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| Below you will find the full outline and details provided at the start of the Front Row Club in 2002 to the end of manufacturing physical CDs in 2008. |
| This information on this page is provided for legacy reasons only, and may not apply to the current structure of the Front Row Club Credits system. |
| Please visit the main Front Row Club page for current details! |
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| Front Row Credit Bundles |
10 x Front Row Credits
£9.99 | £8.50 Outside EU |
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22 x Front Row Credits
£19.99 | £17.01 Outside EU |
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34 x Front Row Credits
£29.99 | £25.52 Outside EU |
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46 x Front Row Credits
£39.99 | £34.03 Outside EU |
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60 x Front Row Credits
£49.99 | £42.55 Outside EU |
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| The end of FRC releases on CD is upon us, and come the shipment of FRC-040 in February 2008, we will be moving over to the new 'credits' system. |
| The best way to explain the change will be to describe the way the credits system will work. At the end of this section, you will find information about what happens with your left-over "Issues Remaining" (if you have any!) |
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| What are Front Row Credits? |
| Front Row Credits are a bit like a Gift Certificate to Racket Records. They will allow you to purchase many CDs, DVDs, and Downloads just like "normal money" - except that if you bulk-purchase credits in advance, you will get free 'Bonus" credits! |
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| How Much do Front Row Credits cost? |
| You can only purchase Front Row Credits in bulk, not one-by-one. These bulk credits are priced as follows (prices below are listed including VAT, non-EU residents will not pay VAT on Credits sales): |
£9.99 = 10 Credits
£19.99 = 22 Credits
£29.99 = 34 Credits
£39.99 = 46 Credits
£49.99 = 60 Credits |
| You can think of each Credit as equivalent to £1.00 when purchasing from Racket Records - so if you buy 60 Credits for £50.00, you are in effect getting £10.00 FREE to spend on any product you can purchase with credits. |
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| What can I buy with Front Row Credits? |
| Well, we can't give a full list at the moment, but here's the plan: |
All Racket Records Download releases
Most of the Racket Records CDs and DVDs
All Front Row Club releases, on CD or Download |
| However, any Front Row Club releases on CD or Download will ONLY be available for purchase with credits. We will also be making ALL Front Row Club titles that are out-of-print on CD available again as Front Row Club Downloads - again, only available to purchase with Credits. |
| Things you CANNOT pay for with Credits include Web membership, most clothing and merchandise items, special-offer items shipping charges, and (of course) more Credits! |
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| How Much will things cost in Credits? |
| Each item that is available to purchase with credits will list its own credit price. As a general rule, credit prices are based on "actual" price - if a CD costs £9.99, it will be priced at 10 Credits. If a Download is £6.99, it will cost 7 Credits. Previous Front Row Club releases will be priced similarly to Racket Records releases - a 2CD issue will be 13 Credits, and a "2CD" Download will be 9 Credits. |
| We mentioned above that these prices are all quoted including VAT. If you live outside the EU, the cost of your credits (and therefore the purchase price of an item) will be adjusted automatically by the shopping cart system. |
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| How do I use Credits at Racket Records? |
| Simple: when you log in to your Marillion Online Account and make a purchase, before reaching the payment stage you will be able to choose which items you wish to purchase with Credits, and will be shown how manu credits you have remaining. |
| Rather than describe it in detail here, we will wait until the system is up and running and let you see for yourself. We have designed it to be intuitive and straght-forward so it should be very easy to use! |
| If questions do arise, we will post answers to this website for everyone. |
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| What if I don't have enough credits to pay for an item completely? |
| Don't worry about having left-over credits, the new system will allow you to part-purchase items with a combination of Credits and cash. |
| For example, you only have 3 Credits remaining and decide to buy the 'Friends' 1CD. This is priced at £9.99 or 10 Credits, so you could use your remaining 3 credits up, and pay the 'difference' of £6.99 (plus any shipping charges) by Credit Card or PayPal. |
| This way any 'left-over' Credits can always be used up AND you can purchase items other than just Downloads or FRC Back-issues! |
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What happens to my Front Row Club 'Issues Remaining'?
