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Topic: CD Albums: Time To Bite The Bullet Pt. 1 The Problem

9th Aug 2017, 4:41 PM
	Magic Marmalade If you're not lost... It's not an adventure! Member since Jun 2014 3774 Points Moderator	What has become clear, is that where a single, universally applicable logic once applied to records.. (because only a couple / few big label groups ran the show, and everything either happened under or through them, and they all operated according to the same general rules) ...in the CD age (and vinyl from this era), does not, as the political / trade deals changes have meant that different labels (groups)have increasingly been operating according to their own rules, or those they chose to abide by, when they chose to abide by them. The broad strokes are that everyone except EMI labels were first manufactured by those able to make them - Japan / West Germany, and later: USA, most eveident in the target discs. These first CDs were not exclusively available in just those countries, as they exploited their monopoly in this manufacture, by exporting to other markets. These first ought really, therefore, to be International, as West German, and Japanese targets were sold in the US (although I'm not so sure US targets were sold outside the US... so these may need to be country specific)... ... as more places of manufacture became available outside these first, they no longer needed to import them from here, but could make their own, for their own markets. There is, moving on from this, a new economic model taking shape (I perceive), whereby, rather than the old method of contract press for big selling titles simply being made by the label down the road, local (country specific) labels could get larger manufacturers to make more if a CD took off, so you could find some CDs made locally, and the same title being made in greater numbers by the bigger plant in Germany or Austria, and for a larger market. (so contracting out, not sideways, but up, so to speak) but not every label group did this the same way, and EMI were comparatively late in the CD market. The upshot is, as far as trying to enter them here, it is quite possible (in fact, I'm certain) that you cannot apply flags for each label in the same way, at any given time... they will need different sets of logic, tracking their own chronological economic and financial expansions at the exact same time that another label did things otherwise. I think, eventually, we are pretty much agreed on the multiple flags possibility, but the best way to do it will be to enter the label name first, not the country, and in so doing, "activate" the available countries for that label at that time. I still think the only other time International generally applies is after EMI went, and the Omnicorps ate their remains, and now, not having such a competitor, went truly international, making universal (pun), single issues for pretty much all. Add into this the political dealings which all the above exploited to these ends... (I'm not sure I agree with the Neo-Liberal thing, as these guys just wanted to make cash...globalisation being a free-trade (Capitalism) driven f&k up of historic proportions enabled by a lack* of globalisation by redundant democratic and political institutions who had no more of a Scooby what was happening than those who were seeking to exploit their lack of understanding) ... and you've got a first class mess, which although nicely printed on labels and covers, shouldn't be confused with any of them having an idea what they were doing. This is what we are discovering here, by trying in vain to "understand" that which cannot be understood (at least by neat logic and straight lines). Please remember therefore, when entering CDs, nobody is an expert, and we've a lot to do, sorting through it, so just be more led by barcodes / cat#s and in hand details than flags / markets at the moment... so long as you don't replicate digits and specific details, your best guess as to country will do, until we have enough entries (data) to start sorting this element out. (A specific cause of duplication in the database is the same CD being entered as both UK, and again as Europe... don't look at this when entering, just see that your digits don't match, and otherwise, that it's from a different continent) Sorry for the Omni-ramble folks, but there really is no way to resolve this definitively in the immediate future, but we don't want to get mired in this and not entering CDs. (P.S Discogs is no more authoritative than us regarding this... so don't take that site for gospel)