We Are The Void

[plintus]

I'm absolutely certain that the 30 second sample showed up, and I did listen to it. I'm also certain that the song in question is not one that I'd heard before (i.e. not the album or U.S. bonus tracks). I just checked the different editions listed on Amazon, and none of them show it. I know I heard this track.

Prooflink or it never happened

...so I guess it never happened

But seriously - that's kinda strange: B&A meant to be an exclusive iTunes deal, and it making onto Amazon... Steve jobs would be calling A Japanese bonus track maybe?

We'll never get to the bottom of this =)

I understand exactly why Amazon does it; I just think it's a stupid system. Even if Amazon goes to all the trouble of offering a better experience than iTunes, non-Statesians have no way of rewarding them financially. Since some people can't run iTunes, Amazon might work. Giving customers around the world fewer opportunities to buy just makes piracy look better.

Of course, the tangle of contracts and redistribution rights of yesteryear makes it pretty much impossible to find an easy solution. Literally millions of contracts need to be (re)negotiated. That's why I vote for a swift and permanent ban on copyright of any sort. But that's just me.

Hey, system could be anything, but stupid - meh, i'd rather know more about how it works (and most importantly WHY). I want to get on Spotify, for example, but it's n/a for US yet (correct?)

It all would become universal eventually it seems, but there way to many cogs in this machine to expect it to happen in our lifetime (if ever).

Now, let me finish that book - will ya?

 

[herneheim]

I want to get on Spotify, for example, but it's n/a for US yet (correct?)

Correct.
And last week, the CEO said the US launch would be delayed for quite some time. Rights issues are to blame.

Here, they have WATV, including The bow and the arrow. Nice treat.

 

[snuffcarl]

I just listened to the Bow on spot....as usual, i cant understand how they can leave songs like this out... def one of the strongest tracks on the album. Love the guitarwork and the guitarsound, perhaps the best riffing on the entire album.

 

[stizzleomnibus]

And last week, the CEO said the US launch would be delayed for quite some time. Rights issues are to blame.

Oh, rights. It's funny that Spotify, which the labels have a love-hate relationship with, actually grew up to fill the void left by Pandora being shut down in every country except the U.S. Spotify has an amazing competitive advantage, though, since the U.S. labels did everything they could to castrate Pandora.

Either, way, it's hard to get upset about the bumbling of the major labels, and the massive clusterfuck of the copyright industry. As long as they fail to come up with a compelling alternative to piracy (whether ad-supported or paid), the less I'm able to pay them. Not that I listen to much big-4 music anyway.

 

[Defiance]

Oh, rights. It's funny that Spotify, which the labels have a love-hate relationship with, actually grew up to fill the void left by Pandora being shut down in every country except the U.S. Spotify has an amazing competitive advantage, though, since the U.S. labels did everything they could to castrate Pandora.

Either, way, it's hard to get upset about the bumbling of the major labels, and the massive clusterfuck of the copyright industry. As long as they fail to come up with a compelling alternative to piracy (whether ad-supported or paid), the less I'm able to pay them. Not that I listen to much big-4 music anyway.

I don't think piracy can be stopped anyhow, it's impossible. You'd have to stop the Internet.

Speaking of piracy, I just downloaded 'The Bow and Arrow', it's OK I guess. A good track in general, I'll get it if it's some day available on iTunes.

 

[rahvin]

I don't think piracy can be stopped anyhow, it's impossible. You'd have to stop the Internet.

I'm gonna be the first on this board to talk about it because I'm sure most of you know what I'm referring to: in the future, even if we buy the record, we'll be able to listen to a song only if we are constantly connected to the internet. :danceboy:

 

[herneheim]

in the future, even if we buy the record, we'll be able to listen to a song only if we are constantly connected to the internet. :danceboy:

You think? To me, it seems that the digital distribution is moving away from DRM and such.
Unfortunately, most people have forgotten the Sony BMG debacle, but I think/hope most companies in the business will think twice before trying something like that again.

