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Topic: Longbox CD albums

27th May 2017, 3:23 AM
	PhilMH SUBS Member since Jan 2012 1058 Points	As barcodes were very much entrenched in the record industry (and others) by the time longboxes were phased out in the early 1990's, I very much doubt that Rykodisc would have intentionally reissued that Bowie CD in a package without a barcode, and the same goes for any other company that would have been in the same boat. (I had a few discs come in longboxes in the late 1980's, and I didn't keep them, but two discs I remember as coming that way, one on a major label and one independent, both have barcodes on the back insert as well, so Rykodisc might have been an exception). It's much more likely that the entry without a barcode here was originally in a longbox, and the owner either discarded the box, as many people apparently did according to reports I read at the time, or bought the disc used. Rykodisc then updated the back insert to include the barcode once longboxes were no more. I think the best way to approach it might be - if there is a disc from the 1980's to early 1990's without a barcode, check this site and others for a version with a barcode, and also for any possible LP or cassette equivalents. Chances are that LP's and tapes would have barcodes on their packaging (I don't think cassettes ever came in longboxes), so it's reasonable to assume that the CD version would have had a barcode too - I really can't imagine that any company would have used barcodes on two formats but not the third.