Exclusivity is F*&king Annoying

8/28/2013

Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

I've been wanting to write this post for years. It just finally got to me today. I apologize (but not so much) for the amount of boy band drooling I am about to do.

I really, really hate exclusives. I think I mentioned that just recently. I also am not so fond of deluxe or special or extra or tour editions with bonus tracks that aren't released at the same time so that you have to buy them again or lose out. It's really irksome when you go to a concert and hear something you've never heard before, yet everyone around you is singing it. What?! That happened to me when Drowning was on The Hits--Chapter One. I naively assumed that I didn't need to buy an album of songs I already owned. I was mistaken.

I'm not saying every song is a winner, but new material is always welcome. I would definitely pay for these songs, but bonus tracks are hardly ever available for individual purchase. And sometimes a single album will have different tracks for different versions! It seems I will forever have to listen to them on YouTube. There are only a few that can be purchased as MP3 out of all of these. Two of them I got with a tour edition, so I will be buying the third right after I post this.

These three songs are from the latest album, In a World Like This, but they're not all on the regular edition. One is an iTunes exclusive while the other two are on the Deluxe Edition, which only shows in Amazon if you search a specific way. I know I tried it multiple times before I settled on the deluxe bundle (not to be confused with the deluxe edition), which includes the regular edition, hand-written lyric sheets, and a poster. Though, I could have saved myself time, money, and hassle since the expensive bundle pre-order has not been restocked after a month. I also just found Backstreet Boys - In A World Like This CD (Deluxe Edition) at CD Universe and at Target. Though, I am not a Target affiliate, I have to tell you that it's only $9.99 there with both exclusive extra tracks, "In Your Arms" and "Take Care."

"Hot, Hot, Hot" is an iTunes album only exclusive. If you want this song and have already purchased elsewhere, you have to download the entire album all over again from iTunes. Or you can listen here.

Response from GroundCtrl Support 8/21/13: "We apologize for the delay in getting your package sent to you. Unfortunately, one or more items included in this order has not yet arrived at our shipping facility. Due to the nature of the product, it is difficult to provide a precise estimate for when we will be receiving the merchandise in question. However, we do anticipate that this item will be arriving in the coming weeks." Perfectly reasonable explanation, but it's been another four weeks. I would like updates for something that cost me six times as much as my cousin. She always gets her BSB CDs at Target.

Sent to GroundCtrl Support 9/20/13: I don't know what "Ready" in the system means. It certainly doesn't seem to mean that they're ready to ship, because I've been waiting for 50 days now for the lyric sheet(s) and poster. It was already a purchase that wasn't quite justified since, including shipping, it was more than $40 more than other versions and there was no information on the size of the poster or if it was one or multiple lyrics sheets. So far I have paid $67 for a standard CD that is missing the two songs from the deluxe album and one song from the Target version (none of them available anywhere but YouTube without purchasing the album two more times), which I learned about too late because they didn't show up in any searches.

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