New Ways to Buy Bach Online

[mjzee]

Technology entrepreneur Pierre Schwob thinks Bach and Beethoven haven't been given their due in the digital age.

Classical Archives, a new digital store focused exclusively on classical music, is Mr. Schwob's answer to mass-market digital retailers with "a complete lack of understanding of how classical music should be offered," down to the way they often categorize recordings. "It's basically a lack of respect when you say Bach is an 'artist,' not a composer," Mr. Schwob says.

For example, when online shoppers type "Beethoven" into iTunes, the top results they get back include a rock medley by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, an uncredited recording of "Für Elise" and individual movements culled from greatest hits collections. It's not that the music seller is skimping on the composer -- customers can find complete works by browsing deeper in the iTunes classical section -- it's just that his oeuvre doesn't fit neatly on the virtual shelves with that of Miley Cyrus and the Black Eyed Peas.

More here:

WSJ

[BruceH]

Thanks for this! Since I don't (or very rarely) read the Wall Street Journal anymore, I would have missed this.

[Teasing the Korean]

It only took Bach a few hundred years to figure this out. Slow learner.

[Joe G]

They've redesigned the website since I checked it out a year or two ago. I like the idea of having complete works available in one place. Good for researching.