Which show would you like a DVD/CD from?

[Pretty Funky]

While most posts seem to be DVD related, I'll comment on a possible live CD.

How cheap are they to produce and market nowdays? I would love 50 songs on a 2CD set but is that still viable?

CDs are dirt-cheap to produce in bulk -- and MP3s are almost cost-free to produce -- so from that point of view it's perfectly possible. The main thing that would hold either a 50-song CD or a full-concert DVD up is songwriting royalties -- every extra song requires a payment of mechanical royalties (for the CD) or sync royalties (for the DVD), and those are fixed payments. Given that people object to paying more than a few pounds/dollars for an album these days, the mechanical or sync royalties might actually come to more than the retail price of the CD/DVD.

There is, of course, the *possibility* that the publishing companies will agree to take a much reduced payment -- that sort of thing *can* happen, McCartney put out a 33-song live CD/DVD a couple of years ago -- but the Beach Boys aren't Paul McCartney.

I suspect we're likely to get a Brian Wilson On Tour style DVD and, if there's a CD at all, it'll be twenty songs max.

Guess I'll be looking elsewhere for 50 songs then!


Thanks for the info.

[Matt H]

I would like to see a version of each song that was done live on a 2 or 3 disc set.  They could also do a 1 cd highlights like McCartney's Trippin The Live Fantastic.

[lee]

If it is a documentary in that style (Q&A with fans, etc.), it's something I will watch once and never again.

In my ideal world, they'd release audio downloads of all the shows in FLAC. Everyone would love to buy recordings of the show/s they were at. Physical cds would be nice to if they did something like Pearl Jam did back in the day (using generic packaging with the date/venue being the only real difference in packaging).

The dvd should be two discs. Have a full show on one and a documentary and bonus cuts on the second. Have the bonus cuts be songs  that were not included in the setlist of the full show on disc one. IMO, a dvd with only a tour documentary won't sell nearly as well as a full show that includes the documentary.

[Shady]

No real "new" information, per se, but this MSN blog is putting out the word that we can expect the Red Rocks show on DVD.  Of course, we don't know how much of the Red Rocks show we'll get but at least there's talk about it:

http://social.entertainment.msn.com/music/blogs/scene-and-heard-blogpost.aspx?post=36a652ee-5afa-4508-a779-f8f7eb051041

This made my week

[Pretty Funky]

Just further to Andrew Hickey's post about a live CD having 20 songs tops due to copyright.

This must have been an issue with both Brians live solo albums also. Could we assume those songs from 'Roxy' and 'PS Live' played this year could also be ok'd for a BB live album? Add in 2 cuts from 'Radio' and we are over 20 already. Given Capitol would surely be the label behind any C50 live release, you would think they would be generous with rights?

Anyone able to name tracks played this year that could not be on a C50 live album?

[Ron]

While most posts seem to be DVD related, I'll comment on a possible live CD.

How cheap are they to produce and market nowdays? I would love 50 songs on a 2CD set but is that still viable?

CDs are dirt-cheap to produce in bulk -- and MP3s are almost cost-free to produce -- so from that point of view it's perfectly possible. The main thing that would hold either a 50-song CD or a full-concert DVD up is songwriting royalties -- every extra song requires a payment of mechanical royalties (for the CD) or sync royalties (for the DVD), and those are fixed payments. Given that people object to paying more than a few pounds/dollars for an album these days, the mechanical or sync royalties might actually come to more than the retail price of the CD/DVD.

There is, of course, the *possibility* that the publishing companies will agree to take a much reduced payment -- that sort of thing *can* happen, McCartney put out a 33-song live CD/DVD a couple of years ago -- but the Beach Boys aren't Paul McCartney.

I suspect we're likely to get a Brian Wilson On Tour style DVD and, if there's a CD at all, it'll be twenty songs max.

Guess I'll be looking elsewhere for 50 songs then!


Thanks for the info.

