Jim on Film: Turn About and Fair Play
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Turn About and Fair Play

There needs to be a certain bond between company and consumer, a bond of trust. When the rules are clearly known, then both parties involved know how to function within those mutually respected guidelines. For example, when I purchase an item at Target, I clearly know the return and price adjustment policy so that I can make educated purchasing decisions. Since policies are clearly posted, I know the rules of the game. There’s one discount store chain, on the other hand, I generally avoid because their policies are foggy, and I’ve been burned by them before. Because of this, the bond of trust has been broken.

It is important to me that I pay for the music I listen to. There are many CDs I buy that I could easily burn from a friend or the library or find for free online, but I believe that artists and music companies have a right to earn money for their investments and labor. A working man is worthy of his wages, and I’ve always believed “Though shalt not steal�? wasn’t just a suggestion from the pre-digital technology age. Because of this, I don’t burn CDs for people, borrow my music out for others to burn, or allow others to burn CDs for me. I don’t work for free, and I don’t expect others to work for me for free. To me, honesty is a non-negotiable.

However, that doesn’t mean I don’t get frustrated and wish entertainment companies—Disney included—would also play by fair rules. Considering that music is still a highly profitable business and that legal music downloads on the Internet are very popular, I am inclined to believe that there are millions of people out there who share my values . . . and my frustrations. Considering we go out of our way to play fair, it would be nice if Disney and other entertainment companies would follow and not destroy that bond of trust.

One big step toward playing fair with music is for companies to make music releases universal. My heart went out for the many people who bought the Brother Bear CD before discovering that Best Buy was selling the soundtrack with a bonus track of Phil Collins’ rendition of “Great Spirits.�? I only knew about the bonus track because it was advertised in their weekly advertisement; had I not happened to get a paper that Sunday or if I had bought the CD before then, I would have been screwed. For the average shopper out there, buying a second copy of the CD to get the bonus track was not a viable option.

Many times I walk through the music department at Target, Wal-Mart, Circuit City, and Best Buy and see stickers on CDs proclaiming “Target exclusive bonus tracks�? or “Walmart exclusive bonus disc.�? I don’t know the music business well enough to know if, in general, these are “supposed�? bonus tracks that are available on every copy of the disc or if they really are exclusive to one chain. Either way, it’s frustrating.

In a business where first week sales can be so important, I find myself shopping around before considering buying a CD. I want to make sure I’m not only getting the best deal for my money, but I want to make sure that I’m not missing out on great music by my favorite performers. What was once a fun impulse purchase is becoming a pain-in-the-neck shopping strategy to ensure the most complete album.

Frankly, this tactic isn’t fair to the consumer who should feel satisfied after buying a product and not as if they’ve been cheated. By advertising and/or creating different versions of CDs for different stores, record companies are not only creating distrust in their customers, but they are giving buyers a reason to burn copies of songs.

In addition to making the decision to purchase easy, record companies need to be respectful by releasing only one edition. I have now been burned twice by buying a CD only to have a special edition released a short time later, which includes a few extra songs and nicer packaging. While this has not happened to me on a Disney release—I’ve noticed this happening more with their tween CDs of The Cheetah Girls and, most recently, the High School Musical soundtrack—the seed of doubt is planted. I don’t want to buy the Enchanted soundtrack after I see the movie only to realize that I need to give it away and buy a new copy eight months later to get all the music. If this is the worry, then why should I be in a rush to buy the CD? Why shouldn’t I get, say, the year-old Kelly Clarkson CD I’ve been wanting instead of the Disney release?

Music companies need to choose to play fair in honor of their consumers who play fair. One of my most frustrating experiences with this was with singer Jeremy Camp’s very successful album Restored. After being available for just over a year, Jeremy Camp released a special edition of the album, which I recently stumbled upon at a Walmart store. I love that album, and it has gotten much play on my CD player, but it was incredibly disrespectful to the fans on the part of both the artist and the music company to ask that fans buy an entire new CD in order to get four new songs. This was clearly an attempt to invest a small amount of money into making four songs but to reap more profit by charging us consumers the price of a full CD.

There has to be a respect for the consumer because it is hard to regain trust when something like that happens. When Jeremy Camp does release a new CD, I can guarantee you I won’t be getting it any time quickly because I don’t want to waste my money. The reality is that when I bought the original album, I could easily have borrowed it from any twenty people and burned all the tracks, but I chose to honor the musicians and music companies. It’s aggravating when artists and companies don’t return the favor.

This is not to say that there isn’t room for special edition soundtracks. The original soundtrack of The Little Mermaid has been available since its original theatrical release; it’s not as if most of the people who invested in the soundtrack, say, last year found themselves wanting the tween-flavored 2-Disc release that accompanied its recent DVD release. And if someone did want the new CD, it’s likely they bought their old CD long enough ago that the new purchase wasn’t so outlandish.

Rather than trying to gouge the consumer, how much better would it have been to release a companion High School Musical album with the extra music? That’s what happened with the Titanic soundtrack when it and the movie turned out to be such a hit, and Disney itself did that in a way with the Rhythm of the Pridelands album that came out of after The Lion King. It would be nice if these companies would show some respect for their consumers by, instead of trying to minimize the value to the consumer, trying to give them the best value for their hard-earned money.

In addition to being secure in knowing the value of what you are buying, part of the value is in the packaging. Many of the people who buy Disney music are collectors. We are the same people who buy the DVDs, shop at the Disney store, and have annual passes to the Disney parks.