Anyone Know WB Records CS Phone Number? (1 Viewer)

[Michael Hall]

So the thing is this: I was in the mood for Ministry today and pulled out my CD copy of "The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste" which I've had since around 1991 today for the first time in a while, and found that the disc itself had started to rot around the edges. Since I've experienced disc rot with several UK imports pressed by PDO (particuarly on a Faith No More Live CD and a Coil CD), I became worried and went through my CD collection to see if any other WB-pressed discs had this problem.
Out of all of them, I only found two: the Ministry disc and (coincidentally enough) the Revolting Cocks' "Linger Ficken Good" CD. I was relieved to find only two discs had been affected, but I was very upset that two were affected. After all, I take immaculate care of my CDs and to see two of them become damaged through no fault of my own is rather disheartening.
Now, PDO was extremely nice about shipping me replacement discs for their discs that had quality issues, so I'm wondering if Warner Bros. will be willing to ship me replacement discs for these two discs. I went to their website to see if I could find any information on how to contact them and I came up with nothing.
So, the point of this long-winded post is this: does anyone here know a Customer Service number where I can call WB Records and ask them about this? I offer my deepest thanks in advance to anyone who can help me.

 

[KeithH]

Michael, if the phone number is not on the web site, I don't know what to tell you. Is there no e-mail customer service option? The only problem there is that large companies often do not respond to e-mail. Rhino is an affiliate of Warner Music Group, and www.rhino.com only seems to have an e-mail option. Interestingly, I found the following FAQ on the customer service page:

"I purchased the "In A Word: Yes" boxed set today. On disc 5, track 10, there seems to be a distinct pop and an error at approximately 3:20 into the tune ("In the Presence Of"). Is this a defect in the "run" or is this an individual/isolated error? How can I get a properly working copy of this disc?"
We apologize for the pressing error on this disc. We'll be happy to replace it for you. Please send your defective disc to:
Rhino Customer Service
Attn. Mac Dunlop
10635 Santa Monica Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90025

I found this FAQ on the following web page:
http://www.rhino.com/help/index.html
Now, this is Rhino, and not Warner Music Group. Also, this scenario seems to deal with a recently purchased CD, not an older one, but there is hope here. You could try sending an e-mail message to Rhino for starters. The e-mail address is [email protected] . In addition, you could call Rhino at 1-800-546-3670. I found that number here:
http://www.rhino.com/help/email.html
This disc rot issue has me curious. What did you observe? What does the rot look like? Is there any way you can post a picture?
Best of luck in getting the CDs replaced.

 

[Phil A]

There is likely a number or contact info at http://www.wmg.com/wmg/labelHome.jht...questid=437245

 

[KeithH]

Phil, I was just looking at www.wmg.com when I saw your message. Minds think alike (I don't know if they are great minds).

 

[KeithH]

In looking through various pages at www.wmg.com , it is obvious to me that it is not a consumer-oriented web site. I found no information regarding customer service. The best thing I found is the address for the world headquarters, which is as follows:
75 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10019
That's better than nothing...maybe.

 

[Michael Hall]

This disc rot issue has me curious. What did you observe? What does the rot look like? Is there any way you can post a picture?

It's not necessarily "rotting", but it looks as if the actual shiny part of the disc is being eaten away from the outside edge. It's visible at the very edge of the label side of the disc, but on the data side, you can really see it. It looks as if someone took something sharp and somehow "erased" vein-like portions of the data side, from the outside edge going inwards. I don't know if I'm explaining it right, and I don't have access to a scanner to post a photo right now, but hopefully I'm getting the gist of it all across.
The PDO UK discs I exchanged actually started to turn a brownish color on the label side and one in particular (the FNM live disc) started to "chip" away around the edges of the data side, not unlike what I experienced with the Ministry and RevCo discs, which is why the disc rot issue came to mind when I saw it. I checked the Ministry disc out to see if it showed any of the telltale signs of disc rot (like the static sounds starting at the last track or so that develop), but there didn't seem to be anything. Then again, Ministry's not exactly the most distortion-free band in the first place,, but it sounded fine to me at this point.
And thanks for the links to the WMG. Even if I don't know an actual number for customer service going in, I'm sure that someone I talk to (hopefully) can point me in the right direction.

 

[KeithH]

Michael, interesting. Thanks for information on this disc rot problem. I can't say I've ever noticed that on a CD before.

 

[Michael Hall]

Well, I just got off the phone with a very kind and helpful woman at Warner Bros, and it seems as if they can't help me. They said that due to the age of the CDs, there was really nothing that I could do. She said I could risk sending the discs to their Quality Control center, but that it would take a really long time to process (over two months by her estimations, at the very least). So, it looks like I'm going to have to buy these two discs again and hope for the best. Oh well, I'm supporting the artists I enjoy, and that's okay with me.
For anyone that's interested, here's a link to the official Foetus website with further information on the "disc rot"/bronzing issue and how it affects early 1990's UK discs manufactured by PDO.Disc Rot/Bronzing Issues
And thanks again for all your help on this matter!

 

[Joel Fontenot]

This site has more specific information as well as the UK number to call. But, this was written 7 years ago, so who knows.
I have a couple of PDO disc's here at work, fortunately they are US made. I need to check my 3 London/Decca Records CD's I know I have at home.
Joel

 

[Michael Hall]

The last time I checked (which was about six months ago when I had to exchange my copies of FNM's "Live at the Brixton Academy" and Coil's "Scatology"), PDO was still replacing the bronzed discs and were very helpful about doing so. So, if you've got a potentially bronzed disc, just contact PDO at the following email address: PDO's Disc Rot Helpline
Like I said, the people at PDO are very helpful and willing to answer any questions you may have, from my past experiences. They'll probably ask you to return the defective discs to them, but it only took about a months time to send the discs to them and to get a replacement back.

 

[Justin Lane]

Michael,

It would not hurt taking a chance on sending the discs into QA. The most you would be out is the cost of shipping. Maybe they will surprise you.

I wonder if CD deterioration is going to become more of an issue over the next several years. Nothing lasts forever, but one would expect even a 12 year old CD properly cared for to last.

J

 

[KeithH]

Michael,

Thanks providing the link. Interesting stuff.


Justin,

I too wonder what is going to happen to CDs over time. We shall see.

 

[Joel Fontenot]

but one would expect even a 12 year old CD properly cared for to last.

The first two CD's I ever bought were Heart's Little Queen and Tangerine Dream's LeParc in 1985 - that's 17 years ago and they still play perfectly today with no signs of old age. In fact, I recently ripped a few songs off of both using EAC for my own compilations and neither disc showed errors during extraction. Something I can't say about some newer discs I've got.
Joel

 

[Michael Hall]

The thing that made me so disheartened about the US discs appearing to go bad was that I had taken immaculate care of them. The cases didn't even have a smudge or a scratch on them, and the discs themselves were free of any blemishes other than the "rotting" at the edge. The first CD I ever bought was Faith No More's "The Real Thing" and it still plays as good as it ever did and is in the same condition I bought it in.

I find it odd that the FNM disc I mentioned was pressed and released the same year that the affected Ministry disc was pressed and released, both by Warner Music, and only the Ministry disc has been affected. Strange.

As for replacing the discs, I will probably just end up buying another copy of the Ministry disc, as a new one runs between 8 and ten dollars in most places, so that's not that bad.