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Remember "Import" records and CDs?

post #1 of 23
7/8/10 at 10:44pm
Thread Starter 
Remember growing up and getting that cool album as an import, because certain tracks (or entire albums) were only released overseas. How cool you were and how big a deal it was?

Does that still happen? Or has digital media, the internet, and MP3s pretty much killed that market?
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post #2 of 23
7/8/10 at 10:46pm
No, stuff is "Japan only" all the time, the only difference is that now you can get it all for free online. What is the point of limited tracks anyway? Seems a little pompous to me.
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post #3 of 23
7/8/10 at 10:48pm
It was always a cheesy tactic to get music geeks to buy more CDs by forcing them to collect the import versions. While this sort of thing still happens today, the presence of the internet makes the notion of geographic exclusivity sort of silly, if not almost entirely moot.
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post #4 of 23
7/9/10 at 2:05am
I got the Final Fantasy VII soundtrack as my first import. It was also the first music CD I ever purchased for myself.

There were a lot of exclusive bits in various region locked laser discs, as short as it's life was.
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post #5 of 23
7/9/10 at 2:12am
Then of course, there were the illicit, S00P3R-S33KR1T bootleg imports that the record store clerk kept under the counter and you had to ask about with a wink and a nod. I never understood why you could import plastic trinkets from China and have them as cereal box prizes and put them in vending machines, but somehow importing a cd from Japan adds $20 to its price.
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post #6 of 23
7/9/10 at 2:28am
I went to a Maaya Sakamoto concert once, and her manager came out before her and told the audience, in enrish, not to buy "japan CD."

Then he left, and the concert started. It was strange.
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post #7 of 23
7/9/10 at 9:28am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Arrogant Bastard View Post
It was always a cheesy tactic to get music geeks to buy more CDs by forcing them to collect the import versions. While this sort of thing still happens today, the presence of the internet makes the notion of geographic exclusivity sort of silly, if not almost entirely moot.

Depends on the musician. Quite a few I follow did it because albums in Japan were more expensive so they felt like giving them more for the money. Or because they never played live shows there either. I imported a few albums in the late 90s that were not released in the US because no companies here wanted to distribute them.

These days, whatever. Google wins.
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post #8 of 23
7/9/10 at 9:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Arrogant Bastard View Post
It was always a cheesy tactic to get music geeks to buy more CDs by forcing them to collect the import versions. While this sort of thing still happens today, the presence of the internet makes the notion of geographic exclusivity sort of silly, if not almost entirely moot.

This.

Quote:
Originally Posted by word View Post
Depends on the musician. Quite a few I follow did it because albums in Japan were more expensive so they felt like giving them more for the money. Or because they never played live shows there either. I imported a few albums in the late 90s that were not released in the US because no companies here wanted to distribute them.

They were also mixed differently, often. For the Japanese market, CDs/LPs often had boosted treble and lowered bass.
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post #9 of 23
7/9/10 at 10:02am
I am a lover of classical music and Lisbon Fado. Imported records and CDs are alive and well. Many of the classical composer collections are being re-recorded on import labels for a small fraction of the price of "the original".
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post #10 of 23
7/9/10 at 11:13am
ABBA "Gold" FTW.

For certain music, was the only way to get a copy. Rights disputes play a part too. Try to get a digital single of "major tom" (in english) or "running up that hill"

It may have changed recently, but both have been unavailable for more than a year.
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post #11 of 23
7/9/10 at 12:23pm
i think a lot of japanese editions of CDs had bonus tracks (which were B sides from singles most of the time) b/c it was too expensive to market/sell the singles in japan
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post #12 of 23
7/9/10 at 1:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by countdemoney View Post
ABBA "Gold" FTW.

For certain music, was the only way to get a copy. Rights disputes play a part too. Try to get a digital single of "major tom" (in english) or "running up that hill"

It may have changed recently, but both have been unavailable for more than a year.

I assume you're talking about the Peter Schilling song.
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post #13 of 23
7/9/10 at 1:08pm
Bruce Springsteen had some great stuff on import cds. U2 had a few as well.

Oops, I forgot, this is Styleforum, where everyone is unique because they hate those two artists.
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post #14 of 23
7/9/10 at 1:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by FLMountainMan View Post
Bruce Springsteen had some great stuff on import cds. U2 had a few as well.

Oops, I forgot, this is Styleforum, where everyone is unique because they hate those two artists.

Both used to be great and now suck.
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post #15 of 23
7/9/10 at 1:48pm
I have certainly purchased my fair share of Import LPs from Japan or elsewhere, but looking back on it I can't think of anything offhand that justified the extra sawbuck or two.

Does anybody know of an extra track on a foreign release that was worth buying the import?
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