I've blogged recently about Warner's lack of a digital strategy, primarily about their squabble with newly created digital service AnywhereCD. Both parties are currently involved in a lawsuit over DRM (Digital Rights Management) and AnywhereCD's non-use of the technology. DRM is the technology label's force digital services to use to limit the sharing of mp3 tracks and other media files. Currently, the only label to have completely dropped DRM technology is EMI.

Warner will offer this reissue in a digital format, but it will use DRM (as of this writing, unless something changes between now and June). More importantly are the risks Warner is taking with such a massive reissue. They won't be re-issuing both albums separately, only together, which forces the standard set to be list priced at $30 and the deluxe at $45. Not a very manageable price for the average listener, but Warner is undoubtedly banking on the fact that the Traveling Wilburys were a supergroup and lately those have been quite in style. Remember "Feel Good Inc." by Gorillaz last year? Supergroup. The Raconteurs? Supergroup. Audioslave, Velvet Revolver... all supergroups. All successful.

In addition to these details, which certainly can (and probably do) play a role in the release, Bob Dylan's most recent release did well when it was released last September, reaching #1 in Billboard's album chart and selling almost 200,000 copies the first week. The re-issue set also comes within a year of another Wilbury's most recent solo album – Tom Petty's Highway Companion which reached #4 and was produced by Jeff Lynne (another Wilbury). That album was released by Warner as well, so we should expect the label to bank with that connection.

Finally, and this is vitally important for Warner is the fact that the set holds material that far outpaces a lot of the music available in the market today (my opinion). The biggest problem will likely by the price, but if those are the prices for the physical formats and the digital formats are significantly less it could mark an important shift for Warner in the digital world. It's just the kind of change that Warner may need in the face of the current problems with AnywhereCD and the ongoing discussion about DRM. We can assume that fans of the group from the eighties will buy the album, but Warner has a lot of marketing to do to bring the release to the current listener. Making the connections to more recent "supergroups" or at least some of the recent chart toppers that perform similar music (rock – Modest Mouse topped the chart in March and the current line-up is close to a supergroup) will benefit the release and Warner greatly, then at least it won't be me buying two copies, one for me and my sister.