relevant to music buz in general, incl. production

[scorpio01169]

I think some humans have an inherent liking towards hoarding, collecting and physically holding and beholding 'art'. Digital-download only music is a very sad thing, and reduces music into a commercialised, transitory form. I would not be surprised to see Pop/ Radio music going this way as it is a transitory, instant gratification form now. Everyone is looking for the newest, latest craze, one-hit wonders for people constantly on the move. Can you honestly see people sitting down with a beer to listen to Kylie Minogue, Robbie Williams, Nickleback etc in fifty years time like many people do with jazz or blues legends or whoever now. Fuck no. I think that the music industry needs to realise that there is no all encompassing 'industry' and that the target demographic is split into totally different pockets of people who view music in entirely different ways.To argue that digital download is the way forward for everyone = fail. For me music is an event that everything else stops for, rather than being caught up with life in general. If I really want to listen to music I pick up a CD, turn off the lights and just lie down and listen. Obviously I listen on the bus to work etc, in which case .mp3 is fine but I don't want it to be restricted to that.

I totally agree with JBroll about receving and actual physical copy, complete with artwork etc. For pure quality of sound I haven't heard anything that beats CD's. Surely its completely counter-intuitive to strive for sonic perfection in the studio and yet encourage poor, flawed reproduction in the form of .mp3?

I'd never, ever pay for a digital download. I think the Record business has to wake up and realise that if CD's were cheaper then they'd sell more. I have a rule that I never pay more than £10 for a CD inc shipping and in most cases will baulk if its even over £8. I often walk in HMV and see new metal releases up for £13.99, you have to be kidding right?! Thats like 7-8 CD's for £100.

while i agree with James on this issue, i think when you say that you want artwork and all. i think the argument for the label is......if you are downloading/buying digital music....then you have the internet....so that leaves the artwork issue off the table because you can then go to the bands website and get all the artwork you want. but because we know that mp3s sound like shit and we being musicians we have an argument as well, but the avarage Joe/Jane dont get into audio detail like we do and really dont know/care the difference. i really dont see the younger consumer going out and buy turntables.....hell you can barely get them to buy a manufacted cd. about the loss of jobs issue, James is totally right, but the record industry have always been a "how much profit can we make with paying as little on overhead/labor as possible" thats nothing new. i just hope that this does not become a widespread practice with the music industry because i too like my printed/pressed CDs.

 

[LydonB]

I would rather pay for a CD anyday than buy an mp3 album. I subscribed to eMusic for 3 months or so. I made a list of all the albums I downloaded from them so I can get the physical discs. It sucks not being able to look at the artwork and liner notes and things like that. And hard drives do often crash, which is another crappy thing that one has to consider when having a digital format only library. CD's ftw.

 

[Djabthrash]

nothing beats waiting for a CD, ripping everything open, and cranking the motherfucker the minute you get it in the drive.

Jeff

+1000.

I agree pretty much with James reply in general.

I was surprised Metaltastic never heard of Steve Austin & Today is the day.

 

[Metaltastic]

Nope, I'm outta the loop, I guess, though with a name like that, I have the bad feeling they're some metalcore band, and therefore crap, so I'm not too worried about being ignorant of 'em

 

[Djabthrash]

Nope, I'm outta the loop, I guess, though with a name like that, I have the bad feeling they're some metalcore band, and therefore crap, so I'm not too worried about being ignorant of 'em

They're not a metalcore band at all, and IIRR they've been around for a long time, and are considered quite "legendary" among underground noise/extreme music fans (along with bands like BOTCH, AGORAPHOBIC NOSEBLEED, etc), and were on Relapse Records (if you don't know Relapse Records you should check some of their bands) for a long time. Steve Austin is some kind of guru in the noise/extreme scene.

Derek Roddy (i hope you won't tell me you don't know him) has played drums with them recently.

p.s: i'm not a Today is the day fan and not a specialist either. I've just heard about them 1,000 times already (mainly due to checking Relapse Recs bands).

 

[Chryst Krispies]

Nope, I'm outta the loop, I guess, though with a name like that, I have the bad feeling they're some metalcore band, and therefore crap, so I'm not too worried about being ignorant of 'em

Me too, I thought at first it was STONE COLD STEVE AUSTIN making his way into the bizzz.

 

[Metaltastic]

They're not a metalcore band at all, and IIRR they've been around for a long time, and are considered quite "legendary" among underground noise/extreme music fans (along with bands like BOTCH, AGORAPHOBIC NOSEBLEED, etc), and were on Relapse Records (if you don't know Relapse Records you should check some of their bands) for a long time. Steve Austin is some kind of guru in the noise/extreme scene.

Derek Roddy (i hope you won't tell me you don't know him) has played drums with them recently.

p.s: i'm not a Today is the day fan and not a specialist either. I've just heard about them 1,000 times already (mainly due to checking Relapse Recs bands).

Ok, well I guess that's better - I'm definitely not a noise fan, and I'm not sure what you mean when you say "extreme," though I don't know those bands, and I only know Derek Roddy's work with Hate Eternal (which I love). Not really my scene, I guess, I'll stick to Euro metal.

 

[nwright]

so many artists themselves are championing the cheapening of their own art.

