I don't wanna get in trouble with this thread so feel free to close it!

The Internet scene has proven it has its own course, it can’t be controlled by the labels nor the band, what’s leaked is leaked and it spreads like a wildfire.
Labels could stop sending out promo cd’s prior to the release, but then they wouldn’t get any generalized feedback and no hype built up before hand and that would collapse the whole promotional campaign.

When an album is leaked one month prior to release, that’s pretty much what we have to live with, it can even add to the hype, people start talking about it, the buzz is on, but it would be nothing short of devastating for a band if it was already available six months or even up to a year in advance. That’s 100% unacceptable. When the album has been out for such a long amount of time, it’s already old news and will fall flat like a dead fish upon its release date cuz people have since then moved on, being excited about the current leaked releases and have forgotten about the release “I downed 6 months ago” since it’s already back catalogue priority.

Personally, I would wanna view internet (including the p2p tools) as a big radio station with your own freedom of choice to download songs and listen to them and if you like it, then you go buy the album (for the artwork, the real deal format and to show support to a band you love), and once you did that you probably wanna go to shows and buy a t-shirt too, so it’s all intertwined and one thing leads to another.

anyways, p2p illegal file sharing shall never ever replace an official final product, and what the final product is, should be in the hands of the copyright owner to decide… be it a digital download or a jewel case cd.
 
Blakkheim said:
Personally, I would wanna view internet (including the p2p tools) as a big radio station with your own freedom of choice to download songs and listen to them and if you like it, then you go buy the album (for the artwork, the real deal format and to show support to a band you love)
The second step usually doesn't follow...
 
I will probably download it before buying.. but it is a SURE thing that i WILL buy it.. i'm from Brazil.. and Katatonia doesn't have brazilian releases ( except for Dance of December Souls ) .. so when new album comes out will have to get it shipped back here.. will take sometime and yea money.. the worst thing is to decide where to get it .. find the best price ( wich still generaly expensive. ) and then wait for it to get here.. my heart would have exploded before that..

.. but really not sure.. have been a long time since I last had that good feeling of getting a new cd on my hands.. and opening it.. putting on my cd-player and listening it to the real first time.. its such a good sensation.. maybe its a good moment for that ? ..

time shall tell
 
Personally I wont even look for it.....I think Anders is right about the hype thing though.....and I dont think this CD will have any problem with attaining christlike status even before its release.......I am truly expecting this Katatonia release to not only be their best work (because it always is) but to break them free....not mainstream....but more ...hmmm.....accessible?
Peaceville I think will do some hyping of their own if they want to keep them signed.....the U.S. should definately be in the works(ATTN:pAULA HOGAN)

So maybe I would suggest not putting the CD online once you buy it.....sure someone will....but I personally dont want anything to do with helping people not buy my favorite bands CD....their will probably be a promo of some sort floating around......let them DL that....

Reece
 
Where I download I always get high quality mp3's which hardly differ in quality from the actual CD sound. Nowadays as soon as the promo CD's are sent out by the label, it's matter of days (hours!) before it leaks.

I pretty much agree with what Anders said, it would be disastrous if an album would leak so early in advance, but then, that is very unlikely to happen, because promo's are usually shipped out 2 months before the album release at the very earliest, usually one/one-and-a-half months.

In the end, I can only speak for myself, I download the full albums of my fave bands as soon as they're out there and ALWAYS buy the original when it's out (and not rarely in more than one version). The ones I don't buy, are albums I never would have bought in the first place and if I don't like them, I delete them. The ones I bought I also immediately delete from my harddrive.

Just look at my CD-collection, I have nothing to feel guilty about.
 
BloodySwan said:
@Migs: If you mean me, I didn't mean ruining a special moment for the band... I meant ruining their financial resources and the tension in the band (;
And I said nothing against downloading a few songs which can be found on any officical site. That's no problem for me. I would do that, too 'cause I see it as a "privilege given by the band".

The people making me angry are those who download whole albums illegally before release-date and promise to buy the album later on ... but then don't do it... though they like the music.
This happened to my boyfriends' band [yah I know, the germans of you don't like that band (;]: Someone [we think it was a journalist who got his promo-CD some weeks before release] put the whole album online and it was downloaded a few thousandtimes... after the release an unbelievable mass of people said how great that album is and how much they like it... and even more people told me, they have it at home... ... but nearly no one bought it.
I asked some of the fans if they bought it and they just said "not now... I got it from internet but maybe if I got money I'm gonna buy it... maybe" ...
You can't imagine what a desaster this is for the financial resources and the relationship between band and label or the bandmembers themselves.
And in the end the consequences will reach the serious fans, too.


Ok, we have the same opinion!
 
I would never download an entire album, 'cause (as it has been said before) it wastes the romance about the cd (for me that is)
I have my own little ritual when I buy an album, I go home and lie down on the couch, put my headphones on... and I let myself float away with the music..
go whereever the songs take me
It's one of the best things I have, so I won't waste it by downloading an entire album, because I can't experience the things I described above when I fist heared the album behind the screen of my computer...

-vincent
 
Vincent J. said:
I would never download an entire album, 'cause (as it has been said before) it wastes the romance about the cd (for me that is)
I have my own little ritual when I buy an album, I go home and lie down on the couch, put my headphones on... and I let myself float away with the music..
go whereever the songs take me
It's one of the best things I have, so I won't waste it by downloading an entire album, because I can't experience the things I described above when I fist heared the album behind the screen of my computer...

-vincent
What about rare albums that are out of print?
 
I wouldnt even know where to go to download a full album or a couple songs because i dont download but i have in the past like Opeth's Ghost Reveries but only downloaded a few songs because there was link's available in the threads but in the end i still bought Ghost Reveries.
 
paradoxile said:
What about rare albums that are out of print?
Well, I once contacted a member of some quite unknown band (sepia dreamer)
And he's sent me a cdr of a cd which is out of print,
but, that's an exeption
in that case I would probably download the album, if I can't get it otherwise
 
I will definitely continue to wait for the album until I can buy the official release...out of respect for the band, and out of respect for the album.

It's pretty clear that the band does not want people to download the album (especially before it is released). And I feel that an album should be enjoyed in the way that the artists intend for it to be experienced...with artwork, liner notes, any other packaging, and at whatever sound quality and format is desired (be it CD, tape, vinyl, or otherwise).

And so although I am greatly anticipating this (I love Katatonia and already have all of their releases), I'd prefer to give the album and the people behind it what they deserve and just wait.

Soon.
 
Vincent J. said:
Well, I once contacted a member of some quite unknown band (sepia dreamer)
And he's sent me a cdr of a cd which is out of print,
but, that's an exeption
in that case I would probably download the album, if I can't get it otherwise

I was wrong...there are some good people left in the world
 
buying an official cd you are actually supporting the band so i think every fan should buy an official one in the end.