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I want the last 2 Front Row Club releases, but don't want to purchase a new Front Row Club Membership for 4 issues. What do I do? |
| If you don't have enough 'Issues Remaining' left to get the final FRC releases but don't want to miss out, the answer is simple. Just renew your FRC membership as usual! |
| When it comes time to convert over to the new Credits system (at the start of February 2008 when FRC-040 ships), your Issues Remaining will be automatically traded in for Front Row Credits. For each 1 "Issue Remaining" on your membership, you will receive 15 Front Row Credits. |
| If you will indulge in a bit of maths: You'll notice that FRC membership costs £49.99. This is the same price as 60 Credits. A FRC membership covers 4 Issues. If you convert 4 Issues to Credits (4 x 15) you get... voila! 60 Credits. |
| This way, you can ensure to get the remaining FRC releases on CD, and still get your full Credits value for any Issues Remaining on your membership. |
| As noted above, Credits can be used on Racket Records CDs and DVDs as well, so if you're not interested in Downloads you can still use up your credits on something 'physical'. Because you can also partially pay in credits, you're guaranteed to be able to use every last one up. |
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| Help! I don't understand any of this! |
| We've tried to make this transition as fair and simple as possible for all existing members, and have based all of these decisions based on your feedback on the Marillion Online Forum. |
| If, however, you're still unsure - head over to the Forum and we'll do our best to answer your questions. If you still have issues that aren't answered, you can always contact us directly for more help. |
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| One of the biggest limitations of the FRC was repetition of set-lists and therefore potential releases, which is now a problem we are unfortunately encountering. With the recent advent of high-capacity portable digital media players and the increase in available broadband internet services world-wide we have decided to move the Front Row Club from a physical CD format over to a download-only format as of January 2008. |
| Making shows available as downloads will allow us to provide a much larger selection of shows - since we will not have to press up a "minimum manufacturing quantity" of physical CDs, we can make a larger number of shows available that individually may not have had a wide-spread appeal large enough to justify pressing it to CD... In short we can make more shows available because there are no limitations other than hard-drive space and what's in our box of tapes! |
| However, we are well aware there are still many members who have remaining 'credits' on their memberships, which is why we will provide a final 5 FRC releases on CD into 2008. Any left-over credits will then be transferred over to the new digital system, or for use on back-issues on CD that are still available. This will allow you to renew your FRC membership and know that there will continue to be releases provided, and that you will in no way "lose" any of your purchased credits. |
| We also do anticipate that some releases will be of particular popularity or interest, in which case we will certainly consider making these available as a physical CD. From the start the FRC has evolved as necessary, and we will continue to do so as we move to the download format. |
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| Our outline of planned changes to the Front Row Club |
| In January 2008 the final Front Row Club release available on physical CD (FRC-040) will ship. |
| From January 2008 FRC releases will continue to be provided at the rate of roughly 4 per year, but these will only be available in download format (the final download file type(s) will be determined at a later date) |
| Any FRC member with outstanding FRC "release credits" will have these transferred over to download credits at AT LEAST a 1-to-1 ratio (that is, 1 FRC "issue remaining" will guarantee a minimum of 1 full-show download) |
| All physical CD back-issues will continue to be available until supplies are gone. |
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| What Next? |
| We will continue to update this website with specific details of how the FRC will work as we make firm decisions, but in general all the membership principles and information below still apply. And until January 2008 the FRC will continue to operate as it always has done, so you shouldn't notice any changes in the near future. |
| We certainly welcome your comments and suggestions - we will try and answer as many questions and concerns you may have on the Front Row Club section of the Marillion Online Forum ...and as always will try to build the FRC based on the feedback of its members! |
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| An Introduction |
| We began Racket Records as an extension of our Web Fan Clubs and a way to provide fans with something rare, and personal - straight from the band. Now - with twice as many Racket titles as we started with, not to mention solo projects, and our online shop, we continue to get more and more requests for live recordings, hard-to-find releases, and more collectibles. So… |
| We have started the Front Row Club - a membership-based club for collectors, or anyone else with a very keen interest in Marillion. We are choosing live Marillion recordings and releasing them - warts and all - for your listening pleasure. Not only that, but these recordings will not be on sale publicly - they are only available to members. This is partly due to the standards we are using to judge them by - a much looser interpretation than for our normal Racket releases, but at the same time striving to provide much better quality recordings than "bootlegs", in a properly packaged release, specifically for hardcore fans and collectors who need their fix! |
| We've also designed the Club so that you won't have to accept everything that we release - the choice is yours from the start. Since its inception, we have changed the membership fees, release structure, offered a few 'surprises,' and released specific titles - all based on member feedback. We will aim to continue to evolve the FRC with its membership to provide what you - its members - want. |
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| Membership Details - New Membership Structure for 2006 |
