Music for Supermarkets

Music for Supermarkets (Musique pour Supermarché) is a 1983 album of instrumental electronic music by Jean-Michel Jarre. It is notable for having only a single copy pressed, and the subsequent, deliberate destruction of its master plates, effectively making the copy unique.

In 1983, Jean Michel Jarre was asked to compose the background music for a supermarket themed art exhibition, the Orrimbe show. Jarre agreed, recording Music for Supermarkets (Musique pour Supermarché) between February and May 1983. The exhibition, created by some young artists and friends of Jarre, ran at the Jean-Claude Riedel gallery between June 2 and June 30, 1983, and the works of art on display would be auctioned off afterwards. Inspired by this, Jarre decided that the music accompanying the exhibition could be a one-off piece of art as well, and thus, Music for Supermarkets would have only a single, unique copy pressed, to be auctioned for charity at Hotel Drouot. After the exhibition had ended, master tapes and plates were destroyed, making this the only existing copy in the world. It instantly became one of the most expensive and collectible albums in history. In the inside cover, 11 polaroid photos show the step by step creation of the disc, leaving one slot so that the final owner could add his photo with the album. The album owner was first kept anonymous, but later revealed to be a certain M. Gerard, who after a car crash woke up to the radio playing Jarre's track "Souvenir of China" (from the Concerts in China album); this album cost him 69,000 francs (10,500 euro). As of 2007, the album has been sold two times, the second owner being a certain Ducroix; its current owner is unknown.