It's been almost a month since Columbia officially
announced the
December 28 release of
Tour of Duty - The Complete 2nd Season. At the time, they stated in all their materials and press releases that the Suggested List Price (SLP) would be $49.95 in the USA.
Yesterday we received notice from the studio that they have "Revised (the) SLP from $49.95 to $39.95" on this title. This makes it $10 cheaper than the first season set, so if you were on the fence about getting it then we would suggest you wait no longer!
DVDPlanet has already updated their listing to reflect the new pricing, and others (such as
Amazon) are sure to follow quickly.
One thing to note along the way, however. Below you will see that we've aquired new pics of the box set, including a peek at the disc art plus a nice shot of the back side of the box. In two different places on the back there is emphasis that the music on this DVD set is different from the original broadcast versions:
- "TOUR OF DUTY features a new music soundtrack including popular songs from the Vietnam era!
- Includes New Music!
This situation is going to be very similar to the one we recently wrote about with another Columbia title,
Married...with Children - The Complete 3rd Season. The holders of the publishing rights to the music - usually a completely different entity than that of the artists (and their labels) who performed the song - are asking a price that the DVD studio is simply unwilling to pay because it will drive up the cost of the release past the project's budget limits. With these two properties, and others such as
Dawson's Creek, Columbia and parent Sony Corp. seem to be drawing a line on the rising costs of music rights for TV-on-DVD releases. In these situations it is ultimately a lose-lose-lose-lose proposition, because the holders of the music rights sell no license and earn no money from the music they publish, the performers don't get the exposure they would otherwise love to have, the end user gets an altered product that doesn't match what they first fell in love with, and the studio takes it on the chin in terms of consumer complaints and any effect on sales it may have.
Nevertheless,
Tour of Duty is a powerful series, with good story-telling, and a terrific cast. With the new price drop, it should still be very attractive, despite the music substitutions. Look for the second season on DVD this December.
