4 ms·

Why? What they're selling is not just the novelty, but the scarcity of an object. Treating these like talking greeting cards is like treating art as paper and i

by tmcw 15y ago

Why? What they're selling is not just the novelty, but the scarcity of an object. Treating these like talking greeting cards is like treating art as paper and ink.

Groxx 15y ago
Art can only be art when it's scarce? I do believe you'll find a lot of artists that disagree with you.
- tmcw 15y ago
  They'd certainly disagree with the person who said that, but it doesn't seem to be me. Sorry for the snark, but you're putting words into my mouth: I said that scarcity has value, hence the popularity of 'limited runs' of prints and albums. No judgment about what is or isn't art included.
  - Groxx 15y ago
    Partially. But you also said that: >Treating these like talking greeting cards is like treating art as paper and ink. Which is pretty clearly implying talking greeting cards are not art. And since I doubt you're claiming novelty == art, and the only other thing you mentioned was scarcity... A weak connection on closer examination, I'll admit.
jellicle 15y ago
It is novel. So novel, perhaps, that people won't be willing to pay a lot of money for it. Coin cell batteries won't last long playing albums, and are expensive to replace. The value proposition just isn't there for the end-user except for very limited novelty purposes. However, it might be there for people who essentially want to advertise their real product (perhaps a CD release, perhaps something else). Sell these at cost or give them away to promote your event or new album? I can see that. Oh, I see one of the news articles says rechargeable lithium battery. That's good for short-term usability, bad for cost. And it puts an absolute limit on the life of the item at about three years, when all lithium batteries die permanently and it won't be replaceable. "Hey kids, look what I found in the attic! This cool album from the 'teens, it's built right into a button! Let's see.... oh, darn, the battery is permanently dead and can't be replaced." {tosses into the trash}
- jhuckestein 15y ago
  The battery is rechargeable through the headphone jack. Quite ingenious actually.

by tmcw 15y ago

Why? What they're selling is not just the novelty, but the scarcity of an object. Treating these like talking greeting cards is like treating art as paper and ink.

Groxx 15y ago

Art can only be art when it's scarce? I do believe you'll find a lot of artists that disagree with you.

tmcw 15y ago
They'd certainly disagree with the person who said that, but it doesn't seem to be me. Sorry for the snark, but you're putting words into my mouth: I said that scarcity has value, hence the popularity of 'limited runs' of prints and albums. No judgment about what is or isn't art included.
- Groxx 15y ago
  Partially. But you also said that: >Treating these like talking greeting cards is like treating art as paper and ink. Which is pretty clearly implying talking greeting cards are not art. And since I doubt you're claiming novelty == art, and the only other thing you mentioned was scarcity... A weak connection on closer examination, I'll admit.

jellicle 15y ago

It is novel. So novel, perhaps, that people won't be willing to pay a lot of money for it. Coin cell batteries won't last long playing albums, and are expensive to replace. The value proposition just isn't there for the end-user except for very limited novelty purposes. However, it might be there for people who essentially want to advertise their real product (perhaps a CD release, perhaps something else). Sell these at cost or give them away to promote your event or new album? I can see that. Oh, I see one of the news articles says rechargeable lithium battery. That's good for short-term usability, bad for cost. And it puts an absolute limit on the life of the item at about three years, when all lithium batteries die permanently and it won't be replaceable. "Hey kids, look what I found in the attic! This cool album from the 'teens, it's built right into a button! Let's see.... oh, darn, the battery is permanently dead and can't be replaced." {tosses into the trash}

jhuckestein 15y ago
The battery is rechargeable through the headphone jack. Quite ingenious actually.