Well, in 1992, Can was already being hyped by publications like Rolling Stone and Spin. Both ran articles when the first string of Can CD reissues came out, as if it was the single most important reissue campaign EVER. And they've been one of the names brought up periodically, due to their influence on post-punk and whatever hell you want to call the stuff that came after post punk. And there was also non-commercial radio airplay, too. So certainly there was plenty of talk about Can even before the internet became what it is today.
I don't know if the Lost Tapes set would have sold as well in 1992 (what are the sales totals on that anyway?), but I think there was already an audience there, and I think it could have still sold respectably for a non Anglo or American band who had been dormant for most of the preceding decade and who never performed in the US.
Bookmarks