does not make much sense to issue a "limited" CD just so that it becomes a collectible and some third party earns from it instead of the label that released it.
Of course, there will be a few anal-retentive guys who'll cry foul, saying "I bought it thinking it was a limited release of 3000 units, if it becomes 5000 then I have been cheated"... I couldn't care less about them.

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I love it. I've missed out on Predator and SpaceCamp simply because I was in the car driving home from work when they went on sale. This policy change would have given me the chance to get those albums (had it been in effect then). And seeing how quickly Explorers sold out on a day when a lot of people were away and not even at their computers to buy it made me a bit sad. So I'm very happy to see this.

Well I think this is a good thing, & bravo to Mr. Fake & Co. for giving it a try. It's so easy to keep things as they are.

Your feedback is heartwarming and I thank you! As Jeff so colorfully put it while we were having lunch just now... we just unzipped our fly and people are staring. In truth, we expect some people who looked at the number 3000 and expected that quantity carved in stone are rightfully puzzled. Is it or isn't it? And here we are saying we don't know. In truth, we're confident the additional number of people looking for this title number in the hundreds, not thousands. So we're helping them out. It's probably a more customer friendly gesture than a speculator friendly gesture but it's mostly just a gesture in the direction of getting the music out to people who really want it. However, it's a gesture with limitations unto itself: if the title sells out in an instant, we'll try to keep up with the demand. When it stops, we'll move on. And if the demand isn't there to begin with, we'll cut our losses and move on just as quickly. And if it's something we think should be a "standard" in our catalog, we'll MAF it.

Some people will question why we didn't make this announcement prior to releasing EXPLORERS today, to which I can only say that we've thought about it often but never found just the right time to do so. After BABY? INCHON? ONE LITTLE INDIAN? MASTER OF THE WORLD? SPACECAMP? TWO FLAGS WEST? PREDATOR? REMO WILLIAMS? That's a pretty wacky line-up to sort out. No matter when we could have tried it (and it's just an experiment at this time), such an announcement would have come too late to alter orders on whatever the immediately preceding title was that triggered the announcement.

EXPLORERS was unpredictable. All of these projects are. Maybe it's easy to figure THE GREAT ESCAPE will endure in catalogs for years, but stuff like EXPLORERS is a lot harder to predict. So we finally just said let's try to give the customers a break on this one. Whether we just walked into a hornet's nest or something is always a possibility. If so, we'll cover our heads, run for cover and rethink our strategy. But we'll always encourage dialog with our customers. It just feels like the right way to do business.
--Doug

I agree with the new policy, naturally. I think more people can get what they love for less money. But I like the numbers, so for me - the second pressing should have appropriate indication, that's all. If not, no big deal, but I don't like CDs with errors on them...

Congrats to you Doug! This sounds absolutely stunning.
I would imagine that only people who speculate for ebay items are not happy with this.
So, go for it, you do an amazing job!!

For me it is all about the music. I was lucky and got a copy ordered before the decision was made to repress. Doesn't bother me at all. Can't wait to hear what is to me a largely unheard Jerry score. I never saw the movie, but have heard pieces of it on various compilations. Thanks Intrada. There are days when I can't get a computer right away. I was sweating missing BSG Vol 2.

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Jerry Goldsmith conducting the Detroit Symphony and nearly knocking me through the back wall with Air Force One....priceless.

Joe Dante can afford to press 3,00 copies for himself. And any glitches will be used as coasters.

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