Publisher costs, bonus materials, and paper quality

Including a CD with anything is a good way of making it feel obsolete (and fairly soon). I'd rather they offered the CD as a separate product, rather than making it part of the deluxe edition.

The inclusion of the CD is cynical to the extreme. They know a standard hardcover will suffice for this title but can't help themselves.

onthetrail wrote:

The inclusion of the CD is cynical to the extreme. They know a standard hardcover will suffice for this title but can't help themselves.

I may be missing something but they are giving this without extra cost as part of the book right? I would consider that a plus normally..

Demis wrote:

onthetrail wrote:

The inclusion of the CD is cynical to the extreme. They know a standard hardcover will suffice for this title but can't help themselves.

I may be missing something but they are giving this without extra cost as part of the book right? I would consider that a plus normally..

Of course, others opinions may differ, and will, but I see this as a hook and nothing more. The sales of these 'deluxe' publications will be dropping by now to a small amount and throwing in a CD will capture some more sales. If the CD is worthy of release then it should be released properly so all Tolkien fans can listen to it rather than those who buy a deluxe book.

This is a collectors site so as I said, opinions will differ from mine, but I believe in accessibility and with all the audio releases over the years, this was not deemed worthy of inclusion. I don't like exclusive items designed to hook in completists. It's just how I feel about this stuff.

onthetrail wrote:

Demis wrote:

onthetrail wrote:

The inclusion of the CD is cynical to the extreme. They know a standard hardcover will suffice for this title but can't help themselves.

I may be missing something but they are giving this without extra cost as part of the book right? I would consider that a plus normally..

Of course, others opinions may differ, and will, but I see this as a hook and nothing more. The sales of these 'deluxe' publications will be dropping by now to a small amount and throwing in a CD will capture some more sales. If the CD is worthy of release then it should be released properly so all Tolkien fans can listen to it rather than those who buy a deluxe book.

This is a collectors site so as I said, opinions will differ from mine, but I believe in accessibility and with all the audio releases over the years, this was not deemed worthy of inclusion. I don't like exclusive items designed to hook in completists. It's just how I feel about this stuff.

You’re right other opinions will differ ?

I don’t agree that it’s cynical at all or even exclusionary. The fact that it’s being released even if only for the deluxe edition means that thousands of copies will be out there for people to burn and or distribute through other means (sampling, fair use) it will be available to pretty much anyone who wants it after release in some way.

In regards to it being a hook or cash grab to hook completists and make a quick buck, well if you think about it aren’t all the new releases from HC a hook to grab people’s money? Tolkien is dead, his children are dead. The artists are not seeing any proceeds. HarperCollins is in the business to make money off of Tolkien and they are the sole publisher of his material.

Seems kind of an odd position to take on this, just because it includes a CD. In today’s online world, if you are in the market for a physical book, let alone a deluxe book I think most will see the CD as a bonus.

Mr. Underhill wrote:

You’re right other opinions will differ ?

I don’t agree that it’s cynical at all or even exclusionary. The fact that it’s being released even if only for the deluxe edition means that thousands of copies will be out there for people to burn and or distribute through other means (sampling, fair use) it will be available to pretty much anyone who wants it after release in some way.

In regards to it being a hook or cash grab to hook completists and make a quick buck, well if you think about it aren’t all the new releases from HC a hook to grab people’s money? Tolkien is dead, his children are dead. The artists are not seeing any proceeds. HarperCollins is in the business to make money off of Tolkien and they are the sole publisher of his material.

Seems kind of an odd position to take on this, just because it includes a CD. In today’s online world, if you are in the market for a physical book, let alone a deluxe book I think most will see the CD as a bonus.

I agree with this and I like the fact the publishers are offering items that are new to some degree, including the CD as to my mine a welcome extra for the Deluxe edition, you can spend less and still get the book and the new material, but spend some more and also get a CD, the contents of which have been very difficult for people to listen to in the past. Seems a good match to me.

Mr. Underhill wrote:

onthetrail wrote:

Demis wrote:

onthetrail wrote:

The inclusion of the CD is cynical to the extreme. They know a standard hardcover will suffice for this title but can't help themselves.

I may be missing something but they are giving this without extra cost as part of the book right? I would consider that a plus normally..

Of course, others opinions may differ, and will, but I see this as a hook and nothing more. The sales of these 'deluxe' publications will be dropping by now to a small amount and throwing in a CD will capture some more sales. If the CD is worthy of release then it should be released properly so all Tolkien fans can listen to it rather than those who buy a deluxe book.

This is a collectors site so as I said, opinions will differ from mine, but I believe in accessibility and with all the audio releases over the years, this was not deemed worthy of inclusion. I don't like exclusive items designed to hook in completists. It's just how I feel about this stuff.

You’re right other opinions will differ ?

I don’t agree that it’s cynical at all or even exclusionary. The fact that it’s being released even if only for the deluxe edition means that thousands of copies will be out there for people to burn and or distribute through other means (sampling, fair use) it will be available to pretty much anyone who wants it after release in some way.

In regards to it being a hook or cash grab to hook completists and make a quick buck, well if you think about it aren’t all the new releases from HC a hook to grab people’s money? Tolkien is dead, his children are dead. The artists are not seeing any proceeds. HarperCollins is in the business to make money off of Tolkien and they are the sole publisher of his material.

Seems kind of an odd position to take on this, just because it includes a CD. In today’s online world, if you are in the market for a physical book, let alone a deluxe book I think most will see the CD as a bonus.

Part of my dislike here is that they have not done this for other releases in this range, they know it will have limited appeal and the CD is a rather lazy thing to throw in.

Also, more broadly, I would rather HarperCollins focus on the product than thinking only about their bottom line with a hook. Forget the CD and produce a really decent book. HarperCollins will not do that. HarperCollins have become a menace to quality product. The OED should add an entry for 'faux deluxe'. "Faux deluxe: The process of making a fake deluxe product that is no more quality than toilet paper. For instance, a book release from HarperCollins." I see the CD as another element that will reduce the overall quality because that cost will be paid for from somewhere else. HarperCollins won't pay for this, the buyer will with another poor quality product (most likely).

And theres the heart of the matter for me. HarperCollins means poor quality, bad paper, terrible images, awful spines. They do not care about books, or readers, or a dead author.

Trotter wrote:

spend some more and also get a CD, the contents of which have been very difficult for people to listen to in the past. Seems a good match to me.

I would agree if the retail price had risen to account for an increase in production costs. That the RRP has remained the same is a major hint to how the overall quality will pan out. HarperCollins will not lower their take-home, they will lower the production cost on the book. Resulting in a poor product. You get a CD, great, and pay for it with a book that offers little to no quality.

Scratches head... CD player, CD player.. now where did I put you, oh yes, 1990 :)