Doug Adams

Absolutely. I've done liners for albums where I've had to pin down developmental arcs well before the score has even finished being composed. It's often a case of asking the composer, "Well, what do you think might happen?" You have to choose your words incredibly carefully, because you could easily tie yourself to something that makes no sense later. The first Hobbit was particularly tricky. Neither the film nor the score was done when I did the notes. And it was only part one of three, so the initial themes could have gone in almost any direction in future installments. Since I wanted to be able to revisit everything more comprehensively down the line, I tried to avoid naming anything or giving anything more than general structural parameters. But even that was difficult since I had maybe four different sketched out or mocked up versions of the end of the score, and no one knew yet what the final draft would sound like. I wouldn't trade the experience for the world -- and I worked with amazing, supportive people -- but it was a difficult gig!
 
By the way, I'm told that much of the issue with the lead time these days is that CD manufacturing plants are closing down left and right. If you want to press something in semi-large numbers, you basically need to reserve a time months and months in advance ... and that time may or may not be near the actual release window. It's usually not. And woe be he who gets behind schedule and can't deliver materials to the manufacturers on time. You either pay through the nose to adjust the date (which in the case of the niche film score market likely means bye-bye profits) or you get the next available spot, which could -- and likely would -- delay the project by months. 
 
As they say: Creativity is easy. Logistics are hard!
 
 

That's not the actual cover. I always use temp covers when I write. Not sure why. It helps with mood, I guess.
 
And yes, the book follows the complete Extended Scores ... and in the order and structure of the original fully orchestrated compositions (meaning the first fully realized draft before filmmaker conformations).

It's almost as if someone thought that writing about the complete scores would help reinforce their commercial viability, thus paving the road to potential future releases. What madness! 
 
 

That's not the actual cover. I always use temp covers when I write. Not sure why. It helps with mood, I guess.
 
And yes, the book follows the complete Extended Scores ... and in the order and structure of the original fully orchestrated compositions (meaning the first fully realized draft before filmmaker conformations).

I don't think stealing from an artist you claim to admire would be very admirable.
 
 
Alternates tend to live quite nicely as Rarities. Allows the principal album to maintain a proper narrative flow, yet ensures that the material still reaches interested listeners. 

Not including the rewrites (Radagast, Thorin's Wraith chant, etc.) or alternates, which are not currently considered to be "score canon" ... if such a thing exists. 

I don't think stealing from an artist you claim to admire would be very admirable.
 
 
Alternates tend to live quite nicely as Rarities. Allows the principal album to maintain a proper narrative flow, yet ensures that the material still reaches interested listeners. 

I would expect that people would have a mature and informed understanding that such decisions do not rest in any single pair of hands. Many people -- myself included -- would love to see Hobbit Complete Recordings. No one is depriving listeners for nefarious pleasure. It's simply a question of whether or not those with pockets deep enough to fund such a project are willing/able to do so without a guaranteed return on the investment. Right now, that hasn't happened. It doesn't necessarily mean it won't ever ... but right now Hobbit CRs do not have a green light. Other projects, however, do.
 
 

It's almost as if someone thought that writing about the complete scores would help reinforce their commercial viability, thus paving the road to potential future releases. What madness! 
 
 

It's almost as if someone thought that writing about the complete scores would help reinforce their commercial viability, thus paving the road to potential future releases. What madness! 
 
 

I would expect that people would have a mature and informed understanding that such decisions do not rest in any single pair of hands. Many people -- myself included -- would love to see Hobbit Complete Recordings. No one is depriving listeners for nefarious pleasure. It's simply a question of whether or not those with pockets deep enough to fund such a project are willing/able to do so without a guaranteed return on the investment. Right now, that hasn't happened. It doesn't necessarily mean it won't ever ... but right now Hobbit CRs do not have a green light. Other projects, however, do.
 
 

The standard edition LOTR CDs vastly outsold the CRs, which were a niche collectors' item. Were they artistically superior? Yes, in my opinion. But that's not what drives the market. 
 
If you're referring to the home video releases of the films themselves, that's a different company. The albums are produced separately.  

Admittedly it's rare these days, but not all Americans throw "hissy fits."
 
 

I would expect that people would have a mature and informed understanding that such decisions do not rest in any single pair of hands. Many people -- myself included -- would love to see Hobbit Complete Recordings. No one is depriving listeners for nefarious pleasure. It's simply a question of whether or not those with pockets deep enough to fund such a project are willing/able to do so without a guaranteed return on the investment. Right now, that hasn't happened. It doesn't necessarily mean it won't ever ... but right now Hobbit CRs do not have a green light. Other projects, however, do.
 
 

I would expect that people would have a mature and informed understanding that such decisions do not rest in any single pair of hands. Many people -- myself included -- would love to see Hobbit Complete Recordings. No one is depriving listeners for nefarious pleasure. It's simply a question of whether or not those with pockets deep enough to fund such a project are willing/able to do so without a guaranteed return on the investment. Right now, that hasn't happened. It doesn't necessarily mean it won't ever ... but right now Hobbit CRs do not have a green light. Other projects, however, do.
 
 

The standard edition LOTR CDs vastly outsold the CRs, which were a niche collectors' item. Were they artistically superior? Yes, in my opinion. But that's not what drives the market. 
 
If you're referring to the home video releases of the films themselves, that's a different company. The albums are produced separately.  

Admittedly it's rare these days, but not all Americans throw "hissy fits."
 
 

No.
 
1) LOTR and Hobbit did not get the same commercial treatment. The LOTR scores were initially released as standard suite-form OSTs, which left ample room for expansion. The Hobbit scores were released in nearly complete two-disc sets. This means Hobbit CRs would largely overlap the prior releases, which makes them a harder sell to the general public ... which makes producers jumpy.
 
2) Even ignoring the change in both film studios and record labels, release strategies vary greatly from property to property. They're not plugging material into a pre-eixtisting workflow. 

It's almost as if someone thought that writing about the complete scores would help reinforce their commercial viability, thus paving the road to potential future releases. What madness! 
 
 

It's almost as if someone thought that writing about the complete scores would help reinforce their commercial viability, thus paving the road to potential future releases. What madness! 
 
 

No:
 
"And yes, the book follows the complete Extended Scores ... and in the order and structure of the original fully orchestrated compositions (meaning the first fully realized draft before filmmaker conformations)."

No:
 
"And yes, the book follows the complete Extended Scores ... and in the order and structure of the original fully orchestrated compositions (meaning the first fully realized draft before filmmaker conformations)."

No:
 
"And yes, the book follows the complete Extended Scores ... and in the order and structure of the original fully orchestrated compositions (meaning the first fully realized draft before filmmaker conformations)."

Working on bringing the podcast back ... in a different format. Two in the can now, but I'm waiting for a few more before launching so that there are several ready to go right off the bat.
 
An no, it's not video. I hate that too.

No:
 
"And yes, the book follows the complete Extended Scores ... and in the order and structure of the original fully orchestrated compositions (meaning the first fully realized draft before filmmaker conformations)."