February (already…), traditionally a cold month for us in the U.K., parts of the Country are already suffering from snowstorms and freezing conditions and down here in the south (where I am), we are told to expect our share of these extremes! On a "sunnier" note, during February we have Valentines Day - when thoughts of "love" enter our minds and Shrove Tuesday - or as we call it "Pancake Day" (if you speak American English, that would be "Flapjack Day" - I think?). So whichever you find yourself doing - thinking of love or pancakes - good luck and I hope that you get your fill! As you will hopefully already be aware, we are currently launching a range of "Re-Releases", featuring some of our older tunes, which have been "Out-Of-Print" and (thereby) "Unavailable" for some time. (Full details of this are shown below). It occurs to me that you may be interested to know the factors related to this topic i.e. - What is the life "expectancy" of a Square Dance record?

As I have told you, in previous News-Letters we spend a lot of time choosing tunes, preparing them for Square Dance use, deciding upon the best way to present and record them and then releasing them, as records, in the hope that callers everywhere will buy them - in great numbers... However, despite the effort that we put in, every new release has a definite "life-span". It will be popular for a brief while and - very quickly - becomes an "older title"; eventually (all too quickly, for my liking) the demand for this record will virtually disappear.

There are actually two main criteria that affect record longevity, the first relates to the initial release, the second to the possibility of a subsequent re-release. Looking first at the initial release criteria:

From the moment that it is released, the life of a record follows a simple schedule. In the first month of it's release the record will (usually) sell it's greatest number; it will continue to sell for the next two months or so at a fast diminishing rate.

The extra sales, during the second and third month, are affected - quite dramatically - by the placement that the tune achieves in the Best Seller listing. Many callers are influenced by the Best Seller listing, if something appears there - that they have not already purchased - they will "listen" again and - quite often - buy a copy; it is possible that there are some who wait to see which are the top sellers, before buying anything!

After the initial release, there is a period where callers will "hear" the tunes that they previously "missed" and recognise their potential. It is probable that dancers also - having heard the newer tunes - will "influence" their favourite callers to buy them. This second period will allow sales to continue for a further three months (making a total of six months, since release); after this stage, sales will fall to a very low level. Some records are "slow starters" and become more popular as time passes - but these are rare - and even these are unlikely to extend the total period, from release, beyond twelve months.

There are occasions when a record proves to be very popular and needs to be re-pressed. This is great news to any producer. Re-presses that occur soon after the initial pressing are - relatively - cheap and are VERY important. Every producer has a lot of "Red-Ink" on his sales ledger, the occasional re-press helps reduce the "Red" and (maybe) help turn it "Black". The word "Profit" is not a rude one - just one that we don't get to use very often! In reality, less than half the records that are released are ever re-pressed, so it is not a regular occurrence. By and large, the life expectancy of a new record is twelve months.

Records do sell after this time - but (in most cases) only in very small numbers. There are some exceptions - but these are rare. The one major exception to this general pattern, are Christmas Tunes; these regain a little of their original "popularity" every year - around the few months prior to Christmas. Each year, Hanhurst's Tape and Record Service and other distributors, publish a list of all available Christmas music, which helps this process; some also produce other listings through the year, "grouping" records by various Holiday and seasonal themes - but Christmas seems to be the biggest single recurring item that, effectively, extends the "life" of a record.

So - if, after twelve months, a record has "had it's day" - what do we do with all the unsold stock? In addition, where do newer callers go to obtain copies of older releases and why are these, occasionally, not available? For the answer to these and other questions, read the second part of this article in next month's News-Letter.

RE-RELEASES OF "OUT-OF-PRINT" TITLES, FROM OUR BACK-CATALOGUE:
In an attempt to provide callers everywhere with the very best selection of new and old Sting and Snow music, we are very pleased to announce a new program of re-releases of older tunes that have previously been listed as "Out-Of-Print" or "Unavailable".

This month's special re-release ( to be featured on the February Hanhurst's Tape Service, Tape) is SIR 316 "Love Is All Around" - with Paul Bristow on the vocal - Use the Listen To The Music & Buy The Music links to hear and buy this "classic" Sting re-release.

INDIVIDUAL RECORD HISTORIES including ALL THE ADDITIONAL LYRICS:
As reported last month, in December we added the first batch of Record Histories to the catalogue. The histories contain details about each original song and how it was produced and include the extra lyrics - as featured on the called side; you can access these by "clicking on the open-book picture, wherever it appears. You can also locate these on the Latest Releases and Future Releases pages.

The third batch - featured this month - are:

• Here Comes The Night
• Engine Of Love
• It's Raining Men
• Feels Like I'm In Love
• Yesterday
• Que Sera, Sera
• Papa Was A Rollin' Stone
• Isn't She Lovely?
• Lady Madonna
• Valley Of Love

For details of the titles featured in the previous two months, check out the News-Letter and remember, if there are any that you would particularly like to see added just let us know and; if we know soon enough, we will try and add these to the next bundle…

Once again, I am very pleased that both of our records, released in January achieved top-five listing on the Hanhurst's Tape and Record Service Best Seller listing. These were "Fields Of Gold", which came in at No.2 and "Norwegian Wood", which achieved a "joint" No.3 (this position was shared with another release).

Our new vinyl releases for February are: - "Lady Madonna" (vocal by Carsten Nielsen) a very powerful version of the Beatles song - with just a little of the Tom Jones version, included in the mix! Also featured is "Engine Of Love" (vocal by Uli Schingen); this tune is from the Andrew Lloyd-Weber/Peter Reeves musical "Starlight Express" and has proved to be a real "instant classic". Our new MP3s are "Once I Was A Lonely Cowgirl (or - Cowboy)" (vocal by Astrid Heckmann) and "Time After Time" (vocal by Paul Bristow), both of which - having been previously released on vinyl - can be heard (in part) on the Listen To The Music link.

Finally, don't forget to visit the Forum and join in the discussions that are taking place on a variety of SD related topics. Do you have a "burning issue" that you would like to discuss? Do you have any comments about Sting and Snow music - or SD music in general? When you have a moment, take the time to "throw your hat into the ring"!

Well (if you're still reading - "thank you") - I have run out of things to say! So I will bid you a fond farewell and start work - straight away - on the March News-Letter - now, before I do that, I have to find that old recipe for pancakes… "See" you in March!

Go Squareful! - Paul Bristow (Owner and Producer Sting and Snow Records)