George Strait released a greatest hits album a few years ago called "50 #1's"... it had 50 #1 songs on it... and get this : It had 1 new song.... that went to #1.  Sot he album called "50 #1's" has 51 #1's on it (2 cd set). 

Probably the most JAM PACKED album release I've ever seen.  They cut some of the outros shorter, though... so if they did this with the Beach Boys, they'd likely revert to the same fuckery and make everybody mad. 

[Ron]

Just further to Andrew Hickey's post about a live CD having 20 songs tops due to copyright.

This must have been an issue with both Brians live solo albums also. Could we assume those songs from 'Roxy' and 'PS Live' played this year could also be ok'd for a BB live album? Add in 2 cuts from 'Radio' and we are over 20 already. Given Capitol would surely be the label behind any C50 live release, you would think they would be generous with rights?

Anyone able to name tracks played this year that could not be on a C50 live album?

Well... it would make sense that they may withold cover songs, because those would be royalties that Capitol couldn't control and cut a 'deal' on.  "Then I kissed Her", for instance. 

[Pretty Funky]

Just further to Andrew Hickey's post about a live CD having 20 songs tops due to copyright.

This must have been an issue with both Brians live solo albums also. Could we assume those songs from 'Roxy' and 'PS Live' played this year could also be ok'd for a BB live album? Add in 2 cuts from 'Radio' and we are over 20 already. Given Capitol would surely be the label behind any C50 live release, you would think they would be generous with rights?

Anyone able to name tracks played this year that could not be on a C50 live album?

Well... it would make sense that they may withold cover songs, because those would be royalties that Capitol couldn't control and cut a 'deal' on.  "Then I kissed Her", for instance. 

Always the chance 'Kokomo' may be left off as that was Elektra at the time.

Gutted!

[Ron]

Since they only had like what, 3 or 4 #1's, and that's one of them, they'll have to pay the extra royalties to make sure it stays. 

[HeyJude]

Well... it would make sense that they may withold cover songs, because those would be royalties that Capitol couldn't control and cut a 'deal' on.  "Then I kissed Her", for instance.  

Unless they can cut additional cheaper-then-industry-rates deals or something, any CD (or other physical/audio release format) has a standard flat royalty rate for any song. It doesn't cost more to pay royalties for "Then I Kissed Her" than "Good Vibrations."

DVD's (and other video-released formats) are a different story, and require what I think one industry term loosely calls "sync" rights, where they have to negotiate every song on a case-by-case basis. The publishers can ask for a million dollars per second if they want to. This is of course why releases of some TV shows on DVD have "popular" songs cut out or dubbed out (or why some shows don't get released at all). For instance, this is likely why the BB's rendition of "Happy Birthday" from the 1980 Knebworth show is on the CD release, but not the DVD.

Ideally, they would give us a 3-CD set of this reunion tour that documents every song they played on the tour. If selective pruning needs to be done because they don't want to go past 2 CD's, then I would only hope they would ditch stuff like "Do You Wanna Dance" and make sure they fit "Marcella" and "Good Timin'" and things like that.

[AndrewHickey]

Just further to Andrew Hickey's post about a live CD having 20 songs tops due to copyright.

This must have been an issue with both Brians live solo albums also. Could we assume those songs from 'Roxy' and 'PS Live' played this year could also be ok'd for a BB live album? Add in 2 cuts from 'Radio' and we are over 20 already. Given Capitol would surely be the label behind any C50 live release, you would think they would be generous with rights?

Anyone able to name tracks played this year that could not be on a C50 live album?

It's not a matter of permissions. Copyright holders can't stop you putting out a CD of cover versions -- legally they *have* to give you permission. But you have to pay them a set amount. If they don't agree that you can pay less, you have to pay 9.1 cents per song per CD sold. In the case of a 50-song double CD, that would mean that absent an agreement with the publishers, $4.55 of the price of each copy would go on mechanical royalties (and note -- that's $4.55 out of whatever the record company get, minus whatever the retailers get).

