THE NEW OZZY ALBUM COMES IN INCREDIBLY CHEAP PACKAGING

It’s just a flimsy piece of cardboard with a slot in it for a CD, and the print is all in black. “Digipak” would be extremely generous in describing this. No jewel case, not even liner notes, and no “deluxe” version available either, at least in Best Buy where I bought mine. I can’t decide whether this makes the Prince of Darkness a miserly old man or a wise sage, but I’m pretty sure it’s the latter.

Let’s be honest. Even for that segment of the population that prides themselves by continuing to buy CDs, these songs are going one place as soon as the CD is bought — onto your iPod — and the CD will sit in a pile or on a shelf for the rest of eternity. For those who don’t know, most recording contracts are structured so that the artist pays for packaging indirectly through what’s known as a “packaging deduction,” which has the end result of packaging costs being deducted from the artist royalty. So it makes perfect sense for SharonOzzy to spend as little money on packaging as possible, thereby maximizing profits on this already dying medium. Plus, you still get two free tickets to Ozzfest. Kudos to SharonOzzy for moving with the times.

-VN