Lacuna Coil jump on the "rip off the fans" bandwagon...

Lacuna Coil, one of my favourite bands, has recently had their current album Shallow Life re-issued with a bonus disc of extra tracks and live performances. The same thing happened with their album Comalies but at least at that time you could buy the bonus disc from the Century Media shop if you had already bought the original album (Century Media being the bands record label). This time however there is no such option.


When I bought Shallow Life, when it was originally released last April, there were two versions available. A digipak version with a bonus track, Oblivion, and a standard 12 track jewel case version. I opted for the digipak version to get the bonus track (who wouldn't want more music from their favourite bands?). When I found out that a new "Deluxe Version" had been released I wasn't very happy. I bought the album as soon as it came out because I love Lacuna Coil's music and couldn't wait to own it. Now I feel cheated because if I had waited nearly a year I could have had bought the "Deluxe Version" instead of one of the standard versions. Many of the extra tracks in the "Deluxe Edition" are cuts from the Shallow Life recording sessions so would have been available at the time of the albums original release. Why didn't they put them out on a "Deluxe Version" back then?

Stonesour, P!nk, Disturbed , In This Moment, Lady Gaga, Amy Winehouse, Duffy, Destiny's Child, Foo Fighters, Atreyu, Deathstars, Miley Cyrus, Ozzy Osbourne... So many artists and bands have done this over the years and it is an insult to us, the fans. The fans should be able to have the choice from day one as to whether they should buy the "Deluxe Version" or the "standard version". Chances are it isn't entirely the bands' decision, it's more likely than not down to the record label and management. Either way it still doesn't bode well for the fans, who have to shell out more money for an album they already have just for a few extra tracks. YES I want the extra tracks but NO I don't want to have to buy the album again to get them. Why would I want 2 copies of the same album?

It seems that this is what happens when a band gains more popularity. The record labels decide it's a good idea to screw their fans for as much money as they can. After all of this they still wonder why people download illegally. Any true fan of a band will buy the album when it's first released. They won't wait on the off chance that a "Deluxe Version" becomes available.

Many albums are available from the original release in "Deluxe Edition" and "standard edition" so why can't they all be the same? Why do some bands feel the need to rip fans off by releasing additional content for a premium at a later date?

I should point out that remastered albums I don't have a problem with. With the remasters you're getting remastered audio and a lot of the time access to bonuses that wouldn't have been able to have been released at the same time as the original due to the different technology of the era.
I quite happily got the latest Depeche Mode, Rammstein, Children of Bodom, and Creed albums in the "Deluxe Edition" and was able to do so on the original release dates and not nearly a year later. No wonder the world of music is a mess. It's no longer about the music and creativity instead, as with everything else in the world, it's about money, money money!

In 40 years time what modern day music is going to be as influential and popular as the music of the 1960-70s? Which of todays artists and bands will have a legacy as great as that of The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie and Elvis Presley? Not many, if any.