Even as more and more music goes digital, forgoing the traditional physical release, it seems that fan demand for special, tangible releases has increased, even if it’s in niche numbers.
Take for instance, the limited edition box set. Those lavish, comprehensive collections that to the every day music consumer seem like needlessly expensive artefacts, but to the right kind of diehard, are the ultimate expression of their passionate fandom.
Of course, the greater the rarity, the greater the cost. But how much is too much? Well, this tale may just provide the answer, as music blogger Alan Cross reports.
American avant-garde veterans The Residents offered up the ‘Ultimate Box Set’ (UBS) last December, with the old man-mask wearing frontman, Randy Rose, describing how the collection differs from the “40,000 box sets available on Amazon,” as the multimedia outfit celebrated their 40th anniversary.
The UBS contains 40 years and over 100 Residents releases – every album, single, video, DVD, and vinyl – packed into a full, working 28-foot cubic refrigerator, all for the “bargain basement price” of $100,000, with just 10 of the refrigerated Residents box sets available.
Whether the UBS was intended as another of the Residents’ tongue-in-cheek art pranks or a genuine offer, a diehard actually took them up on the offer, and he didn’t even have to fulfil Rose’s suggestion of “selling a kidney.”
The Residents’ acting managers and PR group, the Cryptic Corporation, confirmed that the band sold the first Ultimate Box Set to a Bloomington, Indiana resident named… Tripmonster, as NBC Bay Area reports.
The transaction was also captured as part of a forthcoming Residents documentary, Theory Of Obscurity, about the bands’ 40 year history, with Cryptic Corp. Vice Presidnet Homer Flynn describe the payment and delivery of the UBS as “a profound and satisfying experience” for the group.
“The expression of joy on the face of Tripmonster, as he held Mr. Green, the eyeball mask from his UBS, was worth every minute of their 40-year existence,” says Flynn of the refrigerator collection, which at final count included 154 items.
“I think anytime you deal with nostalgia and are confronted with a whole lot of your past in a short amount of time, there’s mixed emotions that go along with it,” said Flynn of gathering the UBS for shipping to Tripmonster.
It’s unclear how The Residents diehard (real name Dexter Ulysses McGillicutty), a budding videographer and musician, was able to afford the small fortune for the box set, but there’s been no reports of any bank robberies in the bay area, so it can’t have been too shady.
Tripmonster likely also holds the accolade of the highest amount paid for a box set with the $100,000 figure.
Daft Punk’s recently announced $300 Random Access Memories deluxe box set doesn’t seem so pricey (or impressive) now, does it?
Check out Tripmonster accepting his luxurious purchase below, more images at NBC Bay Area.
