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Aug. & Sep. 2007 - US Blue Note RVG CD Reissues


Kevin Bresnahan

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I'll get the Jordan, Dorham and the Smiths, might be tempted to see what the Mogs from the 50s sound like compared to the mosaic set. The Mosaic set is a little harsh on Vols 1 and 2 but settles down fine after that. Davis Cup might also get upgraded, my conn edition is a little hard sounding

Edited by Clunky
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Thad Jones - The Magnificent Thad Jones

Baby Face Willette – Face To Face

I have all the others and will be gladly be getting those two (unless I run across an

affordable copy of the Thad Jones Mosaic set first). I guess the RVG release of

Face to Face makes a future Baby Face Willette Mosaic Select less probable now...

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Guest donald petersen

i always thought davis' compositons were kind of cheesy. i guess maybe they're just catchy (other examples found on "new soil" for instance).

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I guess I have always taken the RVGs for granted, without really considering the underlying financial considerations. People are talking about EMI pulling the plug on the reissues, but does anyone have any idea about the actual profit margins? I assume they are not actually losing money on the reissue series? And if Cuscuna has all of this in mind, this idea of a sinking ship, then why isn't he trying to release the more notoriously elusive material like the Tyrone Washington album?

Edited by freeform83
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It's not a matter of whether the reissues are making a profit or not - clearly they are. The question is how much profit are they making compared to the cost of the program, and how does that ratio compare to the other business operations at EMI. I don't know what the ROE on the BN reissue program is, but it can not be very high.

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It's not a matter of whether the reissues are making a profit or not - clearly they are. The question is how much profit are they making compared to the cost of the program, and how does that ratio compare to the other business operations at EMI. I don't know what the ROE on the BN reissue program is, but it can not be very high.

So have the profits definitely declined since the reissues started?

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It's not a matter of whether the reissues are making a profit or not - clearly they are. The question is how much profit are they making compared to the cost of the program, and how does that ratio compare to the other business operations at EMI. I don't know what the ROE on the BN reissue program is, but it can not be very high.

So have the profits definitely declined since the reissues started?

That's not an implication of JLarsen's argument -- profits may very well have increased.

Guy

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I should also point out that PE firms have been known to shut down even very profitable parts of their acquisitions if they aren't seen as being "synergistic" with the whole. Thus business segments in "niche" markets are always vulnerable.

Is this still true with all the hubbub about "long tail," or is has that been replaced by some other buzzword? I would think that with the combination of older folks being disc buyers rather than downloaders, and jazz fans tending to be older (if true), then perhaps the program may keep chuggin' on. Though as you say, some of those PE firms do love their synergy.

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The thing you have to keep in mind with PE firms is that their acquisitions are funded by medium-length term (5-7 year) investment funds - they have to flip their acquisitions in that approximate time frame in order to pay out to their investors. So they are not thinking in the long term. If anything the trend is towards PE firms are holding on to their acquisitions for shorter and shorter time periods.

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Sadly, I'm not optimistic for "niche" areas like jazz, given ownership by a private equity firm...

This is a great slate of RVGs, though. I'll be getting "Davis Cup" for sure, but I already own quite a few of the other discs in prior incarnations, so may not "upgrade" unless there are significant bonus tracks or sonic improvements.

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I guess I have always taken the RVGs for granted, without really considering the underlying financial considerations. People are talking about EMI pulling the plug on the reissues, but does anyone have any idea about the actual profit margins? I assume they are not actually losing money on the reissue series? And if Cuscuna has all of this in mind, this idea of a sinking ship, then why isn't he trying to release the more notoriously elusive material like the Tyrone Washington album?

Cuscuna is NEVER going to release that Tyrone Washington rejected session. He considers it embarassing and entirely unfit for release. It's not going to happen.

:rmad:

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Big Al: another reason to ditch the JRvG and get the RvG is the fact it will probably be stereo (the JRvG is mono).

That's of secondary importance (re: Candy). First, one wants to check to make sure that they haven't employed some remastering trick to mask (ie. bollocks up) that squeaky drum kit and ruin the whole album. :crazy:

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Leapin' and Lopin' will be RvG'ed next year probably.

I'm really surprised that that album and the two Ornette studio albums weren't RVGed a long time ago. Actually, I think the McMaster of Leapin isn't really that bad, but those Ornette cds are brutal.

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This is a nice list of RVG's if you don't own some of these. Its nice to see some of those elusive CC series and Conns getting the RVG treatment. Will pick up Davis Cup (initially passed on this one 10 years ago and never really made an effort to seek it out, but at mid-price I'll get it) and upgrade my prehistoric copy of Delightfulee (even the booklet is turning light brown). If we're going to start a list of what to cram in the reissue program before EMI explodes, I'd like to add:

Total Eclipse

New York is Now

Love Call

New Soil

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To me it's a very disappointing list. Although there are great titles, I have them all happily on JRVG's, for the first time, I have zero to purchase from these - and since I'm a loyal diehard, that must surely spell trouble for BN as there are likely lots of other regulars in the same boat.

Too bad, IMO it's a missed opportunity - there are still lots of great titles not yet given the RVG treatment in Japan either - Elvin Jones, Bobby Hutcherson, Ornette, later Turrentine, Tyner, Rivers and many others.

And since I won't be buying - and I'm sure others who already have RVG's of these - that doesn't help get to the numbers needed to continue the series.

Cuscuna has broken the cardinal rule of the RVG series in the last several years - always have some titles never before RVG'd.

Oh well - thankfully the Prestige RVG series is continuing with lots of great stuff given RVG's sound for the first time!

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