SOUNDTRACK SPECIALIST SCORE ARCHIVE
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Frequently Answered Questions - Latest Update: August 11th 2007

As of August 2007, I will no longer be trading as I will now focus on writing my own music.
Please consult www.andrew-bernstein.com for more information.

    List Of Contents:
  1. What is Soundtrack Specialist ?
  2. Who Are You ?
  3. Who Are Your Favorite Composers ?
  4. Are These Discs For Sale ?
  5. I can't find what I'm looking for ? Do you have more ?
  6. Can you e-mail me a complete track listing ?
  7. I'm looking for an original imported title but I can't find it anywhere. Can you help me ?
  8. What type of Interner browser do you recommend to consult Soundtrack Specialist ?
  9. What is the difference between an 'original soundtrack CD' and an 'original score CD' ?
  10. What about re-recordings ? They sometimes carry the mention 'original score CD'.
  11. What about expanded releases ? Does this also apply ?
  12. Let's get down to business ! I want to trade, what should I do ?

Q: "What is Soundtrack Specialist ?"
Soundtrack Specialist is a soundtrack trading resource comprised of out of print commercial releases, imported releases, limited editions, promotional releases, private releases (containing unreleased material), and CD transfers made from LPs, cassettes, DATs, MiniDiscs, and isolated scores from LaserDiscs and DVDs.

Currently, I am mostly interested in hard to find soundtrack releases and, for those who want to trade, I will also accept regular soundtrack releases listed on my want list. More information about trading can be found below.

Q: "Who Are You ?"
The Mystery Man ! Just Kidding... ;-) My name is Andrew Bernstein. I was born in Boston, Massachusetts (Hello Back Bay !) and have been addicted to film music for a very long time (I caught the bug early on when my mom offered me a legendary soundtrack LP). Due to decades spent in Europe and a prolonged exposure to European and Asian "cinéma", I've developed profound tastes for more than just Hollywood Film Music. An attraction which, I hope, is reflected in this collection.

    Questions I've often been asked
  1. "Are you related to the Elmer Bernstein or Leonard Bernstein families ?" -> No.
  2. "Do you write music ?" -> Yes I do and, when I feel comfortable, I will make it available on this very web space.

Q: "Who Are Your Favorite Composers ?"
A: At the top of the list would come Jerry Goldsmith, Alex North, Bernard Herrmann then Elmer Bernstein, Bruce Broughton, Miklos Rozsa and Lalo Schifrin. On a European level: Philippe Sarde, Georges Delerue, Gabriel Yared, John Scott, Fredéric Talgorn, Alexandre Desplat, Patrick Doyle, Pino Donaggio and obviously Ennio Morricone. On a more current Hollywood level, I'm keeping my eyes on Alf Clausen, Cliff Eidelman, Don Davis, John Ottman, Basil Poledouris, Howard Shore, Alan Silvestri, John Van Tongeren, Shirley Walker, Christopher Young and John Williams.

Q: "Are These Discs For Sale ?"
If you mean the original discs (when there are any) then no. This is a personal collection.

 Q: "I can't find what I'm looking for ? Do you have more ?"
A: Yes. While I'm doing my best to implement as many titles as possible (and as fast as possible shall I add), overall sound restoration is extremely time consuming so please be patient.

Also, somes titles in my possession will remain "unlisted" until further notice (even after audio restoration). This type of situation happens very much with unreleased and rejected scores which are considered very rare. If the title eventually comes out of the closet (i.e. starts to circulate on score trading sites) then I will incorporate it within its respective listing.

Initially, I only listed what were and still are considered to be unreleased (all kinds), out of print and imported titles. More recently, I started to list regular "in print" titles (select database pages only), as well as some available promotional releases and limited editions (ex: FSM CDs), which can be purchased directly from specialty soundtrack outlets such as Screen Archives (SAE) and Soundtrack Album Retailers (STAR).

These regular "In Print" references are accompanied by a "YES" in the "In Print" column (select database pages only) and are, obviously, not available for trade as they can be purchased easily over the internet (please either consult my sale section or the Other Recommended Sources For Soundtracks section below if you want to purchase such titles).

Due to the thousands of "In Print" titles in my collection, their implementation will take some major time and, until the database rendition of my collection is optimized, do not expect a 100% accuracy with such references.

Q: "Can you e-mail me a complete track listing ?"
A: Most titles represented in the artwork galleries carry their respective track listings. Please refrain yourself from contacting me if you're only looking for a track listing as this type of e-mail tends to be automatically deleted. Thanks.

Q: "I'm looking for an original imported title but I can't find it anywhere. Can you help me ?"
A: Then e-mail me with the exact title, composer's name and catalog number. I do import a lot of my own collection from overseas so chances are that I might get what you're looking for.

Q: "What type of Interner browser do you recommend to consult Soundtrack Specialist ?"
For the moment, I encourage everyone to use the Soundtrack Specialist Score Archive in conjunction with Internet Explorer (5.1 and above). While this web site is completely written from scratch on Macintosh, Safari and Firefox sometimes interpret my code differently than Explorer. Until this difference in interpretation between these various browsers is taken care of (as my *html knowledge progresses), please keep on using IE.

