There is a basic quandry that goes on with regard to downloading. One the one hand you have people that say the CD is overpriced for what you get. A simple understanding of economics and inflation shatters that argument because the price has remained unchanged for decades basically.
On the other side is people who think the package should have more features, and that's what this post is about. What makes it special enough? We've got digipacks, extended booklets, video segments, "b-sides" (a reference to the obscure vinyl single where songs that didn't make it on the album, sometimes they outshone the single). Autographs, posters, easter eggs, hidden messages and meanings (One of our releases from Planet P Project called 1931 that talked about WWII Germany used a font that was only ever used on street signs in Berlin at that time, and all the text was at a 31 degree angle for example).
So what makes a package "special enough" for you? What are you looking for?
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16 comments:
What me and my wife are looking for? Can write down tons of stuff about it.
If a cd comes out in more then one version (basic, digi, digi+dvd) we always choose the 3rd one.
Then of course you have special boxes from artists. We have several of those boxes from "John Coltrane" "Miles Davis" (and tons of other bands for instance. one day i will take a photo of our livingroom and show it.)
What do i expect from a cd release? At least the cd itself and a good booklet with it (something Johnny's label understands as i learned while talking with him). If they put out several versions we always go for those. For instance "Epica" and "After Forever" overhere always bring out something special. They might cost a bit more but we see it as proper value for what they deliver.
What we really dislike?
Only bringing out a normal version at release and 3-4 months later a special version comes out. ( "Kiss-psycho circus" for instance whom brought out the second version a few months after release with a live bonus disc)
Gert
when something tries to be special then i feel its just an ordinary thing, what makes something special to me is enough to be as is.
As Gert, I disapprove of special versions released a couple of months after the original release. This is defifintly to screw the fans financially.
A nice one is when it is released in a special 2CD version with the original album as the band intended it and an extra CD with stuff that did not fit in with the concept. This is worth the extra moeny for the hardcore fans but makes it possible for the others to buy the original album only.
Often this one is the most enjoyable, but for hardcore fans there is often nice stuff also among the extra material.
I'd rather pay some extra for a 2-CD version than for some bonus tracks. If the album have a nice ending I don't want bonus tracks. Even if it's pretty good songs it kind of ruins the original idea about the album.
Except for that I want the booklet to be at least 12 pages, and nice artwork is postive. Not important but positive.
I must say that to me it is not of interest to buy music as downloads.
I like the album concept and the stuff that comes with it. I enjoy to look through my CD collection and suddenly go "Mmmm...I want to listen to that one!". Then take it out from the shelf, take a couple of steps towards the stereo, put it in the player, push the play button and...aahhh there comes the music.
And sometimes I want to look at the artwork and follow the lyrics while listening and contemplate on these.
To me it is a bit of paying my respect to the artists work to have the album in the form he/she/they intended in my collection.
Extras can be nice sometimes if it is not done solely intended to make some extra bucks. It must have an artistic value.
At times it's fun though when an album is re-released. Had that with "UFO-Strangers in the night" where they added 2 songs which didn't make it on the original. After the first time listening i said to myself "If those songs weren't good enough back then why release them now. And imo the songs really weren't fitting.
Same happened with a live album of Uriah Heep where they added 4 songs. We listened to those songs once but they were in such a bad shape compared to the original album that since then we skipped those songs.
Don't get me wrong a lot of times as a fan i enjoy such treats as long they fit within the album they come with.
Gert
Only one comment from the freeloader side this far.
Can it be that they simply want it for free? and that all arguments about special packaging etc has no relevance when it comes to these people? because they simply are too greedy to buy music even if it has nice packaging or whatever?
It certainly how it looks to me.
Hi Hansi!
It must be fun for them to see all those filled mp3-dvd's without anything else then a cold cover.
I rather grab me the Coltrane box with an 40ish page booklet and read about how the albums in the box were made.
Maybe i am the fruitcake here but please let me take option 2 instead of having meaningless,soulless copy's.
Gert
For it to be special it needs to be free, with deluxe covers and a DVD with nice artwork and don't forget bonus tracks, I want a TON of those! All of this for free, delivered overnight express to my front door for free. Come on, how much could printing and mastering REALLY cost? Line 4 cents or something? Also as you all know when you give stuff away for free, you WILL be rewarded! I can't tell you how but at least after spending a ton of money producing an album and giving it away for free you can sleep at night knowing at least ONE person is greatful! (well or at least has thought about being greatful) This is how large corporations are run you know. Microsoft didn't become a multi-million dollar empire by selling stuff, HECK NO! They gave away everything and were rewarded!
Alright if you didn't realize it by now I'M JOKING! (but thought I should say all of that and get it out of the way before someone else did:-)
Anyways one thing I REALLY miss is album artwork, we're not talking about piddly little jewel cases here, real full sized art! A few years ago there were a couple of releases that did this (Jose Cid, Iconoclasta and Quill) which was cool (but I'm sure expensive). What would also be cool is full sized artwork with the mini cardboard sleeve inside for portable taking to the car and so on. So any limited edition full sized art is my vote I guess. I still like buying CD's, and I'll ALWAYS buy CD's (but I have an IPod as well and all the CD's I PURCHASE go in there. But I still sit and listen to a disc whenever I can.
Good one Anon :-)
Oh, but to answer the question, I personally enjoy the making-of vids.
What would also be neat, depending on the music, is perhaps a flash app that mimics a mixing board, and would allow the user to (1) make his own mix and (2) hear all of the individual tracks. This probably works a bit better with electronic music, but I think it could work with other music as well. In fact, any album whose songs tend to have complicated rhythm patterns, particularly polyrhythms, could benefit from having this extra, as it allows the listener to pick apart the song.
