I have a dilemma and want your feedback. It concerns a couple of (mostly complete) sets of FSM CDs I have. I would love to get these to people who want and need them to fill out their collections!
I’d also like to make a little bit of money—which I’m hesitant to mention, because then it starts going around, “Hey, Lukas needs money!”
In the long run, I’ll be fine—don’t worry about me! But as a short-term matter, yeah, I could use a little help with the cash flow.
I am making progress with my film and television projects—but until something happens and gets the “green light,” there’s no money coming in. So my income consists of various freelance gigs—like helping my pal Taylor White at Creature Features with his Kickstarter of this awesome Night Gallery book (please check it out!).
I actually don’t have a stockpile of valuable stuff that I can sell. I never hoarded things.
Maybe I should have done what I know some people do: stockpile CDs that will eventually go out of print and obviously become super rare, and then dole them out on eBay for big bucks.
Right now the above MGM box set we did sells on eBay for $299. Our ST:TNG Ron Jones box has three listings, for $899, $1155 and $1405.
Maybe I should be proud...but I’m mostly grossed out. (Of course, just because it’s listed at these prices doesn’t mean it will sell.)
When we produced this stuff, I wanted first and foremost for it to be available to the public at a fair price. I wanted to have a successful business, and have fun experiences, sure—but it was really about sharing the joy of this fabulous music.
Will people believe me when I say this? Well, it’s true.
I always knew my future would lie in making movies myself—which I still truly believe. And, in due course, there would be more than enough money coming in.
So all I was really concerned with at FSM was keeping the lights on. Whenever I had extra money, I plowed it into projects that I knew would be marginal sellers but deeply loved. (Hello, Eye of the Devil!)
I wrote some time ago that most of my collection is in boxes right now. I kept only one copy of every FSM CD we ever made—and the other various projects that I’ve been lucky to produce and coproduce over the years.
However...back in the day, every time we produced an album, and sent out the “comp copies” to our participants, I also sent one copy to my mom, and one to my dad.
My parents love me very much (yay!), and they’re proud of my work...but they’re not big film music fans. So with a few exceptions, most of the CDs I sent them just stayed in the shrink wrap and eventually got put in boxes in their respective basements.
Now, as it’s up to 25 years later and we’re looking at the future possibilities of downsizing, moving, etc., I asked if I could sell those off and they were like, “PLEASE DO.”
So I have two extra sets of the FSM catalog available. At the moment, one set has been mostly transferred to Screen Archives (where the rest of our inventory is); the other is still in a basement and I’ll have to retrieve it next time I am back east.
I’ve been wondering what to do with these because it’s a hassle to put them on eBay—and then they’re just part of the gross world of price gouging.
I didn’t want to look like I was panhandling, either.
But I didn’t just want to offer them to random people for peanuts because charging something at least makes it a fair process to the people who really want these.
So let’s do this: if you’re a longtime collector, and if you have most of our titles but just missed out on a few and have been dying to get them but couldn’t afford the stupid eBay prices, please send me an email: Lukas@filmscoremonthly.com
Let’s see what comes in and then maybe we can make some custom bulk quotes to get these rare titles to people who will truly appreciate them.
Thanks!
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