Amazon The CD Manufacturer

An article in Information Week (I'm more likely to read Cosmo) bubbled up in my alerts this week about Amazon working with Sony BMG and EMI to bring 'out of print' recordings back into circulation. From the article,

Amazon, Sony BMG, and EMI Music said that they will make hundreds of out-of-print albums available on Amazon's Web site through CreateSpace's Disc on demand service. Some of the titles that have been restored to availability include Hatari Soundtrack by Henry Mancini, Earthquake Weather by Joe Strummer, Motorcade of Generosity by Cake, Telepathy by Bill Stewart, Foreign Intrigue by Tony Williams, and Carryin' On by Grant Green. A few of the recordings being made available through Disc on Demand are new releases rather than reissues, such as the upcoming title in KCRW's Sounds Eclectic series. The arrival of brand-name, major-label content should enhance the credibility of CreateSpace's media on-demand service, which has yet to shake of the stigma associated with self-publishing. CreateSpace was born last August. It used to be called CustomFlix, which Amazon acquired in July 2005.

Just another example of how Amazon is willing to move up and down the supply chain. Interestingly, the author of the article does note the controversy around the BookSurge situation but perhaps the more interesting point is about how Amazon will use their own demand analysis to determine which recordings to produce. Perhaps not so obvious is the impact on all the Amazon affiliates who have businesses supplying rare and hard to find recordings. Are they doomed?