| Front Row Club members will pay an up-front membership fee to cover four (4) Front Row Club releases, each new one shipped every 3 months. Members may also choose to select optional titles, or previous releases. New Front Row Club releases will be announced on the website at least 1 month in advance, with a proposed release and shipping date, and a description of the recording, including sound clips whenever possible. Anyone not wishing to receive a new release will be able to notify us through our online opt-out form within this month before each new release is actually shipped. |
| Should customers miss the opportunity to refuse a release before it is shipped, and still want to return it unopened, they may do so at their cost. This will be a standard fee of £3 for packaging & handling. |
| Due to the time-dependent nature of releases, notification, and shipping, we regret we cannot accept Front Row Club memberships or refusals by post - Club members MUST use our online ordering system. |
| The cost of joining the Front Row Club is a flat fee of £49.99 for 4 releases. An additional postal surcharge will be applied to non-UK residents, up to a maximum of £4 upon your subscription order. This surcharge is a one-off charge at the beginning of your membership; it is not charged for each release. |
| This membership fee will entitle the member to any current, future, optional, or back-issue release in print. Unless otherwise stated (e.g. Curtain Call) the number of CDs included with a release does not affect your subscription (e.g. double CDs count as only 1 release). We hope to make some extra Front Row Club "goodies" available when the mood takes us - in the past these have included a free T-Shirt, and a special invitation to a pre-tour production rehearsal. We cannot guarantee the frequency or number of these special items, but will try our best to offer something 'extra' to membership when at all possible. |
| Members will automatically receive each new release unless they notify us online that they do not wish to receive a particular Front Row Club release. Please note that members must inform us each time a new release is announced, as consecutive releases will again be sent out automatically. |
| Members must use the Opt-Out form online if you do not wish to receive a particular title. This opt-out must be made by the posted deadline on each issues discography page. Members are also responsible for sending address changes by the opt-out deadlines for any particular release. |
| This membership fee does NOT apply to normal Racket releases, or any merchandise sold through Racket Records. It is not a 'credit' held at Racket Records, it is a membership fee entitling you to exclusive Front Row Club-only releases. However, Front Row Sampler CDs will be available to members as either Optional Titles or free gifts, but may also be purchased separately. |
| Membership can ONLY be purchased online, and members are strongly advised to have easy and frequent access to the internet. The Front Row Club is internet-only due to the highly time-dependent nature of releases, shipping, and providing immediate information. Members are responsible for checking this website for
updates on current and scheduled releases, as well as updates to membership structure. |
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| Releases - What and How Many? |
| From 2006 our release schedule will change from 6 releases per year shipped every 2 months to 4 releases per year shipped every 4 months. We will continue to provide additional optional selections, and the availability of previous Front Row Club releases. |
| Why have we changed the number of issues per year? |
| First, while FRC titles are pressed in limited quantities, most back-issues are still available, which gives new members a wide selection to choose from when they first join. All existing back-issues and optional titles will not be re-pressed to make room for newer releases. A membership of 4 issues also makes a "one-off" purchase of 4 back-issues easier for fans who only want a few releases rather than each new issue. |
| Second, while there are still a large number of source tapes available, many tours feature similar set lists between gigs. We try and select shows based on what songs are played, and with the large number of back-issues still available a certain amount of repetition will start to happen with each new release. By spacing out new issues, we will be able to offer more variation between shows over a longer period of time. |
| The current Front Row Club release from the date of membership will be mailed automatically to members, unless they specify otherwise when they join. Optional or previous Club releases, as well as other special offers, will only be mailed to members if ordered online. |
| Due to the nature of the Front Row Club, only one copy of each release will be permitted per member. This will both benefit the Front Row Club and its members by ensuring exclusivity. Front Row Club releases are supplied to members on the understanding that these records will not be duplicated. |
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| Optional TItles and Back-Issues |
| You will notice Optional Titles listed in the list of FRC issues. These titles are provided for members as special benefits to membership. Optional Titles are not automatically shipped with your subscription, and will only be shipped if they are ordered through our Member Ordering Forms on this site. |
| When you order Optional Titles, these will be deducted from your membership. Similarly, members may order Back-Issues of any releases that they may have missed originally, and these will also be deducted from your membership. |
| Remember, Optional Titles and Back-Issues are just that - they are not included or shipped with your subscription. They are additional releases available to order for Front Row Club members only. |
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| A Final Friendly Word |
| The principles of this collectors' club are simplicity and fairness, assuming goodwill between Marillion and Front Row Club members. We welcome informed appraisal, critical commentary, and impartial skepticism, subject to the operations of courtesy and common decency. |
| The Front Row Club section on the Marillion Online Forums is a great place to voice your opinions as well as get information about previous releases, whether you are a new member looking to build a collection on back-issues, or just considering membership and what the releases have to offer. |
| If any potential Front Row Club member is concerned we are intent upon snaffling their hard-earned pay by supplying them large quantities of sonic turkeys (just like bootleggers, that is) better not to join the Club. Some of the rarities you will be offered may well be less than perfect!.. If any potential Front Row Club member is likely to be resentful, critical or nasty about multiple releases of the same group, or their material, better not to join the Club. |
