I was in this club when I was in highschool, though back then I was collecting cassettes. When I told some other kids in highschool that I was considering it,
they encourage me not to, because they said the selection sucked.
I decided to join it again, partially to replace some cassettes with CDs, and partially to expand my musical horizons (and maybe for some other reasons) -- I'm not wild about a lot of modern music, so I'm trying to get more familar with classic rock, jazz and classical.
So, the real questions are, What's the selection like? And, What are the prices like?
I think those kids in my highschool were thinking that BMG didn't have Minor Threat or Samiam or something. Well, they don't have those, but some of the other gaps in their selection is also surprising! They're missing notable albums even by popular acts. Like, they don't even have "Are You Experienced?" by Jimmi Hendrix, or "Plastic Ono Band" by John Lennon.
Other times, they will technically have the album, but they are considered "premium titles" that are not subject to BMGs sales. So, they're so expensive that you have no incentive to get them through the club. Examples of this are The Beatles albums, and also what little they have from Metallica. Those albums are priced at $15, but then there's $2.79 shipping and handling on top of that, so the total price is ridiculous.
If you're looking through their catalogue, and it says that a selection is "Members Only" before you sign up, there's a good chance that that's an expensive album. That's not always the case, though: Led Zepplin's stuff says "Members Only", but it seems you can get discounts on them as a member.
On the other hand, if they DO have something you want, it probably is better to get it through BMG than elsewhere. As a side note, there used to be another music club, Colombia House, but apparently that was taken over by BMG. BMG has another club called yourmusic.com where the prices are really easy to figure out: $6.99 for every CD, which includes shipping.
The BMG base price for CDs is $18.99, plus $2.79 shipping, which is of course ridiculous. However, you never ever should get anything for that base price, not counting the initial deal. That deal is 12 CDs for the price of 1, plus shipping. So, that would come to $18.99/12 + $2.79 = about $4.37 per CD, which is a pretty good deal.
As for later deals, they change every month. It seems like it is possible to get better (if only slightly) deals through BMG than yourmusic.com, but you might have to buy more. One deal was buy one, get unlimited $1.99 CDs. Of course, that's still with the $2.79 shipping, but if you theoretically bought an infinite number of CDs, it would take the average down to $4.78 per CD. You'd have to get at least 10 CDs for it to be less than the yourmusic price, though.
Another deal was 5 CDs for $30, total, no extra shipping, so that was $6 each.
This month is 4 for the price of 1, which is $7.53 each, which is okay, but not as good as yourmusic.com. So, then you might want to wait another month.
I forgot to mention that yourmusic.com charges you $6.99 a month no matter what. If you've picked out a CD, you get that CD and are charged $6.99. If you have not picked out a CD, you're charged $6.99 anyway, and get nothing. BMG has monthly selections. If you do not take any steps to reject that offer, they send it automatically. When I was in highschool, I didn't want to pay for the stamps to send in the rejection postcards, so I'd just have them send me the tapes, then write "Rejected - Return to Seller" and send them back. I thought that would have pissed them off, having me do that month after month, but when I finally canceled, they sent me some form to join again, so I guess not.
It's much easier on the internet, since you can reject or confirm the featured selection online. Also, you have access to their complete catalogue online, so you don't have to order from whatever booklet they sound out on that particular month.
I decided to join it again, partially to replace some cassettes with CDs, and partially to expand my musical horizons (and maybe for some other reasons) -- I'm not wild about a lot of modern music, so I'm trying to get more familar with classic rock, jazz and classical.
So, the real questions are, What's the selection like? And, What are the prices like?
I think those kids in my highschool were thinking that BMG didn't have Minor Threat or Samiam or something. Well, they don't have those, but some of the other gaps in their selection is also surprising! They're missing notable albums even by popular acts. Like, they don't even have "Are You Experienced?" by Jimmi Hendrix, or "Plastic Ono Band" by John Lennon.
Other times, they will technically have the album, but they are considered "premium titles" that are not subject to BMGs sales. So, they're so expensive that you have no incentive to get them through the club. Examples of this are The Beatles albums, and also what little they have from Metallica. Those albums are priced at $15, but then there's $2.79 shipping and handling on top of that, so the total price is ridiculous.
If you're looking through their catalogue, and it says that a selection is "Members Only" before you sign up, there's a good chance that that's an expensive album. That's not always the case, though: Led Zepplin's stuff says "Members Only", but it seems you can get discounts on them as a member.
On the other hand, if they DO have something you want, it probably is better to get it through BMG than elsewhere. As a side note, there used to be another music club, Colombia House, but apparently that was taken over by BMG. BMG has another club called yourmusic.com where the prices are really easy to figure out: $6.99 for every CD, which includes shipping.
The BMG base price for CDs is $18.99, plus $2.79 shipping, which is of course ridiculous. However, you never ever should get anything for that base price, not counting the initial deal. That deal is 12 CDs for the price of 1, plus shipping. So, that would come to $18.99/12 + $2.79 = about $4.37 per CD, which is a pretty good deal.
As for later deals, they change every month. It seems like it is possible to get better (if only slightly) deals through BMG than yourmusic.com, but you might have to buy more. One deal was buy one, get unlimited $1.99 CDs. Of course, that's still with the $2.79 shipping, but if you theoretically bought an infinite number of CDs, it would take the average down to $4.78 per CD. You'd have to get at least 10 CDs for it to be less than the yourmusic price, though.
Another deal was 5 CDs for $30, total, no extra shipping, so that was $6 each.
This month is 4 for the price of 1, which is $7.53 each, which is okay, but not as good as yourmusic.com. So, then you might want to wait another month.
I forgot to mention that yourmusic.com charges you $6.99 a month no matter what. If you've picked out a CD, you get that CD and are charged $6.99. If you have not picked out a CD, you're charged $6.99 anyway, and get nothing. BMG has monthly selections. If you do not take any steps to reject that offer, they send it automatically. When I was in highschool, I didn't want to pay for the stamps to send in the rejection postcards, so I'd just have them send me the tapes, then write "Rejected - Return to Seller" and send them back. I thought that would have pissed them off, having me do that month after month, but when I finally canceled, they sent me some form to join again, so I guess not.
It's much easier on the internet, since you can reject or confirm the featured selection online. Also, you have access to their complete catalogue online, so you don't have to order from whatever booklet they sound out on that particular month.