The publishers may well cut a deal, but it's not a sure thing. And note that it has nothing to do with whom the original record label were -- it's the copyright on the *songs*, not the *performances* that is in question. The copyright to all the BBs' classic hits is currently held by Irving Music, a division of A&M which is in turn a division of Universal Music Group. If the proposed merger between EMI and Universal goes through, then suddenly Beach Boys compilations and live albums become a lot less expensive for Capitol.

[Ron]

My whole point was Capitol can cut a group rate with Irving or whoever owns the other 49 songs pretty easily.  They can't cut a special rate as easily with whoever owns "Then I kissed her", they have no negotiating leverage.  

[AndrewHickey]

DVD's (and other video-released formats) are a different story, and require what I think one industry term loosely calls "sync" rights, where they have to negotiate every song on a case-by-case basis. The publishers can ask for a million dollars per second if they want to. This is of course why releases of some TV shows on DVD have "popular" songs cut out or dubbed out (or why some shows don't get released at all). For instance, this is likely why the BB's rendition of "Happy Birthday" from the 1980 Knebworth show is on the CD release, but not the DVD.

I believe that sync rights are now covered by blanket licensing terms in a similar way to mechanical royalties -- at least, that's the reason I read why the 2008 'special edition' DVD reissue of the Doctor Who story Remembrance Of The Daleks was allowed to use the Beatles' recordings of A Taste Of Honey and Do You Want To Know A Secret while the earlier DVD and VHS releases had replaced that music. I don't know if that's the case in the US, but as international copyright rules seem to be getting ever closer, I suspect it is now.

[AndrewHickey]

My whole point was Capitol can cut a group rate with Capitol pretty easily.  They can't cut a special rate as easily with whoever owns "Then I kissed her". 

But that 'point' makes no sense. Capitol don't own the publishing rights to anything -- they're a record company, not a music publishing company. And while EMI own music publishing companies too, they don't own the company that owns the rights to the Beach Boys' songs.

[Pretty Funky]

 

[HeyJude]

I believe that sync rights are now covered by blanket licensing terms in a similar way to mechanical royalties -- at least, that's the reason I read why the 2008 'special edition' DVD reissue of the Doctor Who story Remembrance Of The Daleks was allowed to use the Beatles' recordings of A Taste Of Honey and Do You Want To Know A Secret while the earlier DVD and VHS releases had replaced that music. I don't know if that's the case in the US, but as international copyright rules seem to be getting ever closer, I suspect it is now.

Interesting. Definitely not familiar with all the particulars, especially in the UK where I've been hearing for awhile that various copyrights may fall into the public domain and whatnot. But I believe that securing sync rights for expensive music is still a big issue with video releases in the US, so I have the impulse to say I don't believe that video releases are afforded the same sort of flat licensing/royalty arrangement, and of course, licensing a specific *recording* of a song is a even larger challenge in some cases that lies solely with the entity that owns the copyrights to the physical recordings.

[Awesoman]

We've all seen the youtube clips, setlists etc..

For me I'd love a DVD of the Hollywood Bowl or the red rocks show... on blu ray of course

For the CD, get the best performances from a multiple of venues. 

[Rocker]

Red Rocks it says:

http://social.entertainment.msn.com/music/blogs/scene-and-heard-blogpost.aspx?post=36a652ee-5afa-4508-a779-f8f7eb051041

[Justin]

So at least now we have a stronger indication that we will get a live album from the tour...who woulda thought?

The only thing certain about future releases from the reunited Beach Boys is a live album that Capitol will release in 2013.

http://www.billboard.com/news/beach-boys-wrap-50-years-as-questions-arise-1007953872.story#/news/beach-boys-wrap-50-years-as-questions-arise-1007953872.story


(And just so we have all our bases covered: by the way it is worded here one could possibly assume that it could be an archival live release from years passed.  Probably not, but it needed to be mentioned!)