Why future Star Wars expansions shouldn't be exclusively released as physical limited edition sets

[Manakin Skywalker 4,894]

Before I start, I want to clarify that I am NOT saying that future Star Wars expansions shouldn't get physical copies at all. Personally I prefer physical sets, I just don't think they should be exclusive. Right now we are used to record labels such as Intrada, La-La Land Records, Varese Sarabande, etc. usually releasing physical-only sets with a limited number of copies...

 

...That would not work for Star Wars.

 

First of all, we need to take into account how many fans would be interesting in Star Wars expansions (especially for the prequels). Just judging by the amount of traffic I get on my YouTube channel, there would be tens if not hundreds of thousands of fans wanting to purchase these sets. And that doesn't even include hardcore collectors that don't even care about the music, but just feel the need to buy up every piece of SW merchandise they can get their hands on. Most limited edition sets are capped off at 2,000 to 5,000 units. The biggest cap I can think of is 10,000 units on rare occasion for some sets (i.e. the Star Trek: TMP set). Star Wars is arguably the biggest franchise in history, with the largest fanbase in existence. 10,000 would not nearly cut it; they'd be sold out in minutes, leaving most fans unable to purchase anything.

 

Although much less satisfactory, a digital-only release like Solo could actually be a good thing. First, there is no runtime limit. Right now I think many of us are concerned that if expansions for, say, ROTJ for example would happen, that if Disney is not willing to fund a third disc, some of the music would need to be left off. With a digital release, there is no limit, and therefore more music could be added. Another benefit would be both the production time and pricing. A good chunk of time taken to create physical sets is the creation of the assembly (especially for big boxsets) as well as production time from the companies producing the cases, discs, booklets, etc. That also makes it much more expensive. And the more expensive a product is to make, the more the buyers will need to pay...

 

For example, a standard 2-hour digital set is usually $20 on average. A physical set with the same amount of music is typically $35 (not including shipping!) Take into account the prequel trilogy; if we were to get the same boxset treatment for the prequels as we got for the first three Harry Potter films, the price would likely be identical for a physical boxset as there would likely be the same amount of discs and about the same runtime. That would be approx. $100. However three films worth of music released digitally would likely be closer to $50-60. Now if we were hypothetically getting a huge boxset of all 9 films, that would be closer to $300 for a physical boxset, and $180 at most for a digital copy, if even that much.

 

Another thing, which isn't quite as important in my opinion, is that digital set can be produced much faster. A physical set that takes ~2 years to produce could take potentially half the time to produce, if not less.

 

Again, I am not at all saying that physical sets should not be produced, I am simply saying that at the very least both digital and physical sets should be available. I've been a physical-set purist for years, but we're at the point now where it makes much more sense to release these sets digitally as it would save everyone money, make sure everyone can gets the set, and potentially include more music that would not fit on a 2-disc set. 

[Jay 37,364]

There isn't a shot in the dark that Disney Records would release expansions of JW's Star Wars scores on CD only.  They'd be simultaneous CD & digital editions, like the OST albums for 7-9 were, or like Universal did with the three Back to the Future scores in 2015

[Manakin Skywalker 4,894]

Just now, Jay said:

There isn't a shot in the dark that Disney Records would release expansions on CD only.  They'd be simultaneous CD & digital editions, like the OST albums for 7-9 were

 

Definitely. And that's the way it should be.

[Holko 9,526]

Controversial? I don't know why anyone wouldn't want for anyone anywhere to be able to access them easily and properly. I'd love to have physical nice looking sets too of course.

[Manakin Skywalker 4,894]

7 minutes ago, Holko said:

Controversial? I don't know why anyone wouldn't want for anyone anywhere to be able to access them easily and properly. I'd love to have physical nice looking sets too of course.

 

I was thinking while typing; I was originally defending digital-only sets like Solo, but decided perhaps not to go that far.

 

EDIT: I removed "controversial" from the title since it's no longer necessary.

[Richard Penna 3,690]

I think digital-only is absolutely the way to go for expansions of even quite big scores like Solo. Forget about the mechanical/manufacturing/delivery overheads and focus on what's actually important. Provided they're purchasable in lossless of course.

 

For really small scores, I'm ecstatic just when I find I can buy an mp3 album; lossless is the icing on the cake.

 

Mainstream Star Wars is different, because the market is monumental for those, and Disney woud have no trouble shifting CDs/box sets.

[JohnnyD 1,223]

Excellent points made. Personally, I would go either way. I would pay whatever the price is for the eventual remastered, expanded and definitive release of the Maestro's nine Star Wars scores. For digital, I'll go a step further and say that the set include a digital booklet showcasing the making of the Maestro's scores and details chronicling different leitmotifs and themes. Either way, I REALLY want this set to become a reality!