 

[rahvin]

You think?

No, I don't. I was referring to a certain recent controversy in a different area of entertainment and making a joke about how it could be applied to music. It can't.

But as far as moving away from strict DRM policies in general, hmmm, I'm not sure. Despite the buckets of blood Ubi has been through in the past couple of weeks, they feel that they've won a (temporary) battle.

 

[herneheim]

Damn, hadn't seen that one.
This kinda applies to the music industry situation as well:

Off the top of my head, here’s a list of people who will have no problems playing Ubisoft PC games from now on:

• Pirates

Yeah, that’s about it.

 

[rahvin]

Damn, hadn't seen that one.

Yes, it's quite disheartening. Not to mention - in case you haven't read more recent posts on the subject by now - that Ubi's servers since ACII came out haven't been working properly for 24 hours straight yet (they blamed DDOS first, then excess of demand ), so only exceptionally lucky customers have been able to play their rightfully owned copy of the game. But a working crack hasn't been released yet, and PC games tend to become irrelevant in about a month since release, sooooo.... *goes away to play abandonware on an old machine and never upgrades his graphic card again*.

 

[herneheim]

I hadn't read the articles on this particular game, but as far as I can tell, this is a common problem. These last days, EA had some issues with "excess of demand" with Bad Company 2.

Also, I did notice something else that caught my interest. As far as music albums go, mp3/download albums are cheaper than the CDs, say 50%, right?
Last week, I was looking to buy Bad Company 2. Steam wanted €50, but the DVD version cost €36 at the local store. The DVD version was/is sold out everywhere. How come digital is much more expensive?

 

[Defiance]

Yes, it's quite disheartening. Not to mention - in case you haven't read more recent posts on the subject by now - that Ubi's servers since ACII came out haven't been working properly for 24 hours straight yet (they blamed DDOS first, then excess of demand ), so only exceptionally lucky customers have been able to play their rightfully owned copy of the game. But a working crack hasn't been released yet, and PC games tend to become irrelevant in about a month since release, sooooo.... *goes away to play abandonware on an old machine and never upgrades his graphic card again*.

That's very interesting, I don't have a PC so I don't really follow those news. Wow, are the guys and gals at Ubisoft idiots?

Last week, I was looking to buy Bad Company 2. Steam wanted €50, but the DVD version cost €36 at the local store. The DVD version was/is sold out everywhere. How come digital is much more expensive?

I guess that's how companies compensate for the massive losses they keep suffering due to piracy.

 

[herneheim]

I guess that's how companies compensate for the massive losses they keep suffering due to piracy.

Yeah, but that still doesn't explain why digital delivery is more expensive than the DVD.

I wonder who is following who. Gaming or music industry leading the way?

 

[stizzleomnibus]

Between the free zero-day DLC, the falling quality of gameplay, and the increasingly draconian DRM, I finally left gaming. Oh, yeah, and read this article.

The problem with video games is mostly a skewed challenge/reward curve. Increasingly, you grind simply and monotonously until they give you some food pellets. And that's all the joy there is. I wish we could either go back to solid, challenging games (like Ninja Gaiden), or at least drop the absurd DRM. It's not stopping piracy (the cracked copies work just fine), and it's hurting people who pay.

Try picking up an instrument: playing music is free, challenging, and has rewards far beyond what you're getting with games.

I think games and newspapers are just now getting to where music was a decade ago. A lot of the money used to be in distribution, which could be taxed (i.e., selling a CD for a bit more than production and shipping, or outright gouging people for $20). The product moves too fast now to be taxed. Hence, the falling profit margins. What a lot of record labels realized, and game publishers will, is that pissing off your customers is the last thing you want to do. Right now, paying for games and music is effectively voluntary; good will and unique purchasing opportunities can sustain it, but punishing customers with lawsuits and DRM is going to burn through your good will and leave people downloading pirate copies of the material that aren't broken.

