Would certainly be ideal...You'd get no strong debate from me.mattyv1908 wrote:
Pearl Jam needs to recognize its core audience. Rather than 12 variants (I can understand one for RSD to continue supporting brick and mortar record stores), how about producing an audiophile pressing, half speed mastered, 45 rpm, master cut with care and pressed by either MOFI or QRP and sell it for $150. Offer it with the Blu-ray Dolby Atmos mix packaged together and they could probably get a guy like me (and others) to spend $200. Of course that would mean ensuring the signal recordings weren’t redlining the limiters and the mix wasn’t too dynamically smushed. They’ve done it in the past, as recently as their last album.
You could still have your mass production vinyl for the $35-45 price tag that less particular music listeners who still want the physical format to either collect or occasionally spin.
I guess I just feel that Pearl Jam is one of those bands who’ve earned their place as one of the top rock bands in history. Their fan base is mostly comprised of Gen X and early millennials at their peak earning periods of their lives. They can shell out $200-600 for concert tickets to see the band. They would appreciate the audiophile treatment of the bands music.
The only pushback I'd offer on your scenario is something which you've already touched on; speaking strictly from a sonic perspective, Pearl Jam haven't really made an album that warrants such elaborate treatment. 45 rpm, 180g, half-speed mastered vinyl would be entirely wasted on this record. Something akin to a new Steven Wilson album? Without question. Dark Matter? You're really just separating Gen-Xers from their money for the sake of it.
I absolutely adore this album, but, they would have had to put the work in from the onset to really make that a worthwhile endeavor.