Q: "What is the difference between an 'original soundtrack CD' and an 'original score CD' ?"
The difference is not always obvious and I'll try to be the most concise in my answer.

A CD carrying the mention "original soundtrack" contains either the incidental music as heard in the film or, very often in this day and age, a collection of songs bearing very little relationship to the movie they're attached to (most of the time, these soundtracks carry the mention 'Music from and Inspired by'). This type of soundtrack is considered a song soundtrack.

Please note that some song soundtracks are completely legitimate (The Graduate, Easy Rider, Trainspotting...) but they tend to be the minority. In our commercial era, most CDs carrying the name 'soundtrack' are simply a vehicle for a bunch of songs loosely related to the movie they're supposed to represent (most of these songs will be found in the end titles of the film but will rarely be heard during the film itself).

When a song soundtrack is released, a record company who wishes to release the incidental music has no option but to name its release an original score.

To sum it up: unless a song soundtrack is available for a film in particular, a CD containing the music as heard in the film will be denominated an original soundtrack CD. If a song soundtrack is available for a certain film, the alternate CD containing the incidental music will be called an original score CD.

Q: "What about re-recordings ? They sometimes carry the mention 'original score CD'."
When incidental music from a film is re-recorded for commercial release, the CD of this re-recording will be called an 'original score from'. It is your duty, before you purchase the disc, to make sure you know what you're getting (original recording or re-recording).

Most (if not all) re-recordings will include the recording dates, hall / studio where the recording took place, the name of the conductor, etc... Usually, it is very easy to figure it out.

Q: "What about expanded releases ? Does this also apply ?"
Yes. If an expanded or complete release of the incidental tracks is denominated a 'soundtrack', it means that no song soundtrack is available for the same film. If the term 'score' is applied, then an alternate song soundtrack is available. Because bootlegs are such a mish-mash scenario (very often drawing material from a myriad of recordings including the original), they do not always obey to these rules.

Q: "Let's get down to business ! I want to trade, what should I do ?"

  1. First, make sure that the title you're proposing is not on my list (a quick glance at my want list is recommended)

  2. Do not propose CD-R copies of manufactured CDs (even import, out of print, limited or promotional releases). I'm not here to take money away from people who deserve it so, if I'm looking for an original CD, I'll just go out and purchase it. If you propose an original CD (in or out of print), I will consider your offer on a case by case basis depending on how useful the title is.

  3. Only use the Disc-At-Once (DAO) mode when you duplicate the audio content with a computer CD burner. If you use a stand alone (consumer model) burner, please use a digital connection. If you don't know what this means, visit www.cdrfaq.org for more information. Also, do not extract audio tracks individually as you'll create short gaps (silences) between tracks.

  4. Do not propose any DVD-RIP CD or MP3 / MP4 CD - such trades won't be honored.

  5. Do not ask me to create a combination CD so that you get two scores out of trading one disc (1CD = 1CD, a 2CD set = 2CDs, etc.).

  6. If the title you're trading is very common, I might ask for two discs of the same rarity value (see "want list trade ratio").

  7. I'll consider a "Do Not Trade" status on an unreleased score being traded in if it is not currently circulating on score trading sites (this does not apply to promos and bootlegs).

  8. E-mail me first with a few titles in mind before you e-mail me your trade list.

  9. Do not resell any of my stuff on Ebay or any other auction venue. These discs are very much for your personal pleasure only - They're not here to make anybody rich.

    10. Violation of any of the rules above will definitely suspend all trades.

Links

Other Recommended Sources For Soundtracks

Soundtrack Labels

Composer's Web Pages (Official / Unofficial)

Other Film Music Links

Auction Information

Payments Accepted
Paypal Bidpay Money Orders Cashier's Check Personal Check Cash
Yes - 3.5% to 5% Fee Applies Yes Yes Yes No Yes
Please note that online payments should be received no later than three days after the end of auction
Any Physical Payment (money order, bidpay) should be received no later than five business days after the end of auction

Shipping & Handling
Number of Discs U.S.A. Canada / Mexico Rest of the World
One (1) $2.50 - 1st Class $2.50 - Air Mail $5 - Air Mail
Two (2) $3.50 - 1st Class $3.50 - Air Mail $7.50 - Air Mail
Three (3) $5 - Priority Mail $10 - Global Priority Mail $10 - Global Priority Mail
Four (4) $5.75 - PM $10 - GPM $10 - GPM
Five (5) $5.75 to $8.55* $10 - GPM $10 - GPM
Six (6) $5.75 to $8.55* $10 - GPM $10 - GPM
Seven (7) $7.05 to $12.15* $10 - GPM $10 - GPM
Eight (8) $7.05 to $12.15* $10 - GPM $10 - GPM
* Priority Mail Zip Code Dependent - Email me with your Zip Code.

Supplementary Services
Availability Tracking Registered Insurance
U.S.A. $0.45 (Priority Mail) $7.50 Starts at $1.30
Rest of the World $2.30* $7.50* $1.30*
* Not available with Global Priority Mail - Only with Standard Air Mail

Soundtrack Specialist © 2002-Present Andrew Bernstein. All Rights Reserved.