 

[Defiance]

I stopped gaming last year, but it was basically because I didn't have time. Hopefully I'll play G(o)W III soon (which costs US$105 here, simply insane).

I just heard 'Out of Gravity', good track I guess, the piano is very nice .

 

[Maxim1110]

I've only heard the standard bonus tracks "To Where Fires Cannot Feed" and "Star Of Nothingness" so far. Good tracks though, but I would always like some more.

I never buy games anymore actually. I sometimes play some old ones that I bought before but no new ones. Spend most of my free time playing guitar or on my new hobby: photography, and preferably weather photography (thunderstorms etc).

 

[Erik Erna]

Personally, my attention span from video gaming has diminished greatly over the years. From 13-16, I was playing them non-stop. Now, almost 25, I have the attention span for Wii Bowling and Tennis...Not to mention, it seems the only games my friends and I can play drunk and seemingly be better at it...apparently Mario Party seems to be a big one too.

Between the ridiculous drinking games we come up with watching movies. Ever play the "Have a shot, every time there is a flash back" while watching Battle Royale? No? Good. Don't. There is like sixteen flashbacks within three minutes at the end of the movie. A truce was called, after my friend remembered 3/4 of the way through the film.

 

[plintus]

I stopped gaming last year, but it was basically because I didn't have time. Hopefully I'll play G(o)W III soon (which costs US$105 here, simply insane).

I've got Pandora Box for the same cool $100 on a release day, but didn't open it yet - no time and Bad Company 2 on 360 =)

VIDEOGAMES THREAD ANYONE???

 

[Defiance]

Personally, my attention span from video gaming has diminished greatly over the years. From 13-16, I was playing them non-stop. Now, almost 25, I have the attention span for Wii Bowling and Tennis...Not to mention, it seems the only games my friends and I can play drunk and seemingly be better at it...apparently Mario Party seems to be a big one too.

Between the ridiculous drinking games we come up with watching movies. Ever play the "Have a shot, every time there is a flash back" while watching Battle Royale? No? Good. Don't. There is like sixteen flashbacks within three minutes at the end of the movie. A truce was called, after my friend remembered 3/4 of the way through the film.

Bataru Rowayaru!!! I can imagine how wasted you were in the end.

I can't play games, mainly because of time . Still, I prefer to read. Now I really want to play Pokémon Gold, God of War III and F.F. XII and XIII.

 

[marduk1507]

VIDEOGAMES THREAD ANYONE???

Thanks Plintus, I thought I clicked on the wrong thread for a second.

I like WATV. Its not as strong as Fiction, but its quite fresh and maybe even a bit more catchier than Fiction. Definitely easier to get into. I think the band should stop putting up new tracks on their myspace prior to the release - DO and ATPOI are now my two least favourite songs on the album, and I dont think that would be the case had I heard them within the context of the album for the first time. I think Shadow In Our Blood is a great opener and probably my favourite right now. I just love how the guitars and the bass play that cool riff together - very very good! Mikael is excellent as usual, huge kudos for incorporating new elements into the vocals - he reminds me of Fernando Ribeiro on Iridium, which is fantastic, as I love Moonspell!

One beef only this time - the same as with Fiction (and pretty much since Damage Done) - pretty please DT, why do you have Brandstrom play those ringtone keyboards ALL THE TIME?? His electronics and samples were so cool on Haven with only subtle touches of the "piano", so why on earth does he have to play all that da-da dada, da-da da da da, da-da di da da, da-da da da, and tralala tralalali with every freaking chorus and between every damn verse? He is a great composer, his Fabric is one of the top 5 songs DT have ever made, so why the hell do you have him play things any 10-year old would learn in a day? Yeah, I know, he does more than that, but this one particular thing is soooo annoying. Why do we need to be reminded where the melody is in such a silly boring way?