BMG Music Club - new twist


Hi all,

I joined BMG some years ago -- you know, 12 CDs for the price of 1. Joined for the free CDs, bought a few additional CDs, then got tired of returning the cards, and dropped out.

Every now and again, they send me a packet of info to get me to re-join, and I always lose interest when I look over the album choices they offer for signing up -- lots of great artists, but never the exact title you are looking for (I'm not a fan of "best of" albums generally), and kind of mainstream, for obvious reasons.

Here's what's new: the latest blurb from them mentions that you can sign up via the Internet. I did, because when I checked it out, you can choose from 12,000 titles for your "free" albums! Searchable by category, artist (works better than the category search), etc. I have a huge wish list from recommendations made here at Audiogon. About half of the titles I looked for, they have! So I'm getting Kleiber's Beethoven 5th & 7th symphonies, Aretha Franklin's 2-CD gospel recording, a Dylan album, an Emmy Lou Harris album, and I can't remember what else. Looking forward to getting that box!

In the FAQ on their site, they address the oft-posed question of whether their CDs are physically of the "same" quality as the original labels. They claim that they don't make any CDs, and that all their CDs come from the original labels, specially-marked per a contractual agreement. I don't know if that makes anyone feel better...

One thing they don't specify on their site is what the infamous "shipping and handling" charges are. As I recall, it's something ridiculous like $3.00 *per CD*. Pretty steep -- it means those 12 CDs actually cost you about 50 bucks -- still a good deal if it's music you want.

Well, thought I'd pass that along in case there are other folks out there who throw those mailers out regularly like I do...

- Eric
ehart
Eric- I have been using them for years, its cheap if you become a member, typically CD's cost me under $7 ea. shipped to my door. Just take advantage of the good deals and pass up on the poor ones. Right now they have unlimited CD's $7.99 shipped, I didn't take advantage of it.
I am also a member of BMG, but keep forgetting about them. As it is, i have accumulated enough "music points" to pick up even a few more freebies. As the Michelin Man above mentioned, you can buy when the deals are hot and let it slide when you're not interested. If you really pay attention, you can increase your music collection for much less than buying at any retail establishment. Sean
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PS... Should any of you decide to join because of my excellent sales schpiel, please use me as a reference. I'll get five free discs then. We can even split them, you can have three and i'll take two : )

PPS... Just kidding.
I think it's $2.50 on the shipping and goes down a bit on more than one cd. Ask them for a "positive option " on your account and you won't have to send back the cards. Ask after you pay the initial costs. The phone # was in Consumer's Report a few years back.