DuranDuran
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^^^^^The J5 era albums never really sold that big, just like the average Motown album didn't. That's why they don't stay in print. Many of them had never been on CD until the 2001 re-releases. For the most part Motown was a singles label, not an album label. The majority of Motown's stuff is out of print, except for their endless compilation albums with the same songs over and over. As far as the Jacksons variety show goes, that has nothing to do with Motown. They were on Epic then. The CBS television network probably owns the footage. To release them on DVD is very expensive, and there is no guarantee it would sell as The Jacksons as a group have never really crossed over like Michael later did. The brothers never had anything officially released on video until that A&E show recently. All VHS, laserdisc, DVD, etc has been Michael solo. First of all whoever releases it has to get permission from and pay any guest stars (or their estate/image handlers if deceased). Some like David Letterman, probably would ask for a lot of money. Then restoring the footage is a long and very costly process. Songwriters and publishers for the songs in the show have to be paid. I'm not sure, but I think the show's script writers also get a royalty. It's not as simple as just putting out a DVD.