Is “Out Of Print” Nearly A Thing Of The Past? Probably Not.

Self-publishing outfits have been around for awhile now, giving deluded artists the opportunity to flood the marketplace with the products of their genius one on-demand copy at a time. However, Amazon is using the print-on-demand CD publishing service CreateSpace to get music back in print that you probably didn’t realize you wanted in the first place–unless you’re looking for six specific titles.

The good news, I guess, is that Amazon is going to use data collected from its currently existing store (read: find out which discs are selling well used and are relatively easy to license) to make new physical copies available through this CreateSpace thing. The bad news? There aren’t really any titles available, and it’s currently impossible to find them.

Amazon, Sony BMG, and EMI Music said that they will make hundreds of out-of-print albums available on Amazon’s Web site through CreateSpace’s Disc on Demand service.

Some of the titles that have been restored to availability include Hatari Soundtrack by Henry Mancini, Earthquake Weather by Joe Strummer, Motorcade of Generosity by Cake, Telepathy by Bill Stewart, Foreign Intrigue by Tony Williams, and Carryin’ On by Grant Green.

A few of the recordings being made available through Disc on Demand are new releases rather than reissues, such as the upcoming title in KCRW’s Sounds Eclectic series.

The arrival of brand-name, major-label content should enhance the credibility of CreateSpace’s media on-demand service, which has yet to shake of the stigma associated with self-publishing. CreateSpace was born last August. It used to be called CustomFlix, which Amazon acquired in July 2005.

If you’ve been sitting around waiting for the opportunity to purchase the one somewhat tolerable Cake disc, that day has arrived, good sir! Otherwise, best of luck; as Maura found out yesterday, the somewhat unimpressive titles in the press release–all slapped up on Amazon with a $12.98 price tag (in the case of the Strummer disc) a copy–are all that the CreateSpace/Amazon partnership is willing to say that it’s offering at the moment.

It’s hard to understand what the real revelation is here for the consumer. Amazon makes a big connection with two major labels, and for what? A Henry Mancini soundtrack? Another KCRW comp to clog my shelf? In the age of endless opportunities to find out-of-print albums digitally, adding a plastic case and the (likely lousy) original liner notes isn’t much to brag about. Anyone who has tried to work their way through the endless red tape involved in gaining the rights to an out-of-print title realizes the inherent difficulties involved in the process, but one can hope that Amazon, Sony BMG and EMI can get their collective acts together to give people something they might actually want, conveniently and at a decent price. If not, Europe’s 50-year limit on copyrights will put quite a bit of stuff in our hands soon enough.

Amazon’s CreateSpace Puts Out-Of-Print Music Back On The Market [Information Week]