Album tactics

So why would anybody spend money on a consumer product which is going to be superceded by something bigger and better in six months time? The record industry must think we're all mugs and in many cases, they're right.

Ellie Goulding's second album Halcyon has just been re-released as Halcyon Days, which now boasts 21 tracks, rather than 13 on the original release. That was the original standard release, because there was also a Deluxe version which had a different six bonus tracks on it. And a Special edition which had two more different tracks on it. And then there is the Tesco edition, which had a couple of other tracks which didn't appear elsewhere. Halcyon Days has also been issued as a Deluxe edition, with a further two tracks which haven't appeared elsewhere. By my reckoning, there have been a total of 33 tracks released on the various editions of this album. No doubt there will soon be a repackaging as Halcyon Fucking Weeks with all of them on there.

Ellie Goulding's record company (Polydor) have previous. Her first album, Lights was reissued as Bright Lights. Interestingly, this repackaging featured the title tracks from the original issue along with the insipid Elton John cover of Your Song and five other tracks. Whereas this could be put down to the unforeseen success of the cover song, the tactics of releasing several different versions of her second long player are disgraceful and nothing more than milking the loyalty of Goulding's more dedicated fans.

Now while i'm on the subject of crap value for money on albums, Avicii has released his debut artist album True this week. You'd expect all his hits to be on there - Levels? Silhouettes? I Could Be The One? - Well.... errmmm.... No. The only mainstream chart single to have made it on there is recent Aloe Blacc collaboration Wake Me Up. The album runs to a mediocre ten tracks and an equally poor 48 minutes plus change. Even if the album is a whole concept which the earlier tracks don't fit in to, why not put them on as three bonus tracks at the end as a gesture to the people who have made the effort to buy the album? It isn't unreasonable to expect an artist album to feature recent hit singles, particularly when they're as high profile as those of Avicii. Ignoring this expectation demonstrates the contempt that the music industry continues to show to its customers, just like endlessly repackaging the same core 13 tracks on an album with different bonus material...