Spock's Beard to Join Free Album Bandwagon?

[gr8gonzo]

From spocksbeard.com:

Hi Guys!
 
Just a little update to let you know we're still alive and kickin'.
 
We've been writing some cool songs for the next CD over the past year and they are coming along very nicely.  We normally write on our own and then bring almost-finished songs to the table right before rehearsals start for the recording sessions, but last week actually got together as a band and worked on some ideas as a unit.  John and Stan were also in attendance.
 
Besides being fun, we developed a few things that will most likely turn into a couple really nice tracks.
 
No definite plans for a recording date yet, but we're definitely gaining momentum and headed in that direction.
 
Ryo still has those plates in his jaw.  Still a lot of discomfort, but he's doing a lot better.
 
I've been reading some of the forum posts, and you guys have been coming up with some really cool ideas.  I personally liked Thoreauvian Step's idea where we'd make the next CD available as both a download for either free or a "pay what you like" price, and then offer a really nice hard copy with a big fat booklet and possibly some other stuff that would entice people to pay more for the actual physical CD.
It makes a lot of sense to me, but I don't know a record company on earth that would go along with that idea, so I'm sure independent financing would be required for that.  But it's definitely a cool thing to think about.

[Liquid]

This whole new free album revolution is obnoxious. It just makes it more difficult usually to get ahold of consistent, definitive CD releases of the stuff I want. Gah. I hope this download thing turns out to be some sort of obnoxious music business fad. I like physical media, and I like physical media for a good price. I'm worried that this trend will kick that down.

[rogerg]

and then offer a really nice hard copy with a big fat booklet and possibly some other stuff that would entice people to pay more for the actual physical CD.

the cd ain't dead, man.

[Jem]

Well well well...

[DannySoisSage]

This whole new free album revolution is obnoxious. It just makes it more difficult usually to get ahold of consistent, definitive CD releases of the stuff I want. Gah. I hope this download thing turns out to be some sort of obnoxious music business fad. I like physical media, and I like physical media for a good price. I'm worried that this trend will kick that down.

This is one thing I'm really passionate about tbh; I'm really pleased that artists can get their music around cheaply and easily by offering it as downloads, but I really really prefer physical copies. My computer could die tomorrow and I've lost it all, but I have CDs and not only that I have artwork, I can lend it to people, I can get it signed, I can have a nice display of them etc etc. I hope any artist who decides to go the free download route will realise there's still a market for them. Assuming that said artist won't be signed it couldn't be easier just to set up a quick PayPal account, get a couple of hundred CDs or whatever and just have a link next to the download offering it for sale. For the smaller bands it wouldn't take much effort at all and should at least cover some recording costs. For bigger bands they would presumably have more label support (for example signing distribution deals as opposed to music deals) and especially as these bands should be able to exercise a lot more control in their industry dealings in the current climate.

There are a lot of us who are more than happy to hand over cash to support the people who genuinely deserve to make a living in the industry  

Didn't think I'd write that much  :roll: Anyway, yeah. CDs are good!

[Geetar]

Both, I think, have their advantages. Therefore, do both.

[Mikey]

Both, I think, have their advantages. Therefore, do both.

Makes sense to me

[RacingHippo]

Both, I think, have their advantages. Therefore, do both.

Makes sense to me

Me too.
I buy CDs. I rip them to the PC straight away (using Fast CD Ripper which automagically fetches the CDDB entries and fills in the title/artist/etc).
If I got a download as well as a CD, It'd save me ripping (and having to rely on the accuracy of CDDB!).

[Liquid]

and then offer a really nice hard copy with a big fat booklet and possibly some other stuff that would entice people to pay more for the actual physical CD.

the cd ain't dead, man.

Notice the part where it says "pay more for the actual physical CD"?

I'm not worried about downloading killing off the CD. There is too big a market for physical media for that to happen. However, all these downloading thingies are probably going to put a lot of unfortunate strain on the physical media industry, and that strain comes out of my wallet. That's the problem I have. I don't care if ninety percent of people download the album. I don't want to, I won't, and I do not like the idea of having to pay more just because I want to fully own it. Make sense?

[Geetar]

I do not like the idea of having to pay more just because I want to fully own it. Make sense?

Not entirely, no.

"More" than what, precisely? The zero-$5 that a typical downloader contributes in these scenarios?

And how have you arrived at a putatively higher figure (than you currently pay) for the future price of physical media, when most models would posit a lowering of price due to competition with non-physical forms?

Social/paradigmatic shifts arising from leaps in technology usually drive DOWN the price of superceded commercial goods; especially when the R&D  and fabrication costs are fully amortised, as they have been in the industry for some considerable time. Your so-called "strain" on the physical media companies is really the stress of competition. This, logically speaking, cannot lead to an aggregate  raising of prices.

But perhaps I mistake your point. Please elucidate.

[Liquid]

Economics never made a darn bit of sense to me.

If this downloading craze drives prices down, cool. Most of the scuttlebutt I've buttscuttled has said that it would work the opposite way, making CDs both harder to find and more expensive to purchase due to the limit of mass production and stuff. Or something. It made sense when everybody else talked about it. I would absolutely gladly have them be wrong, though.

[rogerg]

I'm with Geetar here, because I read that "more for a physical" line differently than you.  if the download is free (or nearly free), and they also offer the hard-copy cd, then who loses?  I don' think the cd price is going to be any more than it was before, unless they are offering a fancy product (like EIMA!), which you would pay more for anyway ( I did!).

I could be wrong, but that's the way I read it.

[Liquid]

I'm with Geetar here, because I read that "more for a physical" line differently than you.  if the download is free (or nearly free), and they also offer the hard-copy cd, then who loses?  I don' think the cd price is going to be any more than it was before, unless they are offering a fancy product (like EIMA!), which you would pay more for anyway ( I did!).

I could be wrong, but that's the way I read it.

I sure hope that happens. It just seems that mostly elsewhere is the opposite being predicted, you know? Or am I just being delusional? I'd love nothing more than for the price of CDs to go down.

[Geetar]

Links please:  we'll critique it among ourselves.

These attempts to parse the market's putative response are as likely to be written by lying thieving halfwits ( aka RIAA/record company accountants) as people who actually have a clue and no agenda.

But if there's solid analysis there that points to a different conclusion,it won't hurt to be aware.

As a sidebar, I've spent the last two months doing analyses of the GOP's attacks on Dem fiscal policy, so I'm nicely warmed up.

[Liquid]

Man, I'm not talking about research. I'm talking about discussion in forums online about prog music. If you want links, the best I can do is say that you should search progarchives.com, mikeportnoy.com, remedylane.com, and so forth. I said it was scuttlebutt, and that's about as far as I know. The general feel I've gotten off people is that it might make CDs more expensive if more and more bands decide to do the majority of their promotion through internet distribution. I doubt there are many RIAA (ha, I accidentally wrote RIO at first) people spending their time trolling various prog boards, do you?

Like I said, I know next to nothing about economics. Math in general works absolutely against the grain of my brain.