[mb-users] Remastered Reissues with same/different content

[Edward Branham]

We may being a bit sidetracked by semantics here.   First, lets agree on a
definition.
Remastering is, at its core, the process of creating a new master (the
recording which is duplicated for production or transferred to other
formats) for an album, movie, or any other creation. It tends to nowadays
specifically refer to the process of porting a creation from one medium to
another, but this is not always the case. For example, a vinyl LP originally
pressed from a worn-out copy tape many tape generations removed from the
"original" master recording could be remastered and re-pressed from a better
condition tape.

Here buzz-speak and practical application collide. In actuality, all CDs
created from analogue sources are technically digitally remastered. The
process of creating a digital transfer of an analogue tape re-masters the
material in the digital domain, even if nothing "special"--no equalization,
compression, or other processing--is done to the material.

Given that basis ...

IMHO - If the material has simply been ported from one type distribution
media to another (from Vinyl to CD for instance), and either left completely
as original, or if sound enhancing has been applied (compression, rumble
reduction, etc), the resulting product is not a new release.  It is that
same old release in a different format.

HOWEVER - If tracks of the original master are altered in any other way, by
remix, addition or deletion of material, by addition or deletion of new
tracks, this IS a new release as it has been substantially altered from the
previous version.  This situation deserves to be treated as a new release.

FOR the two cases below:

"hat" has tracks with added material and should be treated as a new release

"Boil That Dust Speck" has sonic differences, but no substantial changes in
the original material.  This is a true re-issue and should be reflected in
the existing release record.