The Grateful Dead’s Dave’s Picks series is celebrating its 10th year in 2021. Subscriptions to the archival release series are on sale now on Dead.net, with some adjustments to the model.
For this year’s series, the Dead announced that they have increased the production run for each release to 25,000 copies. The series began with a run of just 12,000 copies in 2012; according to Dead.net, this will be the final time that the production run is increased.
Another adjustment to the subscriptions pertains to when fans will get their copies. According to Dead.net: “subscribers will be the first to receive their Dave’s Picks. A la carte sales will go up on street date (no more pre-orders) and if you don’t subscribe – we highly encourage you to – you’ll want to be ready and waiting because these releases sell out within hours. Hours – no hyperbole.”
Grateful Dead archivist David Lemieux wrote a note and shot an accompanying video previewing the series. Read the note and watch the video below!
Click here to pre-order a subscription to the 2021 ‘Dave’s Picks’ series.
Welcome to the 10th year of the Dave’s Picks series! We’re amazed and humbled that this community of Dave’s Picks fans keeps growing, and we just wanted to let you know how much we sincerely appreciate your support of and interest in the series. We started in 2012 with 12,000 of each release, and now we’ve more doubled that, with 25,000 in 2021. Wow! We keep working as hard as we possibly can to bring you the best, most exciting Grateful Dead shows in the vault. Our 2020 releases included music from 1977, 1974, 1984, and the latest, biggest release yet in the series, the two complete Hartford shows from 1987. Looking ahead, we’ve selected two exceptional, A+ Dead shows for Vol. 37 (more on that in the video below) and 38, as well as the Bonus Disc that will come with Vol. 38. Big year ahead! As we head into the 10th year of the series, there’s no end in sight. We love what we do, and have loads of plans and ideas for the next few years. Onward to more great music!
-David Lemieux
5 Comments comments associated with this post
Jack Reed
December 2, 2020 at 4:16 pmWow. How long have I been waiting to hear someone say these things. I’ve always felt that what remains of Grateful Dead Merchandise is out to squeeze every last buck out of us that they can. Totally contrary to the band’s notion of making the music as free as they could. My first show was in the 70’s, this crap just pisses me off.
Non Yanizness
November 15, 2020 at 11:53 amThis still won’t solve the problem if they don’t start limiting the amount that one person can buy. Someone had the last release on EBay as a preorder at 3 times the original price. This just means that the market will be flooded with more over priced copies.
DAVE
November 15, 2020 at 9:56 amI don’t get why they need to pretend the scarcity and this limited edition nonsense. They tapped into a (stupid) market that buy the same songs and performances over and over again that are otherwise available for free. MAYBE if it went to the actual show, I’d get a pristine copy to play once on my deathbed. With today print and press on demand technology, have a presale/preorder and press the exact number of copies ordered and 5% more for others. Or wait a few days and get it for free in the newsgroups. What is so fucking rare about theses and its so fucking annoying to hear Dave whine about how the overmixed, crowd sweetened CD’s are going to sell out fast.
Bingo
November 16, 2020 at 12:23 pmExactly! They are creating this market, and apparently a lot of schlubs are falling for it. Not to mention the model of them getting the cash up front for the year!
Dave has always felt like that dick we all knew in high school who had the low-gen cassette versions of the best Dead shows who wouldn’t share them…
Jim
November 14, 2020 at 10:09 amSpread the shows out by era. Perhaps something before 71 when the Working and American Beauty influenced the shows. Then late 70’s and 80’s with nothing after 1990 would do me fine. Yes I live about 20 minutes from Hartford and went to both shows from the last release. Nice wake up call for me.