Would this be possible with the High Def (HD-DVD and Bluray) formats - music scores? (1 Viewer)

[Alistair_M]

I think I read on the web that there could be locked content on the next generation disks.

A particular interest of mine is film music soundtracks. However, I know that this is a minority interest for most that buy dvds etc.

Would it be possible for the scores of movies to be unlocked on HD-DVD and Bluray (obviously by paying an extra fee). It would be a nice earner for the film studios.

Its pretty unusual to get an isolated score on dvds (is that because of commercial reasons ie so as not to hurt their cd score sales?), but it would be great if this was a standard unlockable feature on next generation disks - pay a bit extra for the scores you love!

I've always thought that the soundtracks on cds never really worked, as they are almost always editted, and usually in stereo.

I think there would be quite a market for film score lovers if we could have the score unlockable in high resolution audio. I get goose pimples just thinking about it - the whole score, in fantastic fidelity, in surround sound...

I know that I'd buy dozens and dozens of disks.

 

[Aaron_Brez]

That sounds like an interesting concept, though it would undoubtedly require an internet connection for content-unlock. There's no question it *could* be done, I'm just not sure it *would* be.

 

[David Allen]

I doubt soundtrack sales are good enough that DVD would infringe on revenue. However, since music isn't separate from the rest of the soundtrack, the studio would have to allow room for an isolated score. I don't think this would happen unless it's a particularly noteable score (ie. won awards, known composer).

 

[John H Ross]

There are (unfortunately) lots of artistic/legal/licencing reasons why this won't happen including:

1. The score as heard in the film is seldom what the composer intended, especially now that films (and, by its nature, the music) are re-edited at the last minute. I doubt the composer would want the music to be available in this form.

2. The reason DVD isolated scores are rare is because of the bootleg market. Scores can easily be copied to CD, packaged and sold on e-Bay etc.

Generally speaking, commercial soundtrack albums are still the best way to hear film music apart from the films unless, of course, you can get your hands on composer-produced promos which are often longer and more comprehensive.

John