Widely considered to be one of the most influential bands of the 1990’s and one of the key members of the grunge movement, Pearl Jam has followed the increasingly popular trend of re-releasing one of their most successful albums in a new and improved package. With an estimated sixty million albums sold worldwide throughout their career it may be difficult to determine which album that would be, but for the band formed in the mid 1980’s, it was their freshman release “Ten” from 1991 that seemed most appropriate. Although released at the end of August 1991, “Ten” reached notable commercial success in mid 1992 when it was certified gold and reached number 2 on the Billboard charts. With songs like “Jeremy”, “Alive” and “Even Flow”, the album remained on the charts for over two years and has gone on to go twelve times platinum (12 million album sold).

Now, 18 years later Pearl Jam has decided to re-release their pivotal album in a selection of four different editions that became available on March 24, 2009. There are buzzings that this may be the first reissue in what will be a complete re-release of the band’s entire catalogue as they approach their 20^th anniversary in 2011.

Each version contains a digitally re-mastered version of the original album and a new remixed version (with unreleased tracks) by their longtime producer Brendan O’Brien who produced the band’s subsequent four discs. The most extravagant package is the “Super Deluxe” edition which adds a DVD of the band’s previously unreleased performance on MTV Unplugged, the previously unreleased September 1992 concert at Seattle’s Magnuson Park on two vinyl LPs and a replica of Vedder’s composition notebook filled with notes, photos, stickers and memorabilia from the era. It all comes in a linen-covered, slip-cased clamshell box and also includes a replica of “Momma-Son”, the demo tape Eddie Vedder sent to bassist Jeff Ament and guitarist Stone Gossard in 1990 to get the job as vocalist. All of this is available for $140 US (plus shipping, etc.) from www.pearljam.com.

So, in a time when it seems that selling music has become a challenge, why are we seeing more and more bands offer these over the top packages with hefty price tags? Surely if someone refuses to pay $15 for a CD then there is no way that they will spend $150 for a few little extras. This does not seem to be the case however. The fact is, Pearl Jam have historically not been one of those bands that turns every opportunity into a cash grab. They took some flack for their commercial appeal early in their career (even from the likes of Nirvana front man Kurt Cobain) but they tended to shy away from the overexposed methods of so many others. 

After the video for “Jeremy” the band decided to stop making videos and opted for less interviews and television appearances. They even put a cap on their ticket prices during the Vs. tour to dissuade scalpers and later cut ties with Ticketmaster after discovering that service charges were being added to the fans’ costs. The band has always favoured the old style of success that involves developing your art and taking it directly to the fans. They followed much of what worked for their heroes in the 1960’s, by limiting their media exposure, aiming to release music more often and most importantly, providing a quality product.

This why fans are going to buy this re-release. All the marketing and promotion that has become the focus of so many of today’s bands is precisely why that music isn’t worth buying anymore. Most labels will not give a band time to grow and develop a fan base before “dropping” them so it is important to ram what they can down listeners’ throats before they disappear. Nobody is going to pay $150 for a Pussycat Dolls deluxe package because they haven’t earned it, their fan base has not been developed, people are sick of seeing them on reality television without having even heard their music, and the quality of the product is low. It is product like that that makes people question the worth of a song and steal it online. Without the relationship that artists build with fans by providing quality product throughout their career, there is no vested interest, respect or obligation felt by the consumer to give back. 

Pearl Jam has given to their fans and their fans give back. This is not to say that nobody steals their music or that the band can take advantage of listeners but it demonstrates how and why they have succeeded and will continue to do so.   

 

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl_Jam

http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/feature/q-a-pearl-jam-s-jeff-ament-1003954760.story?pn=1

www.pearljam.com