Bird on a Wire to be re re released by Sony

[sirius]

Bird on a Wire to be re re released by Sony

Newsletter Direct from the Leonardcohencafe


(Please forward this newsletter to any other fans with great musical taste)
13 February 2011


Leonardcohencafe gets you all the latest news first, again!
http://www.leonardcohencafe.co.uk/index.htm

As everyone knows, there has been a lot of verbal wrestling recently about who owns the 294 reels, who owns the dvd Bird on a Wire etc etc. I have even had abusive emails from a Canadian madwoman who accused me of stealing these reels and selling my soul to the devil.

The latest gossip is that Sony and Steve Machat have finally come to an agreement, which should be signed off in the next couple of weeks. I stress this has not been signed yet and still open to either party changing its mind.

The main parts fo the agreement are:

1. Sony will purchase the distribution rights to the dvd Bird on a Wire. Sony will repackage the dvd, but will not change the film in any way. The new package will include a dvd of one of the concerts, taken from one of the concert reels currently on sale on http://www.leonardcohencafe.co.uk. Leonard Cohen will choose which concert to use for this dvd.

2. Steven Machat will continue to sell the 294 reels, which were used to make the dvd Bird on a Wire. Needless to say, the concert reel which will be used for the new BOAW package will now be extremely valuable.

The existing stock of Bird on a Wire dvds will be sold, and no more will be produced. A colleague of mine, in USA, will now start to sell in the USA and Canada, till stocks are depleted. Who knows, the current dvd may become a collector's item, kept in its sealed state.

[199Dan]

Should this be treated as a call to the capitalist in each of us. Profits to the needy ? Do Good ! Be Kind ! (Jonh Adams)

[John Etherington]

G-wd!...is this where Leonard's material starts getting exploited like Dylan's. Guess I'll have to sell my signed Tony Palmer DVD and get him to sign the new one when it's released. Meanwhile...rolls of old celluloid at £1000 each? Just what every home will need when the revolution comes!

[LisaLCFan]

If this actually happens, how nice of Sony to toss in a bonus concert DVD! I am sure that it has nothing to do with them wanting all of us who already have a copy of BOAW to buy another copy, with Sony getting the profits this time.

(Of course, if it means getting a whole 1972 concert on DVD, I will buy another copy! How could I resist?)

[tomsakic]

Jeez. That "cafe" is not the place where I'd like to buy my Cohen items.

[bene449]

Tomsakic,

I don't blame you. The Leonardcohencafe is the last place I would buy anything. The guy who owns it knows nothing about Leonard, and is just a hanger on who doesn't even buy anyone a drink. Hopefully, he won't turn up at Hydra. He ruined everyone's weekend in Krakow. Amazon and Play.com are much better and much cheaper, if you ask me. I believe they both also post to Croatia; i believe a famous tennis player was born there

[John Etherington]

I hadn't seen this page before, and don't know the guy who runs it, but It's good to see an individual Leonard enterprise, and prices aren't unreasonable - all considered. Amazon and Play are cheap, but are monopolies that are ruining specialist shops and dealers.

[FOXWOOD]

I asked this question in another thread on Jan 21st. I didn't get a reply but I know what the answer is now!

Are the "High Value" Reels the only copies of these concerts or have they been copied by the people who own the rights to the recordings?

[bene449]

Hi John,
I was only joking about the Cafe, and thanks for the compliments.

Foxwood,
There are no copies of any of the reels, except of a couple of home movies reels. I have just been watching a dvd with the home movies reels out of curiousity, and they contain lengthy film of Leonard when he was a child. I have been asked if they are worthy of distributing on a dvd, but i am not so sure if it would be a commercial success; i am also a bit restrained a s I feel Leonard's family life should be kept private for himself.
As you know, bits of these reels were used to make the BOAR dvd. Once Leonard has chosen which reel is to be used for the concert dvd, the reel will be given to Sony for reproduction. Afterwards, the reel will be returned to Tony Palmer/Steve Machat and sold to whoever wants it.

I'm sorry I didn't answer your previous question on another thread. I thought it best to stay away from this site for a while. Unfortunately, I have had large numbers of abusive emails from so-called "fans" who think I am involved in some sort of "theft" of these reels. The fact that Sony are in the process of signing a deal for distribution rights suggest that they have finally accepted these reels belong to Steven Machat. This is a good deal, if it goes through to signature. Sony, Leonard and Steven Machat all get a slice of the pie. As a fan, I would love a buyer to purchase all the reels together but, unfortunately, no acceptable offers have been submitted.

My email addres is always available if anyone has any questions; i am happy to speak also on the phone.

Vince
www.leonardcohencafe.co.uk

[Mabeanie1]

Vince

You may recall that I have quite strong feelings on the fate of the 294 reels and some of the motivation behind it all. I too have deliberately kept away from the related threads and have kept my wry smile at the news of the Sony release to myself. However, I just have to comment on this part of your last post:

Unfortunately, I have had large numbers of abusive emails from so-called "fans" who think I am involved in some sort of "theft" of these reels.

This is outrageous and totally unacceptable. I will never be happy with some of the things that have gone on, nor am I happy with the one-sided reporting of Steve Machat's "dispute" (if that's the right word) with Leonard but no one has any right to hurl personal insults around. I'm sorry you have been subjected to that.

Wendy

[bene449]

Thanks, Wendy. My faith in this site is being restored. I was just inches away from cancelling my trip to Hydra.

People need to remember that there are fans and there are also fans who happen to be businessmen. Thanks again.