Music Replacement (1 Viewer)

[Jeff Ulmer]

I don't think anyone WANTS a show to be modified for DVD release, but the reality is that if music rights are too expensive, the choice will come down to replacing some of the music or not releasing the show at all. That will not change, so the consumer faces a choice of buying a modified product or not getting the show at all, ever.

If done judisciously, music replacement can be pretty inconpicuous, ie. licensing the key uses (like highly dramatic scenes or pivotal moments) while letting some of the more ambient background pieces go. This is highly subjective of course.

While I respect the decision of those who will not buy any modified product, if enough people decide to forego purchases of a series, the likelihood is that there will be no more releases, period. Low sales are low sales, and the reasons behind them are irrelevant.

 

[Robert Ringwald]

I agree with the comments George. And when sets sell many copies with replaces music, or even the replaced theme song... you get cases like Dawson's Creek and Sony... where they recognize that nobody is going to have huge complaints if they continue replacing the theme. I doubt they even tried to licence the theme after season 3 came out. Sales were similar to seasons 1/2 and they figured... "Hm, why bother? People don't really mind. Why waste more $$$ to get some song?"

 

[RoryR]

Didn't they make a deal with Dawsons Creek that the producers of the show chose the new music? Not some DVD studio guy.

 

[Robert Ringwald]

Rory,

They usually try to do that. What they do is get someone involved with the show to try to replace the music.

Felicity had JJ Abrams himself there to supervise and pick the replaced music, as did Roswell. Dawson's Creek was no exception... except they didn't bother to get the theme song correct for seasons 3-6... They didn't want to pay paula cole for the song.

They informed the producers that they weren't going to pay for the theme, so they had to go with the overseas theme song, which cost less money. The producers touch upon it in the commentary. But what causes me to think they just didn't want to pony up as much $$$ as other studios do for music is the fact that they also crammed all 22-24 episodes from seasons 2-6 onto 4 discs. Which is just ridiculous. I find it hard to believe those sets weren't selling that well. Personally I just think that they chose to cut corners to maximize profits.

 

[george kaplan]

Well the same thing has often been said of pan & scan, with a good operator, keeping the focus on the important action, and just losing pretty unimportant stuff at the sides.

 

[MarkHastings]

As HUGE of a Simpsons fan that I am, I didn't even notice the music change during the episode where Bart works for the mobsters. If it weren't for the commentary, I never would have known.

That's probably one of the few cases where it doesn't kill me to have music replaced. There are definite exceptions to that rule, but there are things I can handle.

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

Well George, you are entitled to your opinion, but in the majority of discs I have viewed with replaced music, 90% of the time I didn't notice, unlike what happens when a film is pan & scanned.

 

[george kaplan]

Ah, but that's the rub. Most of the time you don't notice music replacement and most of the time you do notice pan & scan.

But lots of folks out there will tell you that 90% of the time they don't notice anything in a pan & scan film.

Does that mean cause they don't notice it that you're wrong to be unhappy with it, or are just being anal about it?

Noticing it isn't the point. The point is that whether it's picture on the side, edited out dialogue, music replacement, or colorization, the product is being changed, always for the worse, and whether you notice it or not, it's wrong, and it's not the product originally created.

Hell, I'm sure you can find films I've never seen (or haven't seen for many years) and show me an edited version with whole scenes missing, and music replacement and the wrong aspect ratio, and I might not 'notice'. But that's a red herring. If it's altered, I ain't touching it.