what has happened to the new dvd?

[The Quiet Man]

The previous UK tour was in fact heavily advertised.  I don't know if it "went down like a lead balloon," but it did not go forward, and that's all I'll say about that. 

The decision to concentrate on this market or that market is not an artisitic decision but a business one.  CW, like everyone else in these troubled economic times, has to try to get the most money out of their investments.  Now is not the time to try to aggressively expand marketing.

I might add that characterizing any CW decision as "stupid" is probably not something you want to do on this site, but I'll leave further comment or action on that to the mods.     

[GeorgeN]

.......The decision to concentrate on this market or that market is not an artisitic decision but a business one...... 

    no, No, NO………   "Business" has nothing to do with it..... the girls just like the selection of shoes in US stores...... 

    It’s not ‘business’, it’s ‘shopping’!! 

However…… I’m sure it really does come down to money. There are 330 million people in the USA and three quarters of them claim to be of Irish descent on St. Patrick’s Day! Several other Celtic music performers I follow who perform in the USA, Ireland, and even the UK, often find their audiences at home filled with American faces. It seems that the music, (including many CW songs), is just more popular in the USA than in Europe…… and judging from the audience I’ve seen at the 5 CW concerts I’ve been to, CW is mostly popular with the "over-50 set".

GeorgeN

[OldFatGuy]

Off-topic comments:

characterizing any CW decision as "stupid" is probably not something you want to do on this site

Thank you. Our forum guidelines clearly state that "CW bashing" will not be tolerated on this site. Minor complaints and recommendations for small improvements are fine. But we are not Celtic woman's complaint department. Larger issues must be taken up directly with CW Ltd. Their email and postal addresses are posted in several places.

judging from the audience I’ve seen at the 5 CW concerts I’ve been to, CW is mostly popular with the "over-50 set".

That's a common misconception.  We have nearly 2000 avid fans here, so I think we're a fairly representative group.  Our membership is overwhelmingly under 40, and we have a very significant group who are under 20. (Check the ForumFest Pacific thread!)  CW's appeal crosses all demographics. It's possible - and this is purely a guess - that the "over 50" crowd are the ones who can best afford concert tickets.

[Colin]

As i live in England i have to put up with the same problems as the original poster,
I have only known about CW for a few weeks, and I fell in love with them straight
away, and I made it my business to find cd's and dvd's however hard it was, I now have
had the SFTH dvd in region 2 PAL format for about 2 weeks, i ordered it from a company
called CDWOW, and it came from Switzerland, and of course it hasnt been out of
my player ever since, I have another dvd and cd coming tomorrow from Ebay, so
the girls music is out there but you have to look for it, my only complaint was that
I wrote three times to the email address on the girls website and didnt get one reply,
but I am well and truly hooked now and if they ever do tour here, then I will be the
first in the queue, just to hear those voices and see them in person, what a thought.
regards to all.
Colin.

[Colin]

Today from Ebay i got the SFTH cd and THE GREATEST JOURNEY COLLECTION on region 2 dvd, so
this wonderful music can be bought here in the UK, and boy is it worth it when you do, more
heavenly music for me tonight.

Colin.

[gwheatley]

As an IT guy for a media outlet (Newspaper) I'm marginally on the fringes of electronic distribution and see some of the chaff blowing out of the AMPA and RIAA attempts to address copy right infringement. A discussion on that would really be off topic. Not to mention long. However, it does impact the availability of the work produced by artists in all mediums.
One thing that seems to be happening in the developing landscape is artists having to rely on talent, (gasp!) more than in your face marketing by the RIAA. I love that Celtic Woman has become so popular in the United States by virtue of people hearing them and liking them. It was also one more validation of PBS in that most of us would have never had the opportunity to enjoy this incredible talent without them. Celtic Woman has a U. S. fan base because they are good and people had a chance to hear them, not because of a successful marketing plan. (Unless the plan was to let people hear how good they are.)

Now, back to the original topic. I see that "Songs from the Heart," is the last DVD available on iTunes. I really want "Isle of Hope" and would like to get it through iTunes. The thing is, I also wanted "Songs from the Heart." But by the time it was available, I'd sort of moved on in my desires. I probably won't get it. (on DVD.) I'm more likely to buy individual tracks. And then, only on a few songs. Total sales to me on SFTH maybe $3.00 as opposed to $9.99.
It is not my intention to do the same with IOH, but that wasn't my intention with SFTH either. It's not that I'm trying to punish anybody, but the flame of my desire just starts to burn lower with the passage of time. Conventional wisdom in the music industry seems to say, "Hold off on the albums and DVDs" until after the tours so you won't hurt sales. This appears to be taken as such an article of faith that I wonder if anyone has actually looked to see if it's still true in the second decade of the 21st century.
As great as DVDs are, they are not concerts and will never offer the same experience. Sitting in an auditorium with tens-of-thousands of fans who share your admiration for these people who have crossed an ocean to perform for you simply can't be packaged with current, or realistically foreseeable technology. I just can't see a fan passing on a live concert because they've seen it on DVD. I can see a fan watching the DVD and thinking, "Man. I've got to go see that live." That was exactly my reaction when I stumbled across the Christmas DVD.
I don't have empirical data to support my contention, but I suspect the model used by the entertainment industry is at least 3 decades out of date. Might be time for a re-think, and a little research. Technology is beginning to offer artists a more direct path to their fans. Of course the classic keepers of the gates insist that they still offer a vital service and strive to protect their revenue stream. I keep pointing to Celtic Woman as proof that artists can be successful by being good, and getting their work to the fans. It'll be interesting to see what the future holds.

[hesprit]

Just to clarify, there is no "Isle of Hope" recording availalbe.  It was not released on any format, including DVD, CD, iTunes, etc.

I wish it had been since being hospitalized prevented me from attending the Isle of Hope concert I had tickets to, I never did see the concert at all, but sadly it seems the decision was made not to cut into the marketing for the "Songs From the Heart" production by having a second release with several of the same songs.

I can understand the decision, of course.  I'm saddened by it due to my own situation, but it does make sense from a business standpoint.

[gwheatley]

hesprit:
I knew there wasn't an IOH DVD, but I assumed there was going be one eventually. Do I understand that there won't be one at all?  

[hesprit]

I can't speak for CW Ltd., of course, but that's the impression I've gotten.  The Isle of Hope tour was just that, they never did a show put on for the purpose of recording, like they have done with all the other DVD's which have been put out.  If they ever do put out a DVD it would have to have been recorded during the tour itself, which would be unusual since they would not have the benefit of two nights taping to allow for editing.

This is just conjecture, of course.  The only place to find out for certain would be asking CW Ltd.