I would add only a couple of comment to those already expressed about Columbia's record club. I 've been a member for five years now, and was upgraded to Play status (12 more freebies and no automatic shipments) last Fall. I also belong to the BMG club. 1. Breadth of Catalogue: BMG offers such interesting labels as ASV, daCapo, and Hyperion in its monthly offerings; Columbia/Sony has Harmonia Mundi, but not much else. 2. Book-keeping: I just received a gentle reminder from Columbia that I still have to buy three more releases at full price to fulfill my commitment (even though I have bought several boxed sets and operas at whopping discounts). So they do keep track and count full-price purchases as a major element of continued good standing. 3. Quality: I ran into two copies of DG's Damnation of Faust on BMG that skipped and chattered on my CD player; these discs were manufactured under license in Indiana. When I tried the same release from Columbia/Sony, I received German pressings (for the same sale price) and everything worked fine from the get-go. So there is an element of paperback vs. leather binding in some of the products released through the clubs. 4. The Future: Sony recently purchased CD Now and has placed a new head of recorded music over the club and the on-line outlet. As a result, I'm hanging on to my membership in the hope that the synergies of working with a successful Internet source of CDs will benefit the processes and offerings of Columbia's club. Between the advance of downloading technology and the escalation of e-commerce, the clubs will have to hustle to keep up. Dick Claeys [log in to unmask]