X5 Music Group

amclark2

I've been enjoying various X5 music group releases from amazon lately, but was wondering a little bit about the provenance of their recordings - everything on their comps seems to come from other labels - for example, there is a lot of Bis stuff - so I looked around a little bit.

Their website links to this Forbes article. It looks like it's all legit; they're licensing back catalog stuff and then putting out digital comps of the material. And their US CEO is an emusic alum!

This seems incredibly smart, now that I think about it; Bis makes a little money of an old release that's not selling anymore, plus maybe gains attention for some of it's stable of performers, X5 profits from the comp, and I get an easy and cheap way to discover classical music. Win win win.

So I will keep on enjoying these, and now without any guilt. (or at least with regard to provenance - I'll let the classical experts decide if the bargain route is the best way to go in learning about classical music...)

amclark2

here's a Wall Street Journal article that looks interesting, but you have to subscribe to read it. Of course.

Doofy

I'm glad they're doing well, but as an editor I cannot sanction the use of the phrase "Most Essential"--especially not when there are 99 of them! Kind of like "Most Unique."

More power to them, actually. Hope they do more with jazz, although it would be more valuable if easier to find info on where the recordings come from. There's a kind-of similar label out there that's reissuing all sorts of crazy old jazz records from the 50s and 60s...will post here next time I run across it.

BigD-Bluez

Glad to hear the bona fides, because I have found their products pretty solid. If I was home I could access the library but besides the classical sets I recall a number of jazz samplers etc. Just looked them up on Amazon (my preferred hunting ground search wise) and had no idea how many albums they had - 1,641.
I've hit at least 4 of those Rise of the Masters (or The How Can I Get Duplicate Classical Items In My Music Folders Series - but at that price who cares), and a goodly number of those Essential when they were on sale. BTW if the Chopin Rise of the Masters is still $1.29 tonight I might have to do that - I don't usually collect him).
Trying to figure out their presence on eMu - X5 Music Group - X5 Music - which is much less substantial. There are other labels involving X5 as well.

I want this - The Complete Scottish Bagpipe Collection - but the penurious portion of my ancestry hailing from the moors hates to pay $7.99.

Germanprof

You could construct an interesting lecture in set theory around their titles, I suspect. "The 99 Most Essential Pieces of Classical Music" as distinct from "The 99 Most Essential Masterpieces of the Classical Era" and "The 100 Most Essential Pieces of Classical Music "...

Better watch out for "The 35 Most Evil Pieces of Classical Music" though.

Nereffid

My general attitude to these big bargain sets is that as long as you have some sense of caveat emptor you'll do OK. Sometimes you'll get an orchestra that's not great, or something where the recorded sound is poor, or a performance of early music with no sense of historical practice (though for some listeners that's an advantage!). The same can be said of buying any classical recording at random, but obviously with a big box set you might be increasing your chances of getting a dud.

Their "Rise of the Masters" series has absolutely hilarious covers.
"Great news, darling! A Swedish record company has seen my work in that sporting goods catalogue, and they've asked me to pose as Beethoven!"
"But you look nothing like Beethoven".
"Well, they give me a wig. Here, look..."
"Wait, did you say Beethoven or Michael Heseltine?"

I wonder, when they do a Dvorak one, will they just use the guy from the Debussy album?

Anyway, my point is this: $1.99 is a fine price to pay for 100 (well, technically 30) Beethoven masterpieces, but personally I think it would be an even greater bargain if the Tbilisi Symphony's performances weren't included.

Germanprof

@Nereffid, absolutely. For me, these are almost in the same category as the (rather more expensive but still a steal) "Perfect Jazz Collection" box set I just bought - I don't expect to like everything, and that's actually part of the point of buying a large bargain set, to be able to pick through stuff that you're not yet fully committed to and find *some* things that delight and lead further, and to learn that less compelling stuff is less compelling without having really paid for it. It's like getting to take the bargain bin from the record store home and listen to it all before deciding what to get; discarding is part of what makes keeping meaningful, and as long as there are a few gems in there it's a lot of fun.