| The Front Row Club is intended for those with "Front Row" passion for the band and its touring history. And, of course, the future! |
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| Why start the Front Row Club? |
| To provide access to archives, rarities, and other recordings which could or would not be released without the support and enthusiasm of the Front Row Club. |
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| What is the sound quality of FRC releases? |
| From very good near-studio quality to less-than-average, depending on the
particular title / recording involved. Information on
releases will be available, so members know what they
are buying. There will be small previews available to
listen to online, and a band audio rating provided. To date, with very few exceptions, the overall sound quality of FRC releases is comparable to many 'official' live albums. |
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| Will FRC releases be available on general release? |
| No. Front Row Club titles will ONLY be available to members. However, two exceptions are the View from the Balcony sampler CD (with tracks compiled from various FRC releases) available to non-members through Racket Records, and Curtain Call which is available to purchase an its won with a special 'shortened' FRC membership |
| Many Front Row Club releases will be focused on CDs of more interest to a specialised Marillion fan. This will include material, which would not be included for a shop release, where 'mainstream' consumer expectations are very different |
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| Do I have to use my entire membership in a year? |
| No. The membership fee is calculated on the cost of your 4-issue subscription. Your membership will continue until you receive a total of 4 Front Row Club releases, (double/multiple CDs counting as 1 release), whether within one year or not. |
| Ordering Optional Titles or Back-Issues will cause your membership to expire earlier than 1 year (each optional title or back-issue counts as 1 release), whereas Opting-Out of a release will cause your membership to last longer than 1 year. In short, you pick and choose which releases you want, and when you have received 4, your membership expires, and you will be sent a renewal notification post card. |
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| Who decides what is released, and can I make suggestions for future releases? |
| We do! The band members are directly involved with this project, and hand-pick the releases. We also have based many of our releases based on member requests, and are also happy to accept recordings that you may have for consideration. |
| The Front Row Club message board on the Marillion Online Forum is used for any comments and suggestions with regards to future releases or any other FRC member feedback. |
| Regarding shows prior to 1989, we have release the special Curtain Call boxed set in cooperation with Fish - however, there is not sufficient demand to justify another such release at this time, nor will individual shows from before 1989 be released through the FRC |
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| How many copies of each release are pressed? |
| The number of copies manufactured varies from release to release. Typically, we press between 1000-2000 of each release, although some releases have been re-pressed over this 2000 mark; and Optional Titles tend to be manufactured in the 500-1000 range. |
| FRC issues are not "designed" to be limited-edition; the nature of the Front Row Club simply limits the number of copies that need to be manufactured. |
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| What if I don't want to receive an upcoming release? |
| When a new release is announced on this website, members will have at least 1 month to inform us via an online opt-out form that they do not wish to receive the 'current' release. This 'opt-out' procedure will not deduct a release from your membership, and allow you to choose exactly which releases you want with your membership. |
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| What if I receive a release that I don't want? |
| You will be given at least 1 month to refuse any releases you don't wish to receive before they are sent out. Should you forget to do this and receive something you don't want, you will be able to return it to us for a membership 'release credit' but will have to pay a packaging and handling charge of £3. |
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| Will previous FRC releases always be available to order? |
| After a new release is shipped, it will remain available as Back-Issue until the initial pressing sells out. Some releases will be of limited appeal, and will not be re-pressed, whereas others may tend to be very popular and WILL be re-manufactured if this is the case. These decisions are made based on the up-take of any particular release, as well as how quickly remaining supplies are sold as Back-Issues. We can therefore not guarantee that all releases will be available all the time. As of 2007, we no longer anticipate re-manufacturing any FRC titles. |
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| Can I use my FRC membership to buy Racket Records releases and merchandise? |
| No, all orders from Racket Records will need to be placed and paid for separately from Front Row Club orders. This is to simplify the practicalities of running both Racket Records and the Front Row Club. Although both Racket Records and the Front Row Club will both be run from the same website, this does not affect the exclusivity of the Front Row Club. |
| During the transition to digital membership in 2008, we may allow FRC 'credits' to be used on Racket Records products for members who choose not to use the download service. No final decision has yet been made on this subject. |
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| How do I get in touch with the FRC regarding my membership or any missing shipments? |
| Racket Records handles all aspects of the Front Row Club - from ordering to shipping. Should you need to get in contact with us for any reason regarding your membership, shipments, or optional orders, please contact us directly with the information below, or visit the contact us page of this website. |
| We ask that in any correspondence you please provide your full name and postal address |
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| What if I change my address during my membership? |
| If your address changes during your subscription, simply log in to My Account and update your delivery address. PLEASE NOTE! All address changes for upcoming releases will need to be completed by the stated Opt-Out deadline to take effect. |
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