Like labels in the US and Australia do, Japanese record labels manufacture a Japanese version of an album under the exclusive license from the original label. Both original and Japanese versions of the album are in stores.
Why do the Japanese labels manufacture Japanese versions? I will discuss it perhaps next month. I'm now working on this thing to make a presentation at my old school in Glasgow while I am there in the end of next month. I still half way through preparation of it so I'd like to keep further discussion on hold until I finish the presentation. But what does a Japanese version look like? Here is a comparison of an original version and Japanese version:
L: UK version R: Japanese version |
It's Blur's classic "The Great Escape". The Japanese version is on the right. General and popular spec for Japanese editions is:
- bonus tracks (B-sides, remixies, demos, acoustic version of songs, unreleased tunes etc.)
- liner note
- lyrics translation (+ original lyrics)
- belly band (as you can see in the picture)
Above: UK version - 15 songs on Under: Japanese version - original 15 songs + 2 bonus tracks |
Finally, this Japanese version of the Blur album has one more extra: purchasers have a chance to win and get original goods. It's one of the popular marketing strategies on bigger releases in Japan. However, I think UK versions and US versions merely have that sort of bonus...Would you agree?
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