THIS is the crux of the problem, both among those who create music as well those who "consume" it. IMO, ANY other justifications are attempts to grasp straws, and a losing battle.

 

[Djabthrash]

Me too, I thought at first it was STONE COLD STEVE AUSTIN making his way into the bizzz.

haha

First time i've heard his name i thought about "The Six Million Dollar Man" series.

 

[Djabthrash]

Ok, well I guess that's better - I'm definitely not a noise fan, and I'm not sure what you mean when you say "extreme," though I don't know those bands, and I only know Derek Roddy's work with Hate Eternal (which I love). Not really my scene, I guess, I'll stick to Euro metal.

When i say extreme i mean tons of (past and present) Relapse bands for example :Nile, Suffocation, Dying Fetus, Nasum, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Origin, Skinless, Misery Index, Burnt by the sun, ...


Btw Steve Austin produced the first Lamb of God album, "The new American Gospel".

 

[gumplunger]

If I had to guess, I'd say solid state drives are as good a candidate as any for the successor to CD's as a retail audio medium. I could imagine picking up a little SSD chip from a store and being able to use it on my car stereo or a USB thing on my computer, and it would have 96k/24 lossless files on it.

You could even have the artwork digitally embedded. A couple companies (Amazon and another I heard about) have portable e-book readers with a paper-like digital screen, so I think the demand for a physical product by a lot of music fans could be mostly resolved using a combination of technologies already becoming available.

edit: I assume that it would mostly be a matter of getting cost down and getting major labels and distributors to adapt to a new standard that might or might not be as profitable as the music industry has been in the past.

 

[Glenn Fricker]

I am very much in agreement with James on the mp3 issue.
However, I do love vinyl. ....Mainly because it's impossible to limit the shit out of a vinyl master as opposed to a digital file. Even if the source material is digital. "LOUD!" isn't the objective. The format has limitations in this regard.
Back when "....And Justice for All" came out, the vinyl issue came on two discs due to the sheer length of material. The sticker on the cover said "if we put this on one, it would sound like shit!"
Dynamics... ...aaahhh... I miss 'em.


I wonder how many other labels are looking at vinyl releases?


I remember reading somewhere, perhaps TapeOp, someone commented that "The biggest mistake the music industry ever made was changing formats. From something like vinyl to something easily copyable."
In the short term, it made the industry a great deal of money. People forked out the cash to 'upgrade' their record collections to CD. Then CD's became copyable. Then Mp3 came along....

 

[nwright]

^ I'd imagine that among a lo of people this dude is targeting are into vinyl just to be into it. A lot of dudes I know who are into record don't ever listen to them, they just collect them, and most of those guys are the ones who revolve around the same scene as TITD...That's how it is around here, anyway.

 

[Metaltastic]

Agreed.

^ I'd imagine that among a lo of people this dude is targeting are into vinyl just to be into it. A lot of dudes I know who are into record don't ever listen to them, they just collect them, and most of those guys are the ones who revolve around the same scene as TITD...That's how it is around here, anyway.

But of course, artsy bohemian thick-rimmed glasses-donning hipsters love their fucking trendy vinyl, so I guess this Steve Austin character (who I've never heard of, nor his band, btw) is right to think it'll sell...

Oh, and my comments about the douches who like vinyl are only directed at people in my generation, not those who are old enough to remember when it was one of the only available media

 

[beyond dead]

i think the business aspect of music business is taking over. we`re losing out on hard copys so record companies can save overhead costs. we have to trust they will put the saved cash back into the industry rather than their own pockets.
hopefully other labels will not follow these actions.

digital music sounds better on cd anyways. im not a hippy, or a "fashion punk" as i like to call those tofu eating dirty clothes wearing, cover stains with patches type people that i obviously loathe, so fuck putting new albums on vinyl.

 

[The spark]

Hmmm... Vinyl was copyable, we did it all the time back in the day. Oh the days of 10th generation cassettes you traded with your friends hahaha...

The MP3 may be the cassette of today (then again most MP3's sound better). Instead of trying to bring Johny Fileshare back to CD's, perhaps its time for the music industry to introduce a new higher resolution format, one that isnt limited to 16 bit, 44.1. Then again who knows, they would probably figure out how to make a 24 bit/48khz MP3...

 

[JBroll]

MP3 isn't restricted to 44.1/16, and even if it were you'd still have sample rate converters if you wanted MP3s or OGG if you wanted any combination EVAR.

Jeff

 

[ahjteam]

I have bought one song from iTunes. Never again.

 

[primerib]

I'm torn here. I'm an old school guy that still has a nice vinyl collection, and a huge CD collection. The furthest I've ever delved into the digital realm musically is when I transfer my hard copy music to my MP3 player for listening in the car or on my motorcycles.
BUT, the guys I jam with are into the whole digital versions of music. They don't buy CDs very often. They grab copies from itunes, etc. I guess these are the people Steve's company is going for. Personally, it leaves me out of the loop and I'm a huge CD buyer. We're talking $1000's spent yearly on mostly CD's and a little vinyl.
I don't think it's a great idea to turn your back on compact discs until there is a clear replacement for them. Files are not replacements for CDs.

 

[beyond dead]

I have bought one song from iTunes. Never again.

wow thats staggering!