Here's a link to a silly/cartoony application of this concept:
http://www.homestarrunner.com/onetwomixer.html
Haven't been here for a while. :-)
I agree with most of what has been said. I would prefer to pay more for a limited edition product with better artwork and sleevenotes, and bonus material that stands on its own, e.g Riverside's "Rapid Eye Movement" 2Cd edition. As a musician, I also like "the making of" DVDs that Ayreon (for example) does.
What I'm less impressed with is remasters where on single CD edition they add on alternate versions, or songs that weren't good enough first time around. E.g. Steve Hackett's "Spectal Mornings" is one of THE best prog albums ever. The remaster gives you better quality, but I could have done without the alternate versions tagged on: they added nothing for me, and detract from the continuity of the album. I quickly deleted those from my MP3 player.
I'm also happy to pre-order albums from bands I like and get something in return for that commitment that the general public (assuming no piracy) won't get. I don't like bands offering a limited edition pre-order, only to find it on general release later on.
PS: Loved the "i got there first" sucketty suck suck post! :-)
Hi Echoes,
Alternate versions (if they are not very different) destroys the album. After a perfect ending piece we get a track we just heard, but in a not-as-good version. Who needs that?
One thing i really miss from the vinyl days is the size of the cover. There are some many great covers but due to the size of the cd-box it never can show how great they are looking.
Yesterday my wife came home with "Michael Jackson - Thriller" and of course the new deluxe version. The extra songs on the cd take away the whole flow of the original album. The only good thing is the extra dvd with the video-clips of certain songs but the added remixes....ugh.
I understand that artists/bands want to give something special to the fans with with some releases i am wondering if it comes from the artists themselves or the labels who want to make a quick buck.
Of course i don't know how it works but i have had enough re-releases from which the bonus songs are so bad that i think it's added by the label instead of the artist/bands and they just put them on with the thought "the real fans will still buy it anyway since they want everything they can get from the artist."
Maybe it's strange but when i buy jazz these days the bonus tracks, as a fan, do make sense. Alternate takes for instance when you can hear a different approach from the artist.
And there is the thing which makes me put up the middle finger towards those who downloaded the album because i can read why an artist tried a different approach and why they took a cerain take for the album. For the downloaders it's just a reaction of "hey the same song again" and for me it's a little gem. And the thought that there are still so many jazz albums out there with tons off still hidden gems makes me smile. And tbh i don't think that downloaders will ever feel that same feeling.
Buying music doesn't start for me when putting a new cd in the player, it starts with the reading about a new album or digging up info on the internet and after that the search too find the album.
Gert
You idiot.
I am brazillian, 17 years old, how the hell do you think I am gonna listen to bands like Kornelyans, Triana, Harmonium or Trettioariga Kriget?
Tell me that.
Man, if the internet hadn't saved me showing me how Progressive Rock was that good, I would probably be listening to 50 Cent by now.
If you dare to say that I should learn this stuff with my parents, you are wrong. I must say that my mom listens to ABBA, and my dad is dead since I was 11 (hepatite C).
Last year, I've been to a Trettioariga Kriget's concert. How could I have been to it, if it wasn't piracy? And I bought 3 albuns there.
People who listens to Progressive aren't as dumb as the Metallica's listeners, man. WE know that those bands need to earn money. I buy all the cds that I can at the moment of finding. It is simple, my mom don't give me money to buy cd's, so I stop eating in class for cd's purposes. Or I ask for money in christmass for my parents for this purpose.
Man, there is no other way of KNOWING those bands without piracy for some people. Not everyone is european or american and is 40~50 years old. Only because I am brazillian, 17 years old, that I can't know Progressive Rock? Dude, in Brazil there is NO expressive music shop here. Only many selling hip hop, emocore, and that shit.
You all are sellfish. That is it, sellfish. You should think about that for a while (not only for me, but for all the people in the same situation *or worse*).
Pedro.
Hello Pedro,
It's great to hear that you are doing what you can to contribute by buying what you can. This is more than most downloaders do.
It's too bad that you live in a country ruled by a rotten government. If there was a way to sell music at lower price in, for instance, Brazil many labels would do so. The problems is that these would be sold outside the country.
I think that prog fans from Brazil should blame their goverment rather than us musicians for the situation they have.
The problem regarding piracy is that, when it is available for free also people living in richer countries will use that option even if they can afford buying it.
The highest numbers of freeloaders live in countries like Sweden, England, USA, Japan. And Brazil.
I don't say that it's right to take things without paying just because one lives in Brazil, but I doubt that musicians and labels would complain if it was only fans from countries like yours who were downloading for free.
What really piss me of is that there are so many who easily could afford buying music that takes it for free anyway.
They don't even do like you, who are buying what you can.
If you look at the situation from both your own, but also our point of view I guess you maybe will feel less angry about us.
I am definitly not angry with you.
Keep up with doing your best.
For doing that you earn respect.
BTW, in Brazil there is a progressive rock shop named Rock Symphony.
You are obvious on the internet and using illigal blogs to get introduced to artists. Why aren't you using the legal cd system? There are legal blogs and most online stores give you a chance to listen to tracks.
There is no need to use an illigal system like prog not frog or lost in tyme. Why? Because they steal possible sales and some even make money from it which doesn't go the the artists.
Again: There is no good reason to use illigal blogs to learn about music.
Gert
To give a prime example about what a label or band can issue is the Rocket Scientist box. Four cd's and one dvd, a 64 page booklet with tons of information. Remastered albums, comments and so on and so on. If there was a scale of 1-10 with ten as highests the quality of this box would certainly be 10. A real MUST for prog-fans.
Gert
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