Too Many Albums

[Dean McCarten]

Well I had a thought the other day in relation to how Decca/UCJ has dealt with Hayley's Albums

Well I looked at the other day that KJ has 6 International (8 if you include JP releases) albums to date which have all done well.

Then you have Hayley who has:
NZ & Aust Albums

• WITA(very rare, not general sale),
  
• HW
  
• MYGTY
  

International Albums

• 11+ Pure Versions
  
• 5 + Odyssey Versions
  
• 3+ Treasure Versions
  
• 3 RoD Versions
  

Japan Albums

• Wuthering Heights - Hayley mini album
  
• Prayer
  
• Amazing Grace
  
• Crystal
  
• Hayley Westenra
  
• HSJS
  
• Mozart's Wiegenlied
  
• The Pure Voice (Best Of 2008)
  

I think I may have missed one or two but I'm sure somebody else can help with the ones I've missed.

Now I have to wonder if this has been a good thing or bad as I'm sure KJ fans have found the albums being the same internationally a bouns, whereas with Hayley, it's which version to buy (In my case it's as many as I have find when I have the money to hand).

I can see how this can cause problems with creating these CD's and promotion. but not all of these albums are counted is Hayley's current contract which was for 5 (int) albums (I think).

Ok I'll get back to my point...
Is it really cost effective for Hayley to have so many versions when Katherine has less than 10 album versions and from news reports I have seen has already repaid her costs to UCJ?

Dean

[stevemacdonald]

Well, at least it's better than having too few albums!

Hayley's CDs are nonexistent in the states. I defy anyone to go out and buy one this afternoon. The best you'll find is the Celtic Woman album or the soundtrack to Mulan II in the kids' section. And good luck getting a sales clerk who's even heard of Hayley.

As to your concern about too many albums for Hayley, no one outside of her core fan group is expected to track down each and every variation. By putting out so many regional and bonus editions Decca can release additional Hayley material without worrying about setting up a fresh contract. No doubt she records more songs for each major album than make the initial cuts, and so the leftovers have to go somewhere and let's be glad for that.

Now that online sales are making the music market into a cafeteria, it will be interesting to watch how future Hayley albums are assembled. They will be able to track which types of songs get snapped up the most in every region. It may turn out that a country tune puts her on the map stateside, and a sacred song wins the day in Wales while a folk song finds her new fans in Finland, etc.

[Natasha]

I have to say I agree with the "too many albums" theory. I don't really understand this method of promotion.

[larryhauck]

Hi Steve,
I agree with you. The U S is currently on a country, rock, or rap kick. If it weren't for amazon I wouldn't be able to buy Hayley's music. I've been convinced that Hayley needs a country album to break into the U S. Just to get her foot in the door. It could be a higher class album , perhaps something like Faith Hill.
K D Lang has managed to cross over to other type of music. Tony Bennett had her on his last album.

Larry

[martindn]

Well Hayley has a lot of albums, Grant claims to have nearly 100. But you can't have too much Hayley, and although I take the point about too many slight variants released in different countries, the more she does and the more varied it is, the wider her appeal is likely to be.
As for country music, I think it is a particularly American thing. It doesn't sell that well elsewhere. So if she does a country album, it should probably be US only. But this would only add to the diversity of her releases in different countries.
I would go for a folk album, meaning English/Scottish/Irish/Maori since I really think it is something she is good at. Yes. I like Summer Fly, her only "country" effort as far as I know, correct me if I am wrong, but that doesn't make her Shania Twain. It all adds fuel to the fire, that she needs different approaches and genres in different countries, whereas the thrust of this thread is that she should be trying to bring these different streams together.
But how popular is American country music n Japan or NZ for example. I don't know myself. Or English folk, for that matter (Scarborough Fair (which might be scottish), She Moves through the Fair (Irish?), Mummers Dance).

Martin

[grant]

Jan 25, 2009 21:06:47 GMT martindn said:

Well Hayley has a lot of albums, Grant claims to have nearly 100. But you can't have too much Hayley,

Quite right Martin (you can come and count them any time i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif)! But to be fair, many of mine are promo's with about 40% being 'official releases.

Best wishes
Grant

[roger]

There ya go, we seem to have our answer. If one member has so many that he needs another member to come and count them, then there must be too many albums!

Roger

[Richard]

You can't blame Hayley for producing so many different albums. That's down to Universal, and they churn out all these compilations using the same tracks over and over again. It's getting beyond a joke now.

Richard

[Jeff]

Jan 26, 2009 9:31:42 GMT Richard said:

You can't blame Hayley for producing so many different albums. That's down to Universal, and they churn out all these compilations using the same tracks over and over again. It's getting beyond a joke now.

Richard

Which is why I don't buy them if they duplicate tracks I've already got !

[martindn]

They are a bit more cunning than that though. You will find an album duplicates mostly what you already have, but has one wonderful song that you can't get anywhere else. So you can end up buying the same music over and over again!
I will not buy a record unless it has something on it I don't already have. That means I am not a purist collector like some here, but do like to have as much of Hayley's work as I can reasonably obtain.
I also download videos from here and elsewhere, which really does produce some stuff that you can't get anywhere else!

Martin

[Libby]

Jan 25, 2009 17:58:10 GMT stevemacdonald said:

Well, at least it's better than having too few albums!

As to your concern about too many albums for Hayley, no one outside of her core fan group is expected to track down each and every variation. By putting out so many regional and bonus editions Decca can release additional Hayley material without worrying about setting up a fresh contract. No doubt she records more songs for each major album than make the initial cuts, and so the leftovers have to go somewhere and let's be glad for that.

Well, none of Hayley's fans should have to buy several different versions of one album, especially if it's only to get one or two extra songs from each one. It just isn't fair. Nobody should defend Decca for this.

I'm wouldn't call any of her songs leftovers. The "extra" songs on the American version of Odyssey, for example, were specifically intended for this version. And I'm certainly not glad that her songs are scattered on several different versions. I'm glad it's possible to get most of them, but I'm not glad that I have to pay extra money. I do it anyway, though.

[nicola]

I thought different countries had different versions because every country is a different market and demands different material. The UK has more classical tracklistings than other countries because of the criteria to get into the classical chart. Japan always have bonus tracks because it's actually cheaper for them to buy imports than their own CDs, so they need some incentive to buy their own releases.

Katherine probably has a lot less versions, since she is only in the UK, really. Hayley is international. I would challange anybody to find an international artist that releases only one edition of each album. Even huge pop acts like Britney Spears have different tracklistings.

Not that I agree with the many editions. They do my head in. I buy one version of the album, then download surplus songs found in different countries. Legally or illegally. I don't care. I've paid for the album once, I'm not paying again.

[1littlegirl]

Hmm, yes, there are many many versions of Hayley's albums. However, I wouldn't say there are 'too many.' It does get a bit confusing or frustrating at times, but overall I think it is kind of fun trying to chase down all the exclusive songs (aside from the money aspect i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif). I recently ordered the RoD NZ version so I could get the songs 'Majesty' and the new version of 'God Defend New Zealand.' I don't mind paying for a whole album for just two songs when it comes to Hayley.