To Have and To Hold

One aspect of being any kind of a collector is the physical relationship that's reinforced by having, holding, and re-examining that rare collectible, but with music, the need to possess a physical CD has become less important, as portability has become a major criterion: to fit 10-20 MP3 albums on a credit card-sized digital media player is way more advantageous to the average music listener than dragging a bag-full of standard audio CDs.

So how does the collector contend with MP3s when there's no pretty booklet, art, or potential of rareness and future investment in a purchase?

Ultimately, the collector has to reason why he/she started to pick up albums, and for most, the key is the music. That's certainly why so many soundtracks continue to enjoy CD releases and re-issues and premiere editions after collecting dust for decades; but can the collector return to the roots of the music?

Whether downloadable film soundtracks - actual scores, not those delete bin 'music from and inspired by' clutter - can co-exist with standard CDs is still something the market has to tackle, but little by little, riding on the success and popularity of the MP3 format, film music is appearing as legal, affordable, downloadable albums, and one of the pioneers in the field is Mikael Carlsson, and his label MovieScore Media.

Carlsson, a longtime contributor to Music from the Movies, ultimately branched out as a soundtrack album producer, and we felt his success with MovieScore Media [MSM] deserved a profile, because his 13+ releases are the result of some unique advantages when a label stays in the digital realm; the music released so far by MSM proves there's a lot of great stuff major labels can't keep up with. Just click HERE to read the complete interview & profile.

We've also added a review of the label's MP3 album for Brett Rosenberg's great thriller score, Half Light (2006).


Technorati Tags: MP3 Albums, Soundtrack Reviews