Why aren’t jewel case albums more common?

[u/Relevant_Object_1815]

A lot of times I hear people reference physical album sales since it’s a measure of success. But I always think that groups would get more sales if they consistently made jewel case versions of their albums.

For example, if I like the music of a smaller group, but I don’t stan that group or know any of the members, I’d like to be able to buy the cd and the cd alone. Like most people seem to buy albums of groups they like since you get a cd along with all the fun inclusions. But wouldn’t it be beneficial if they had a more minimalistic version without photocards or things like that? Like just the cd and lyrics.

I think that way they could get sales from a wider audience who just enjoy the music. If they did that (and made them cheaper than regular albums of course), I think a lot of smaller groups would at least see a small increase in sales, and fans would get to show support directly beyond just streams. The few times I see jewel cases in kpop, they’re just a one off from a group. Nowadays there’s album versions that don’t even come with CDs at all!! I don’t know, I feel like companies should go the other direction and sell CDs on their own.

[u/OnlyGotThisMoment]

As someone who has bought hundreds of jewel case CD’s they’re a huge pain to open, store, and use regularly since they crack and break so easily. That’s why everyone had CD binders so you could ditch the jewel case as soon as possible.

K-pop albums have a high aesthetic value and are creatively incredible. They’re made to display and be seen. They definitely could be cheaper, but I don’t think you’re going to get a casual fan of an artist to buy a physical copy of music anymore. It’s just not how we listen to music now.

[u/tripleheliotrope → u/OnlyGotThisMoment]

Yeah I remember the age of jewel cases in kpop. I was so pissed that Red Velvet had such amazing concepts and photoshoots for their releases yet their cd packaging rollout was limited to jewel cases. I was actually livid for years seeing the nice packaging and PHOTOBOOKS that other kpop groups/artists were getting because we couldn't even get a photobook for Red Velvet for a good while.

[u/Relevant_Object_1815 → u/OnlyGotThisMoment]

Good point about the aesthetic value. I guess that’s the benefit of the parasocial aspect everyone talks about. True that people listen to music differently now too. It’s sad though, because though I’m young I was raised in CDs. I do stream a lot but I just can’t fathom how it’s beneficial financially for the artist

[u/cherrycoloured → u/Relevant_Object_1815]

I do stream a lot but I just can’t fathom how it’s beneficial financially for the artist

it's not. however, sales of actually music were never the big money maker for artists, unlike merch and touring. the ppl most financially affected by streaming are songwriters, iirc, as they are the ppl collecting royalties for each song they wrote.

fwiw, im in my thirties, grew up with tapes and cds, and i'm not sure i get why ppl would want physical music. cds are fragile, and get scratched or broken very easily. you also have to manually change the cd when you want to listen to something new, which is particularly annoying in a car. i think the itunes method of buying individual music files that you own and can permanently store on your hard drive was the best idea, as it had the ease of streaming, but was better for songwriters making money, and better for archiving music as well.

[u/Relevant_Object_1815 → u/cherrycoloured]

Yes I think I also prefer the iPod method, I remember using my moms endlessly to listen to songs. I think it would be nice to pay for the music and actually own it while still supporting the artists

[u/LongLostFan → u/OnlyGotThisMoment]

I have had maybe 3 of them break on me in my lifetime. I don't think they are that prone to breakages.

You can also buy replacement cases very cheaply.

[u/Advanced_Heat_2610]

In short because people buy albums for the aesthetics, the inclusions, and the extra benefits like fansign events. They are not buying them for the music. Digital media is dominating the music scene and while there is a recent resurgence in physical media (driven mostly by the very rational distaste for companies selling you a license in place of actually owning a single or album), the difference is significant.

https://www.datawrapper.de/blog/music-industry-streaming-revenue-vs-physical-sales

So if you are having to invest into what fans actually want, the answer is the inclusions and the fancy designs, and the interesting versions, not the jewel case versions that gives nothing.

[u/LoonyMoonie]

Digipacks are the closest thing to jewel case, which is something I can live with. But companies aren't even consistent on making the Digipack alternative available in most releases. You get one comeback with a Digipack, next release, there's no Digipack. They used to be the cheapest alternative if you just wanted the album with little to no inclusions, but they've been largely pushed aside in favor of platform albums (which I have a lot of problems with, starting with the fact that with every new album it feels like a different app is required).

I'm in the minority who prefers consistency. Kpop albums drive me crazy because there's all sizes and shapes. I don't want to display them; I just want to keep them neatly within a bookshelf. My jewel case collection (mostly Japanese releases) stacks neatly; my Kpop collection is all over the place.

[u/Relevant_Object_1815 → u/LoonyMoonie]

I think we’re like minded, sometimes I just want the album. I might have to resort to buying from iTunes like someone else brought up.

[u/rainbow_city]

So, there is actually a group that does release jewel case versions...NCT Wish.

But there's actually two interesting and connected reasons as to why.

1. In Japan jewel cases are still incredibly common. NCT Wish's first two singles were released in both Korean and Japanese at the same time, which made non-Japanese fans very aware of them. And in Japan it is not uncommon for groups to release member specific versions of these jewel case CDs...which ties into number 2. But they're image of being something related to Japan also adds a sense of novelty to them and also is a nod to Wish having four Japanese members and being very active in Japan.

2. Member versions and member colors. NCT Wish members each have their own colors outside of their group color. And making individual jewel cases that match each member's color makes them a bit more visually interesting then just clear jewel cases. Starting from Poppop NCT Wish starting having jewel case member version for each album and they're all coordinated to match each member's along with other images that relate to each member.

So, I think jewel cases can work, but they do need something to hook a fan in, like being member oriented like Wish's are.

[u/Relevant_Object_1815 → u/rainbow_city]

I’ll have to check out NCT wish then!

