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BMG Music Club - new twist

Hi all,

I joined BMG some years ago -- you know, 12 CDs for the price of 1. Joined for the free CDs, bought a few additional CDs, then got tired of returning the cards, and dropped out.

Every now and again, they send me a packet of info to get me to re-join, and I always lose interest when I look over the album choices they offer for signing up -- lots of great artists, but never the exact title you are looking for (I'm not a fan of "best of" albums generally), and kind of mainstream, for obvious reasons.

Here's what's new: the latest blurb from them mentions that you can sign up via the Internet. I did, because when I checked it out, you can choose from 12,000 titles for your "free" albums! Searchable by category, artist (works better than the category search), etc. I have a huge wish list from recommendations made here at Audiogon. About half of the titles I looked for, they have! So I'm getting Kleiber's Beethoven 5th & 7th symphonies, Aretha Franklin's 2-CD gospel recording, a Dylan album, an Emmy Lou Harris album, and I can't remember what else. Looking forward to getting that box!

In the FAQ on their site, they address the oft-posed question of whether their CDs are physically of the "same" quality as the original labels. They claim that they don't make any CDs, and that all their CDs come from the original labels, specially-marked per a contractual agreement. I don't know if that makes anyone feel better...

One thing they don't specify on their site is what the infamous "shipping and handling" charges are. As I recall, it's something ridiculous like $3.00 *per CD*. Pretty steep -- it means those 12 CDs actually cost you about 50 bucks -- still a good deal if it's music you want.

Well, thought I'd pass that along in case there are other folks out there who throw those mailers out regularly like I do...

- Eric
ehart

Showing 4 responses by sugarbrie

sugarbrie
3,854 posts
 
I joined BMG back in the early 80's when for classsical it was called the "International Preview Society". A promotion back then I took advantage of gave me 2 free (single) recordings a year, free for life, as long as I maintain my membership. 20 years later and I still get my card from them for what is now 2 CDs free per year for life. So I guess I have gotten about 40 free recordings this way.

I have also gotten a few free CDs from their Music Points system. Once a memeber my advice is to wait for the sales, like buy one, get 3 free; or 70% off (the current sale).

Their online site has actually been up for over 3 years. You can deny the auto purchases online as well, instead of the cards.

sugarbrie
3,854 posts
 
Marakanetz. While it is true BMG has its non BMG label club CDs made for the club in most cases, the rest is probably an urban legend/rumor. BMG is more than a club. It is one of the largest recording distributors in the world. It has over 200 record labels in 54 countries.

One of the big audiophile magazines did an extensive test and could not find a difference in the quality of any of the CDs. They lab tested them and did listening tests.

BMG has the manufacturing facilities, so making other company's labels under license is cheaper than buying and reselling. The club CDs come out of the same factories as their own labels they send to stores.

sugarbrie
3,854 posts
 
There is a couple test articles out there. The Stereophile one is at:

http://www.stereophile.com/showarchives.cgi?55

sugarbrie
3,854 posts
 
I assume the $2.50 per CD postage and handling is enough to cover their costs. So they probably at least break-even if you never order another CD after the initial 12.
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