Re: keep your eyes on the price

[Mary Jo Watts <mwatts@rci.rutgers.edu>]

Ingvar Loco Nordin wrote:
> 
> M.J.W. wrote:
> 
> > Would a re-issue of GG's
> >catalogue on DVD be worth the price?
> 
> --------
> 
> Some pieces of art are worth millions of dollars. The proof of that is that
> people buy those paintings. If people buy the DVD-Goulds, they seems to be
> worth the price, right? You all bought the CD versions of the LP:s, right?
> 
> Loco
> 

Right!  But I'm not solvent enough to trade them in for the next new
thing.  I would have kept most of my GG collection on LP (which I bought
because I could afford them-- I got the CD GGs later, pay check to
paycheck over a number of years) but there were several convincing
reasons to change from LP to CD that aren't there to go from CD to DVD.

1) The CDs were lighter and less space consuming than LPs 
2) When the personal players came out, they were portable
3) They were harder to damage than LPs
4) The players were programable
5) (or 1!) They sound better.

A lot of the pluses built into this move to DVD are already there on CD.
It's going to be a huge marketing blitz to convince us to accept the DVD
a new *music* format, but we might eventually because the
megaconglomerates have a stake in us doing so. Also, the DVD will serve
up video so there will be all kinds of extra data on them that we'll
want to have (stuff we probably wouldn't have bought on VHS!) but will
that data be educational?  Will it enhance the comprehnsion of the
music? Probably not. It will sound better but how much better?

I won't try to put a dollar amount on a Gould performance but you can
sort of quantify the value of the reproduction (LP, CD whatever) just as
a Van Gogh may be worth a gazillion dollars but the poster you buy at
the museum is no more than $20 in spite of the quality of the ability to
reproduce the colors used by the artist.  

In some ways the issue of value and commerce did concern Gould but more
in the realm originality and performance as a commodities-- (see the Van
Meegren syndrome.)

Best,
-MJ