rant

a quick rant here...

<rant>why do bands (labels I suppose) put out 20 variations of the same record with different bonus tracks based on country, or just plain so many variations, etc etc, so, to get all the hard copy BTs you would have to buy all the variations... AAAAHHHH!!!</rant>

thank you

Agreed. I just find the bonus track(s) on iTunes or Amazon. If they're not available, I find them elsewhere.

Many times, the bonus tracks aren't worth having.  You understand after hearing them why they were left off the main release.  Or, the demo quality is so poor that you can't listen to them.

When talking about bonus tracks depending on country, only bonus tracks for Japan really make sense. CDs cost way more there, apparently.

Money money money.

Agree!  Just put out the album as a complete album.  MAYBE put out a "special edition" with enough bonus material to justify it being worth getting AT THE RELEASE DATE.  Not a few years later (I'm talking to you Mortification and Disciple).  I understand the logic of Japanese bonus tracks but at the same time every fan from anywhere else can feel a little miffed that Japanese fans get to hear songs the rest of us can't without paying through the nose for them.

On whether or not they are "worth hearing" it depends.  Demon Hunter's special edition tracks are as good as any standard album track.  Ditto with Alice Cooper's "Best Buy edition" tracks from Welcome 2 My Nightmare.  Demos and bootleg-quality live tracks may or may not be worth hearing depending on how much we like the band.  If I love a band enough I want to hear it all no matter the quality.  I'd rather have them as their own CD for mega-fans, not as a few bonus tracks spread out over several reissues.

If anything this practice hurts the most serious fans who have the original release and can't afford to buy the whole album again just for one or two new songs.  Essentially this means as a fan there are songs or versions of songs I will never get to hear.

This is why, if I bought the original version, I have no problem finding a free download somewhere of a bonus track.

Yeah, when it comes to bonus tracks, I only care about unreleased songs anyway. Cant see the appeal in live tracks or demos, and usually I just download the bonus songs off amazon anyway.

WildWorld wrote:Cant see the appeal in live tracks or demos

It depends on the level of fan-dom.  If I'm a major fan of a band then yes, I do want to hear every version of every song.  If I just "like" a band then no, those are songs I will only listen to once then ignore: not worth the money.