In an era when labels have to beg or sue most fans to get them to pay $10 or $15 for a plain old CD, some bands are getting a few to lay out more than $100. During the past few years, a number of bands have released deluxe versions of their new albums, including Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails and U2 (the group just released a high-ticket version of "No Line on the Horizon.")

In the next few months, this trickle will become a flood of albums that will sell for more than $50: an edition of Depeche Mode's "Sounds of the Universe" will include two hardbound books of photos; a set of unreleased Jane's Addiction tracks will come in a wooden box; and a reissue of Pearl Jam's "Ten" will come with an extra CD, a DVD and four vinyl records in a linen-covered, slipcased box with a replica of a demo cassette made by frontman Eddie Vedder.

"It's a human response -- if you're really fanatical about something, you want something physical," says Chris Hufford, who co-manages Radiohead with Bryce Edge. "It gives you an additional level of ownership. And if you're going to get something, you might as well get something good."

High-end packages also give fans the kind of bragging rights that reinforce their sense of being involved with a particular artist.

"Even though some bands are everywhere, you get a sense that you're not connected to them in any meaningful way," says Jeff Anderson, the founder of Artists in Residence, who sold a high-end edition of Nine Inch Nails' "Ghosts I-IV," that sold 2,500 $300 copies in a single weekend. "What I try to do is create a collectible. People don't want to pay a ton of money for something that feels like a repackaged good. They want a new piece, and they want something that signifies their identity as a fan."

And these packages -- as different from old-fashioned boxed sets as CDs are from record albums -- look more like collectibles than mere discs of music. In some cases, the high prices they sell for may even help convince consumers that they're worth buying.

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