REISSUE

:''For the reissuing of print material see Reprint''
A 'reissue' (also known as a 're-release' or 're-edition') is the repeated issue of a published work. In common usage it refers to an album which has been released at least once before and is released again, sometimes with alterations or additions.
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Contents

Alterations

Reasons for reissues

Special, Limited and Commemorative Editions

New audio formats

Budget records

New ownership

Strong or weak sales

Reissues and certification

Reissue labels

Alterations

Common additions to reissued albums include:

★ Audio remastering

★ Inclusion of bonus tracks or multimedia content

★ New liner notes

★ New album art or packaging

★ Modifiers in the title such as "Special Edition" or "Expanded Version"

Reasons for reissues

Special, Limited and Commemorative Editions

Some recordings are reissued to celebrate their popularity, influence or an anniversary of the artist or the recording.

New audio formats

Recordings originally released in an audio format that has become technologically or commercially obsolete are reissued in new formats. For example, thousands of original vinyl albums have been reissued on CD since introduction of that format in the early 1980s. More recently, many albums originally released on CD or earlier formats have reissued on SACD or audio DVD.

Budget records

Beginning with Pickwick Records, which acquired the rights to reissue many of Capitol Records' non-current albums at a low price in venues other than record stores, several record companies started "budget" or "drugstore records" subsidiaries to sell their deleted items at lower prices.

New ownership

When one record buys out another record label, or acquires an individual recording artist's back catalogue, their albums are often reissued on the purchasing label. For example, Polydor Records reissued many of James Brown's albums originally released on his former label, King Records. King had itself previously reissued albums and singles by Brown that were originally recorded for its "sister" label Federal Records.

Strong or weak sales

Recordings are reissued to meet continuing demand for an album that continues to be popular after its original release. In other cases albums are reissued to create interest in, and hopefully revive sales of, a release which has sold poorly. For example, the heavy metal label Roadrunner Records is notorious for reissuing their artist's works' only months after releasing the original album.

Reissues and certification

For the purposes of quantifying sales, an album's original and subsequent releases are counted together - for example, if an album sold 300,000 of its original release and 700,000 in subsequent reissues, it would be entitled to platinum certification. However, the musical contents of the disc must remain the same on a reissue for it to count towards certification.

Reissue labels

Some record labels specialize in reissuing recordings originally released on other labels. Three of the biggest reissue labels are Rhino Records, Hip-O Records and Legacy Recordings. Each of these companies reissues material from the labels of a major music conglomerate - Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group and Sony BMG, respectively. Collectables Records is another prolific reissue label that licenses recordings from other labels.