[Dixielandjazz] CDs and DVDs "on demand"

[Robert Ringwald]

If the industry goes in this direction, it will certainly affect us Jazz devotees.  

CDs and DVDs "on demand"

Burn-on-Demand Heats Up
by Jonathan Takiff
Philadelphia Daily News, November 24, 2010
Clearly we're moving to an "on demand" model for video and music -- content available
as you wish on pay TV and the Internet. Retailers keep shrinking their CD and DVD
departments.
But what about us library builders who don't trust the durability of "download only"
albums and movies? Ironically, hope's a-brewing in burn-on-demand music discs and
movies created to order from an online store.
At present, makers are focused mostly on older and less known titles. But some predict
burn-to-order will someday be the primary way we acquire hard copies of almost everything.
Music to Your Ears
Devotees of classical music are already benefiting, able to order recordings "that
maybe only 100 people [in the entire country] might want to purchase in a given year,"
said Eric Feidner, CEO of music-on-demand producer and retailer ArkivMusic.com. Based
in Bryn Mawr with satellite offices and warehouses around the country, the company
has amassed a staggering 10,000 custom-pressable titles. Included are major chunks
of the Deutsche Grammophon, Decca, Philips, EMI, Virgin, RCA and Columbia catalogs
that those high-overhead labels can no longer afford to press, warehouse, market,
distribute "and then eventually take back when they don't sell," said Feidner.
"It costs us more to a make an individual disc -- say $4 instead of $1 -- but for
us, that's the end of the expense, not the beginning." And the $15 price ArkivMusic
charges per title isn't out of line.
Among the treasures we requested were a gorgeous pairing of Dvorak Symphonies performed
by Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra, previously available only in Japan,
plus an intriguing 1976 rethink of "The Threepenny Opera" starring Raul Julia.
The latter is one of several "lost" showtune albums ArkivMusic is producing at the
behest of Sony's Masterworks Broadway division. Arkiv's catalog also features an
additional 80,000 still-in-print classical CD and DVDs sourced mostly from European
companies. The company is often solicited to custom press other kinds of music, but
so far it's resisting.
Not in Theaters
On the film side, the pioneering Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group and a newly
onboard Sony Pictures Home Entertainment have online sites (
www.WarnerArchive.com
;
www.Columbia-Classics.com
) offering relatively obscure movie and TV-show discs made "on request" and usually
priced at $20.
Sony standouts for me? The French New Wave-inspired "Mickey One" marking the first
pairing of actor Warren Beatty and producer-director Arthur Penn; an entertaining
Sherlock Holmes-meets-Jack the Ripper-themed "A Study in Terror," and the dark, adulterous
tale of "The Pumpkin Eater," which starred Anne Bancroft, Peter Finch and James Mason.
Boasting the biggest library in Hollywood and a caring curator in Senior Vice President
George Feltenstein, WarnerArchive's nearly 900 on-demand selections range from the
sublime to the ridiculous and even controversial.
My heart was stolen by a royal remastering of Grace Kelly's final film, "The Swan,"
by "Susan Slept Here," a surprisingly sharp screwball comedy, and by an amazing treasure
trove for music buffs, the six-disc "Warner Bros. Big Band, Jazz and Swing Short
Subject Collection."
But be forewarned. Some of those Vitaphone shorts harken back to the 1920s, and the
stereotyping of black entertainers can be painful (though instructive) to behold.
Also dipping toes into the water are 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment's "MGM Limited
Edition Collection," Universal's "Vault Series" plus the likes of Cartoon Network
and MTV -- the latter with custom-burned (in the tanning salon?) editions of "Jersey
Shore."
These goods (or bads) are being sold through websites like MoviesUnlimited.com and
Amazon.com with fulfillment by Chicago-based manufacturer Allied Vaughn (also used
by Warner Bros. and Sony) and CreateSpace.
The latter is an Amazon operation that also offers on-demand DVD, CD and book publishing
for individual creators. So yeah, literally anyone can jump into this scene.
Inspecting the Goods
You can hardly tell the difference between today's on-demand-made CD-R music discs
and DVD-R movies and store-bought versions. Picture and sound quality are quite good,
with the movies much improved over the VHS-era letterboxed versions still playing
on some cable channels.
But these DVDs are almost totally lacking in "extras."
ArkivMusic discs pack liner notes. The opera packages even contain the full libretto,
likewise custom printed one at a time!
While I had no concerns, playback of CD-Rs is "occasionally problematic in older
machines," said Feidner. The DVD-Rs are stipulated to be compatible with "conventional
DVD players" and "will last at least 100 years," vowed Feltenstein.
-30


--Bob Ringwald
www.ringwald.com
Fulton Street Jazz Band
530/ 642-9551 Office
916/ 806-9551 Cell
Amateur (Ham) Radio K6YBV

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