Does this and this belong on your list Leonard? As you can see we went through a bit of a process with these two but it is good to know what to look for when these types of things crop up in the future.
Have made an initial list of PolyGram 550 series (see bottom of the page), looked at all images and made notes about "relevant" identifiers. Didn't look yet at formatting of cat numbers and barcodes. Fun to work this way and nice to look at, but very time consuming....
Just to confuse things further the same cat# barcode combination was used for this in Australia. Luckily though it was released solely on Karussell and there is no mention of Spectrum Music. These global discount labels are a nightmare with a lot of the Polygram, Spectrum, Karussell, Pickwick stable being released in Australia also with the same details or very close facsimiles. For instance the Spectrum label in Australia mysteriously (or fortunately) added a preceding "0" to the barcode of all their releases. Quite often as is the case with the Australian issue of this CD the label may not quite match and is more often than not just Karussell rather than Spectrum Music / Karussell as is common on the EU (UK?) releases.
So this label is a difficult one with releases that can be UK, EU and Australian all sharing the same details and some minor label differences separating some but not all releases. What's the answer? Who knows but I favour EU for this release.
@leonard
? You've got me worried leonard ;)
And with all due respect to you Mod's who give their time for this site,surely,as a Mod,you have to be sure either way to make a decision like this,and please be honest,do you have any proof that all of these Spectrum CD's were issued in either the UK only,or Europe only?,because,if not,quite frankly,it's a guess,and you're about to change members entries on a guess,even if it is an educated one,to say that the people who entered their CD as UK (188 entries) were wrong,or that they didn't know is a fairly big assumption to make to say the least.You are prepared to make these all European on what basis?,that the Discs/artwork were made in Europe,because that is no proof of anything when it comes to where the CD's were actually put on sale,many UK (only) destined CD's were made in Europe.
Using the same logic,then why not change all 1829 Netherlands CD's to Europe?,after all,they were made there.And that's the reason for my concern,at the drop of a hat,or,dare i say,on a whim?,you want to make an entire label European,once a CD is made European,it loses it's true identity just as if you were making it International.I voiced my concern when you recently made all entries under the Companion label "European",using similar premises,despite the fact that the
majority of entries were already under "Denmark",and my suggestion that they were possibly not issued in Europe but just Denmark,and were therefore more likely Danish,and correct as they were,but you made a decision based on your own personal beliefs,and so these CD's,once Danish,are now in the faceless catch-all we call Europe,and (don't get me wrong,you may still be proven to be correct,but it's the way you came about making that decision the concerns me).This site,i'm glad to say,has always been about democracy,it has to be to work,there is no room for any ego's here,if i'm wrong (quite often,and will continue to be i expect;),then i freely admit it,the site is much bigger than any one person,and i'd like to think decisions are made by discussions between members/Mod's,and decisions are thereby arrived at with a concensus of opinion,but,at the same time,if no one knows for sure,then that's surely the reason not to change anything,until proven.
Leaving the entries under both the UK/Europe does no harm whatsoever IMHO,what advantage is to be gained by lumping them together under Europe?,none IMHO,and perhaps some were just issued in the UK and so are correct as they are,why not wait until we can be more certain.
(Forgive me voicing my concerns.and there is nothing personal at all in this leonard )
I wouldn't mind putting them all together as UK either. It now depends on who's entering the item and it could go to either one without any certainty. I see entries that would certainly be UK in the Eurpean section.
@leonard
I can understand where you're coming from,in that perhaps there is no one indicator,to determine between UK/Europe,but surely,it would be a bit rash to lump everything together under Europe,until someone can tell us that that was definitely the case.I understand that the UK is part of Europe of course,but being such a large market,and still often kept separate,what is the harm in leaving the UK ones as they are for now,until we can positively say that they were/weren't issued in Europe as well,Discogs uses "UK & Europe".Of course,as is common with CD's,nothing seems to be set in stone,and looking through the UK Spectrum Music entries,they seem to vary,some specifically state "Distributed in the UK by "Spectrum Music",some have the "KA 506" (Karussell) Price code,some have "PY 500" (Polydor),does that mean there was a difference distribution wise?,to be honest,i don't know,and as i've suggested before,we won't know for sure until we can talk with someone who has worked in the business,specifically in CD distribution.Here's hoping that such a person becomes a member and can advise us.Personally,i'd leave them as they are for now,until we are better informed.
For what it's worth: we have one Spectrum Music label here on the website divided in two countries (UK and Europe), where I feel they they all should be the same. I had a look at both, and although having a very good memory and having owned one of the bigger selling cd shops in Holland only a few of the covers look familiar. And I guess the same goes for France and Germany. Country of manufacture as stated on the label, French price codes, German label codes, Dutch rights organisation and parent company, all those "indicators" don't say a thing really. The only thing I know for sure is the Label name and that the UK is a part of Europe. MERGE
Hi guys
Where the CD was made does not unfortunately determine where the CD was put on sale,many Discs were made in various European countries,but were destined for/put on sale in the UK only,for example.
The thing to look out for is the presence of a French retail price code,in this case "KA 506"(if the rear tray artwork matches this one of course),normally two letters followed by three numbers,normally in a box somewhere around the barcode/Cat.No on the rear tray artwork,as these French retail price codes were not used by UK retailers as far as i know,so if it's got these codes on the back,it's European.
(so Europe is correct on this particular one,if it has the code;)