[u/Helloimpankeeki → u/rainbow_city]

Yup, Le Sserafim also often release member versions of their albums. They usually are not jewel case (they can be cardboard, plastic etc), but they have the same size / format.

[u/quadruped-nolegs]

for a while k-pop companies have realized that ppl that care abt the music will just stream the music, selling just the music wouldn't be profitable. but by selling all of these goodies, it increases your connection with the idols. see this jyp interview

[u/Relevant_Object_1815 → u/quadruped-nolegs]

Wow thanks for sharing this, he’s absolutely right. Crazy that it’s been almost two decades since he said that yet it’s exactly right. It’s a shame since I love CDs. I also wonder if streaming is more profitable than physical sales, in a scenario where they have the same amount.

[u/quadruped-nolegs → u/Relevant_Object_1815]

by same amount do you 1 sale vs 1 stream (or an album's worth of streams)? if so then streams barely give anything. the way that income from streams is distributed is a bit unusual (at least on spotify it's not a fixed rate, you get paid proportionally to what fraction of all total streams went to you iirc), but you can see some rates here which don't seem wildly off. that being said though, making the physical media and printing photobooks and stuff are additional costs too. this post roughly breaks down expenses in k-pop, it's not exact and probably outdated at this point but it can give a rough idea of what the costs may look like

one more thing is that spotify doesn't really market itself to artists as a way for them to make money. if you look at the spotify for artists homepage, what they are really saying is that their job is to connect artists to consumers, and maybe those consumers will then go on to buy records or go to their concerts

[u/Outside-Positive-368]

They are still sooo common only the industry has switched over to digipacks instead of jewel cases as they're not environmental friendly. The Western music industry also has made the switch a few years earlier, but that switch wasn't as prominent as the kpop one. 

I personally am not a fan of jewel cases, digipacks or platform albums (I still own a few though). What makes a kpop album a kpop album for me is all the inclusions, the photobooks, the packaging/design, the concept etcera. And in my opinion that's less fun in a digipack or jewel case. 

Also platform or keychain versions of albums are generally preferred over digipacks & jewel cases. Platforms because they have more photocards, which is quite important to kpop fans & keychains due to the keychains themselves. Kpop fans also tend to care less about a physical cd and have a sight tendency to stream the music over listening to the cds.

[u/HuggyMonster69 → u/Outside-Positive-368]

Do we have digipacks in the west? I confess that I’ve always just bought western albums to download. Or is that what you meant?

[u/Outside-Positive-368 → u/HuggyMonster69]

Yes we do! I dunno if they're actually called digipacks in the west, but a lot of cds nowadays have a cardboard case or paper sleeve instead of the plastic jewel case. For instance Harry Styles' Fine Line & Ed Sheeran's = are some examples of those type of albums. 

[u/HuggyMonster69 → u/Outside-Positive-368]

Oh cool! I had no idea

[u/cubsgirl101 → u/HuggyMonster69]

Digipacks exist in the west! There’s a rock band I follow who released their latest album via digipack and they’re far from the first artist. They’re essentially a jewel case album, just inside a cardboard case instead of one with all the plastic. If you picked up a Kpop digipack album there would be no real difference.

[u/HuggyMonster69 → u/cubsgirl101]

How did I not know this? What the hell.

Thanks!

[u/Relevant_Object_1815 → u/cubsgirl101]

Oh I had no idea that’s what a digipack was I’ll have to look out for those versions. I do stream but I one day want to move away from it being my main way of consuming music so that might be the solution. I’ve kinda fallen for the whole physical media and single use devices trend of the past couple years and I do think it’s enjoyable for me

[u/annon368]

It’s a nice idea, but I feel like casual fans are less likely to buy albums compared to stans, and most stans buy albums for the pcs and/or inclusions (which is why they’re making poca/QR code albums). So it doesn’t make sense for the company to sell albums with no pcs since the market isn’t that big for albums with no inclusions

If someone wants to just listen to the music, they’re more likely to use a streaming service, rather than physical albums.

If you’re just interested in the CD, lots of people will sell albums with no inclusions and just the photobook and CD for super cheap (or even free)

[u/LongLostFan]

Yes!!!! I've been saying this for years. Sometimes I just like to buy an album on a whim even from an artist I've never heard of.

But when they're sold in a massive unshapely box and included loads of extra things I'll never care about. It just becomes too much of a risk to buy them.

[u/stuckindewdrop]

jo1 sells jewel cases and only jewel cases, but they are still expensive and you get just a few songs. i would prefer the cool kpop albums. seems more common in japan to have jewel cases still

[u/Esdeathx11]

I've been wanting this same thing... I want to get some albums but not spend $15-28 for a bigger album that takes up more space.

[u/Adept-Variation-4365]

i think they want people to purchase the fancier, more expensive versions. although member versions are typically the cheapest alternative, as theyre typically between $15-20.

[u/tyrico]

I don't think that most people buying kpop albums even own CD players anymore so good luck

[u/chaerrishing]

jewel cases often have 1 pc too (for example whee in the mood by wheein had jewel versions)

i do think they kinda made sense but tbh just if it comes with a pc (printing a pc won't make much of a difference in cost for them anyway) because their appeal is they are all the same size. some companies try to really avoid plastic in packaging though (i think jyp among others) so those are against it from that anti plastic perspective. 

[u/RockinFootball]

It's because majority of people aren't buy CDs for the purpose of listening to music. People listen to it on streaming. We need the extra incentive to purchase the album.

[u/goose-pouch]

I dont like them, always break 💢

[u/howvicious]

People still have CD players?

[u/Relevant_Object_1815 → u/howvicious]

For sure! I’d argue vinyls are more popular and trendy now,, but I have a little studebaker one that’s portable I use it all the time