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Columbia Records’ Teenpop Ineptitude Produces Music Collectible

itsaboutcash.pngThose of you who have been following the saga of Disney-peddled heartthrobs the Jonas Brothers may remember that the group released an album on Columbia a mere two years ago. It’s About Time scanned about 62,000 copies, a paltry number that led to the three boys being kicked to the curb by the Sony meanies, which in turn resulted in them winding up in Disney’s stables. Sony has since deleted the title from its catalog, a bit of scarcity that has resulted in prices of the few copies out there going way, way up–although not as expensive as the $2,000 being asked for tickets to their Madison Square Garden shows this weekend. A sampling of prices from around the Web:

ebay: $73 with two days to go (a bargain!)
eBay: $117.50 with six days to go
eBay one more time: $155 with one day to go (for a “near mint” DualDisc version, which has videos and such)
MsgAds.com: $250.00
Amazon Marketplace: $254.99 and up

Of course, the music on the disc can be acquired in more unsavory ways, which may be good news for the budget-conscious JoBros fan since Disney has no plans on reissuing the album.

With demand so high, might Hollywood Records consider a re-release of “It’s About Time?” No, said a spokeswoman. She explained delicately that the music on the older album represented, shall we say, an earlier phase in the band’s development.

Oooh, so icy! It’s a shame, though, since “Mandy” kind of owns:

So a note to all you record-store owners out there: If people come in and buy multiple used copies of It’s About Time despite not looking the demographic part, now you know why. (And you may want to rescue those CDs from your used bins and adjust the pricing accordingly, for profit-boosting purposes.)

A Rare CD by Today’s Hot Boy Band: Bids Start at $160. Do I Hear $200? [NYT]

 
By Maura at 11:00 AM on Mon Aug 4 2008
Posted to:
  • ObtuseIntolerant

    Ahem...There is ONE of me, I'll have you know.


    "Mandy" does own and there are other good songs on it; I found it to be a strong (if flawed) little album. Where it stinks is pretty much where you can feel the creepy hands of the Sony-grown-ups all over it (the lyrically watered down covers, primarily).


    Nick Jonas can be an uptight little 15yo buttface, but he is a buttface who is damn good at what he does, as the leader of this band. I have been following their career and pretty much, the more they are left to their own devices, the better the results.


    And yeah, Joe was really goofy back then (they all looked like Muppets)...but he was just as charming in those days (less censored...so perhaps more).


    (Pft. Look at all of the poseurs, Joe, I loved you before you were even HOT.)

  • Anonymous

    Whoops! Aquamarine soundtrack, not Traveling Pants. Both are worth having.

  • Anonymous

    This is the first promo that I've kicked myself for getting rid of. It's not good overall, but "Time For Me to Fly" is good Hanson-pop and still available on the first Traveling Pants soundtrack, if you need it. And as a music store employee, I can tell you the demand for this is as high as the Traveling Wilburys demand was before their reissue, so I'm surprised there's no reissue in the works. Of course, we live in a kid-centric area, so maybe the demand's not that widespread.

  • baconfat

    It's stuff like this that really make me miss Chris Ott's "Shallow Rewards" blog.

  • Captain Wrong

    Aah, Amazon Marketplace, where anything out of print commands a small fortune.

  • Maura Johnston

    @On the Spot: I figured that the Times' writer's closing bit of snark-for-snark's-sake was so ill-informed, it wasn't even worth commenting on. But I'm glad you ferreted out the eBay listings!

  • Nunya B

    @On the Spot: Trust the New York Times to fumble the easiest part of the entire article.


    Joe was not as cute then, I think, which is the problem*. The new hair- and puberty- have done wonders.


    *and which is also a blessing because I have no interest in seeing Chris Hansen come to my door

  • On the Spot

    Tend to agree with first comment, and yet here I go...


    NY Times idiot: "The Hanson album that includes that song can now be had on eBay for about $5."


    But the Hanson albums BEFORE that album, which after all are what he's really talking about?
    $274.95

    $299.95

  • Maura Johnston

    @Plain Pat, what up?: It's nice to know that even with your new names, your song remains the same.

  • Bazooka Tooth

    Those of you who have been following the saga of Disney-peddled heartthrobs the Jonas Brothers
    You mean all zero of us?

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