8 March 2017
You bare probably a bit confused as to the attached photo of the ‘Hateful 8’ DVD but it will make sense when you read on.
Mark Wilkinson and I are just putting the finishing touches to the ‘Farewell to Childhood’ cover and have ran into a seriously annoying slab of bureaucracy. We have discovered that because there is a DVD in the package and if I want to sell this on Amazon we have to adhere to German film certification which requires putting an ugly orange 18 marker on the front cover. It can’t be a removable sticker and has to be printed. If we don’t do this then Amazon mark it up as automatic 18 certified and charge 5 euros for the album to be delivered and signed for with passports having to be shown by the purchaser on receipt. The authority in question is the FSK who I called on the phone and an unnamed representative from them himself considered the ruling over the top and had nothing but sympathy for my predicament.
The FSK certification and implementation is only used in Australia and Germany.
It’s ridiculous in my opinion as anyone can buy the album with the FSK 18 certification and not be checked apart from through card info.As much as I respect the need for some sort of age restrictions on certain products there could be a far less intrusive way to deal with this especially on albums where the artwork has more ‘value’ than on a DVD.
It costs 300 euros plus to get a 2 hour DVD checked and certified by FSK and with the lyrics to ‘Perception’ being what they are and 2 uses of the word ‘fuck’ I will definitely get a restricted age rating. We have decided to just put it up as an ’18 rated’ disc as I figure I don’t have that many fans under 18 and those that are I figure can easily get their hands on it.Even if the age rating was “0” we would still have to put the logo on the front cover and at the size the law dictates as per the ‘Hateful 8’ DVD.
The package is pretty much the same as ‘Moveable Feast live’ except it’s got 48 pages of booklet with photos and 9000 words. The 2 CD’s are the Warsaw show and the DVD is a full show from Berlin.
Being a white cover like Feast the orange FSK logo stands out quite rudely.
My choices are have German fans pay an extra 5 euros or have the FSK accreditation printed on the front cover ( it has to be on the front). I think that is unfair on the German fans.
I’ve decided to print 1000 units for Amazon only with the FSK ,logo. as I can’t split the Amazon batch into separate territories. All units sold through the fishhheadsclub.com website will be unadulterated except for a small’ parental advisory’ print on the back cover leaving the front artwork “pure”. There will be a “clear” version on the front of the inner booklet.
I can’t get round this if I want to sell an Amazon DE and risk a fine if I try to bend the rules with removable stickers etc.
It’s a regal pain in the ass but I have no other choice but to comply.
The good news is that both the CD’s and the DVD are now with the production plant and once Mark has the cover sorted the artwork will be joining them. I should have delivery dates very soon. The ‘Childhood’ title will be included in the free t shirt offer with the other existing titles. Please note this is only while t shirt stocks last and they are getting low and out on some sizes.
Once I get my new wi fi broadband on line I aim to put all the remasters so far and both live albums up for download including the Berlin audio file. At the moment my BT Broadband is like clockwork and totally unreliable to send up big files.