(no subject)

[thedarkproject]

lost_in_moose and I were walking back to work, and stopped at a crossing. The traffic light turned red, and a bus stopped and waited. Then a woman rolled up in her small car, drove slowly straight across the crossing, realised the light was on red, and then stopped, in the middle of the junction. Then, when the light finally turned green, she continued, not along the actual road, but over onto the tram tracks you're not supposed to drive onto. Not only that, but she drove along the wrong side of the tram tracks. She's probably dead by now, so this can serve as a witness statement when the police ask later.

I don't have much to talk about at the moment; I spent all last week going out socialising, and I've done virtually none of that this week, with just a few minutes spent in the pub on Wednesday on my way home from work.

I bought the new Primordial album, which is quite good, but probably not as good as the previous one. The packaging is exemplary though, with some great artwork, a bonus cd, an embossed booklet-style case, etc. Obviously they're trying to find ways to encourage people to actually buy the stuff instead of just taking free copies. I still get into arguments with people who download numerous albums online without paying, and I still think 90% of the excuses given are largely driven by people retrofitting rationalisation for their selfishness. Oh well. I also think most of the proposed solutions to the problem are fatally flawed also, so I don't know what's to be done about that.

I've also managed to get back into playing Oblivion - it certainly gets a bit tedious towards the end. One Oblivion Gate is much the same as the next, and when you have to close several of them to progress, you feel like they're just making you jump through the same old hoops. Still, I'll finish it soon, I expect. Then it'll be on to 'Planescape: Torment', on the CRPG front.

At the moment, my Christmas list looks like this:
- bookshelf
- microwave oven
Thrilling, hmm? I could just go and buy those tomorrow; I can't get them to my house though.

Comments

[markachu.livejournal.com]

The Primordial album is a grower.

Listening to it last Friday whilst cycling in the moonlit wilderness of the countryside on my way to a houseparty sealed the deal for me - when track 7 kicked in I was actually pretending to wield a sword as I cycled.

It's that good.

[yourapocalypse.livejournal.com]

Oh well. I also think most of the proposed solutions to the problem are fatally flawed also, so I don't know what's to be done about that.

I think all that can be done is 'wait and see'. I think the one thing that can be agreed on is that the old system is fatally flawed, and cannot continue as a business model. On top of that, I'd suggest firstly that there will always be music, it's not going to die out. Second that I think the vast majority of people won't object to paying for it.

[thedarkproject]

No, music certainly won't die out, but I think there's a big chance that significant harm will be done to it. We're developing a taste for expensively produced songs, while cutting off the revenue stream that makes such things possible for the average band.

It's quite pragmatic to say 'the business model needs to change', but on the other hand that doesn't go any way at all towards making downloading 'right'. Not everything that can be done should be done, and the world would be a better place if people had more of a conscience and less of a "someone else's problem" attitude.

On the last point, there's a difference between not objecting to something and actually doing it though. Most don't object to buying software, but they just copy it instead. Software developers get around this by draconian auditing and laws imposed upon businesses who can bring in most of the revenue, so they can afford to ignore consumer piracy. Book writers/publishers do it by having a medium that is awkward to replicate. Musicians have neither of these options. It's somewhat worrying.

[darkwaveart.livejournal.com]

as you can imagine in my job this is discussed almost weekly so any ideas or suggestions are always worth throwing my way. i think stunts like the one radiohead has just pulled only devalue the final product ie the music and its increasingly hard to get kids to buy CD's - i still cant get my head round buying an MP3.

At peaceville we just concentrate on the packaging because its all we have at the moment with any other ideas just not working. Adding DVD's and other incentives all eat away at the profit so its a downward spiral. Essentially we are talking about my job so any ideas on how i can keep it are most welcome. :)

[thedarkproject]

I think there are a few things that are unfortunate about Radiohead's approach. A lot of people are saying, "aha, it works for them, so everybody should do it!" But they forget that Radiohead already have shitloads of fans and shitloads of money. They don't have to stump up for recording time and worry about making that money back. Nor do they have any trouble getting traffic to their site to buy it, or getting publicity about it. It doesn't help smaller artists or the general infrastructure at all. If you're some unknown metal band from Estonia or something, chances are high that the first time anybody sees your album, it's on a filesharing system somewhere, not on a news site or any traditional promotional space.

