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Forum - General Questions |
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Question
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***BAR CODES & CAM SOUNDTRACK ENCYCLOPEDIA CD'S***
Hello!... What is a bar code exactly and what purpose does it serve? Does it insure the authenticity of a cd? Are cd's with no bar codes counterfeits/bootlegs?
A few days ago I purchased some early 1990's Italian made CAM SOUNDTRACK ENCYCLOPEDIA French and Italian titles I stumbled on from this record store. As I was examining my cd's I noticed on the back side of the cd on the top right hand side the typical bar code printed on this white background we all are aware of plus this red imprint probably indicating authenticity with the acronym SIAE(Societa Italiana Autori Editori) and a bar over it just a few centimeters below the bar code a little bit towards the left side were as on some other CAM cd's there was no bar code whatsoever but only a white blank space where the bar code should have been with only this red SIAE imprintl right on it. Sometimes the SIAE imprint appears upside down in both of these cases.
Why is it that some CAM cd's have the typical bar code on them with this SIAE red imprint while others have no bar code and only the SIAE red imprint in place of the bar code?
Did some of these early Italian made 1990's CAM cd titles perhaps get different pressings, some issued with bar codes while others under the same exact title issued with no bar codes and only these red SIAE imprints? If so, why?
My 1991 Italian made CAM cd ''La Citta Delle Donne'' by Louis Bacalov with label # CSE 016 has only the red SIAE imprint in place of the bar code but in this website the bar code is listed as 801235501016. Hmm... I do not see anywhere this bar code on my CD.
Interestingly enough this particular cd title due to a printing error once had Nino Rota credited as the composer on the sides of the back insert before the title Citta Delle Donne. Nino Rota's name has been very nicely covered up by CAM with silver ink and Bacalov's name added after the title. One can still vaguely make out the name Nino Rota under the silver ink. It seems CAM decided not to wholly re-print the misprinted back inserts and simply blank out Rota's name and just only print Bacalov's name next to the title. I kind of like it like this, it looks unusually unique.
These cd's I purchased are not counterfeits, this I am certain of. Perhaps they are promos? I really don't know. Whoever has any one or a few of these early 1990's Italian made CAM titles (they are not rare or anything as far as I know) especially Bacalov's ''La Citta Delle Donne'' with label # CSE 016 could you please check the cd's to see if there are bar codes or not and if there are no bar codes are there red SIAE imprints in place of the bar codes? If anyone has ''La Citta Delle Donne", is Nino Rota's name erased as well?
Thanks a million!!... Any input would be appreciated.
serifiot, April 1, 2006; 11:24 PM
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Answers
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Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Bar Codes But Were Afraid to Ask :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Product_Code
Bar codes = "UPC" which stands for Universal Product Code. UPC bar codes were originally created to help grocery stores speed up the checkout process and keep better track of inventory, but the system quickly spread to all other retail products because it was so successful.
UPCs originate with a company called the Uniform Code Council (UCC). A manufacturer applies to the UCC for permission to enter the UPC system. The manufacturer pays an annual fee for the privilege. In return, the UCC issues the manufacturer a six-digit manufacturer identification number.
Early CDs didn't have UPCs and some don't have any today, so FSM for instance (unless you buy your copy from amazon where the UPC is added on the shrink-wrap).
It's not uncommon to find the same title with or without UPC, labels like Varèse and CAM issued early pressings without bar codes. By the way at least in Europe (don't know elsewhere) '80s Varèse were not shrink-wrapped !
SIAE is the seal of the italian corporation of authors and publishers. It means that royalties have or will be paid to (in our case) the composer.
Concerning "Città":
my copy has also the silver ink, and it has an added paper sticker with bar code 30873134, but this is no UPC, may be it's a merchant's bar code.
All the best.
birnam, April 2, 2006; 5:34 AM
Thanks for the information birnam, quite interesting! I thought I had stumbled on something rare and unique concerning the misprint on the back insert of my ''La Citta Delle Donne'' CAM cd. Yes, come to think of it not all FSM releases have bar codes on them. ''The Omega Man'' is such an FSM release.
serifiot, April 2, 2006; 1:03 PM
neither do the varese club releases such as ghostbusters.
anthonynputson, April 2, 2006; 3:34 PM
I purchsed all the initial cam soundtrack encyclopedia cds(100 I think)directly from cam.As far as I can remember(I'm not going to check all 1oo!!)none of them have the bar code on the bach,just the space.
Damjamcar, April 2, 2006; 5:56 PM
I remember when bar codes first appeared on vinyl recordings. They were a distraction and didn't belong on the covers. The mainstream American labels were the first and then Varese Sarabande began putting a bar code sticker on the back right corner of their L.P's which was good because they could be easily peeled off. Then, not long after that Varese Sarabande began adding them to the jacket itself.
Began in the early 80's as some sort of security measure supposedly. Most people were and still are too fucking stupid to give a hoot!
Didn't like those things at all.
I have quite a few recent compact discs that are void of bar codes. Smaller labels usually avoid the practice.
victoravalentine, April 9, 2006; 10:41 PM
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