The Japanese Verion of CDs with Extra Tracks

Cafe Society
1

I have been ripping my CDs to the computer and I have had to replace a few CDs that I’ve just worn out.

While looking for deals online to replace these CDs, I tended to notice a lot of the CDs that are for release in Japan have extra or “bonus” tracks on them.

I have notice a few of these seem to be the “b-side” of singles. They don’t appear on the American or European versions of the CDs.

So what’s up with the extra tracks on the Japanese versions. Do they not have singles thus no “b-sides” or do the Japanese just expect to have more tracks on them

2

It’s not just Japanese - it happens with UK releases, and American releases of non-American albums, too.

It’s because, when someone’s going to be releasing it officially locally, they don’t want to lose their business to people who import the original.

So, they add bonus tracks.

3

I’ve read that the Japanese consumer expects to both pay more than many people elsewhere for their CDs, but they also demand more by way of quality and quantity, too. Certainly a lot of high-quality digital remasterings are made (mixed) in Japan.

I think a lot of the “extra tracks” CDs on various continents reflect their status as secondary or marginal markets and the extra tracks, a marketing gimmick to move more units and build a fan base. The label and the band aren’t losing much, because they weren’t expecting to offer the CD singles or even EPs there in the first place.

4

FWIW, I used to live in Japan, and domestic CDs were actually more expensive than imported CDs. So I can see why there’d be a need to give consumers an incentive to buy the Japanese release of a CD by a foreign band rather than just getting the import.