I think packaging is part of the solution, but I don't think it should be left as a cosmetic thing. If all you offer is a prettier case, then a lot of people won't care. To be honest, I get a bit annoyed at slipcases and stuff because they just get in the way. I think providing more content is part of the solution - pictures, videos, writings by the band (quite interesting in Primordial's case), tablature for the songs, information on the kit used and the recording methods (interesting to musicians), entry forms for competitions, vouchers offering discounts off your next purchase, detailed descriptions of your label's other bands (rather than a useless grid of album covers and prices!), etc.

Possibly the other side of the argument, not so much to decrease downloading but to increase profit, is to reduce costs. Perhaps there are economies to be made in the recording or distribution side of things. Still, easier said than done.

[darkwaveart.livejournal.com]

yeah we try all those things, strangely slipcases sell but everyone says the same, the do look nicer on the shelf but dont last long on your cd stacking shelf.
Its all a pain in the arse and i think the main problem is kids really dont see music as a precious thing as we did/do when we were younger, i remember buying albums on the day of release but as you said you've more than likely seen it on a file sharing site already so that waiting isnt fun anymore. reducing costs has been done, the whole industry runs on reduced costs, obviously the fat cats still earn big but there is no way we can operate on any more cuts. everyone seems to think massive amounts of money are made off the sale of a CD and really dont think about the amount of people it takes to look after a band to make sure a CD sells, to sell one album you need at least 4 people doing a full time job (sales, press, production, label manager), thats all cost on top of recording and pressing, advertising needs to come out of all that and any extras to go with a CD, videos etc need to be paid for also. its a very costly business. it really winds me up when people say it only costs 3p to press a CD as if thats the only cost involved.

As an industry we need to get kids excited and get them to covet the album they want. I have always admired your dedication to music and buying the albums rather than downloading. sadly your part of a dying breed :(

[thedarkproject]

I'm lucky in that I can afford all the albums I want. When I was a student, I couldn't, so I didn't buy many. What worries me though are the students that feel that since they can download albums, that there's no reason to buy them. It's a bit of a moral shift really. Everyone has had copied albums in some small quantity, whether cassette, cd, MP3, whatever, but now some people are getting thousands of them, often at cd quality and complete with scanned artwork, and they think nothing of it. Some start making excuses such as "music should be free" or "record labels exploit artists, so I'll punish them by not buying music". They're not going to suddenly start buying lots of cds when they get jobs.

[darkwaveart.livejournal.com]

very true and very sad. how punishing a label by not buying a record which actually ends up hurting the artists works is beyond me. kids are stupid.

just noticed i said record, i'm officially old and behind the times...

[erishkigal.livejournal.com]

Oh I'm envious; I cant get my Primordial album tomorrow as the post office have got it. I've only heard 3 tracks off it, but I loved them all, and the reviews have been amazing, so I'm expecting to think great things of it! Having said that it will be hard to beat TGW, which is apparently darker so no wonder you prefer it.. Empire Falls is a killer track, though.
I am of the same opinions as you when it comes to downloading. I made the mistake of visiting the Terrorizer forums yesterday and there is no 'Last album you bought topic' but on the front page is 'Last Album You Downloaded.' Sickening!
Surely there must be some CDs you want for Christmas as opposed to household goods?!

[thedarkproject]

Empire Falls is clearly the best track on the album, I think, although there are a couple of other great ones there.

CDs for Christmas? My problem is that I pretty much own everything that I can think of now!

[erishkigal.livejournal.com]

Heheh, woe is you.. I seem to have a similar dilemma whenever I enter a record store or am asked what cds I actually want, I cant think of a single one! Having said that there are still about half a dozen on my list so far.
What are your favourite tracks off the new album then? A lot of people seem to be saying 'As Rome Burns', but I heard that on Irish radio and it was probably my least favourite so far...

[thedarkproject]

As Rome Burns drags on a bit, I think. I like Empires Fall, and Traitor's Gate... the rest are all fillers by comparison. Luckily Primordial's filler tracks are great by comparison with many other bands!